The 1863 Emancipation Proclamation signed into law by Abraham Lincoln served as the legal terminus point for the human slave trade. However, slavery is no game that ends when the buzzer screams. The alienation and dehumanization that it caused lasts to this day. I’m going to use an example that might serve to be an exaggeration. At the very least people will call it that, but I don’t think it is. KTLA anchor Sam Rubin recently interviewed Samuel L. Jackson and quite obviously mistook him for Lawrence Fishburne. Fishburne/Jackson went all BMF on him, calling him out for the mistake and making it clear he wasn’t about to let it slide.
If you watch the video to the end you’ll see the rest of the news crew having a good laugh about the situation–both in a way that chided their coworker but excused his mistake. The laughter is telling of the situation. This is about them seeing Jackson as a thing vs. an individual deserving of respect. Rubin even tried to backtrack later and claim he never confused Jackson. Clearly that is a lie.
When you create a situation that dehumanizes people, it takes an extremely long time to humanize them again and even longer to treat them like they are the same as you.
Some Thoughts:
- I keep thinking my cat is going to stroll in through the doggie door. She isn’t.