Superheroes, slavery and a technological age, truth stranger than fiction

DISCLAIMER: The ideas in this blog are my own and those that I feel I have recieved of the Lord, I will include some articles which I have found interesting and have provoked me to do further study. I do hope though this makes you think and pray and not take everything at face value and not swallow everything you hear in the media, all is certainly not as it seems. Like never before we need discernment and to question everything  

HAS SLAVERY ENDED?

Slavery has come in different forms over the time that humans have been on this earth. Yes William Wilberforce saw one kind of slavery abolished in 1833, but the tendency to enslave another people group or the rest of the human race has not gone away. It seems that it is an inherent sinful nature of man to oppress another or manipulate and deceive to gain power over someone else. We see this right across history. Sadly my friend it has not gone away, although it is perhaps more covert than it ever has been. 

I believe at the heart of what is happening in our world currently is an attempt to enslave people in the west once again, so that only a few of those with the money and the power and position have the freedom that we have in some ways enjoyed for a few years. 

MODERN DAY SLAVERY 

Supply chains and cheap fashion

Let us not forget though that there are many people around the world living in modern day slavery, in the form of sweatshops in the east, you may remember that a few years ago 2013 Primark and Matalan was in the spotlight for being connected to a building that collapsed in Bangladesh the Dhaka Garment factory killing over a 1000 people.

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/23/world/asia/report-on-bangladesh-building-collapse-finds-widespread-blame.html 

Now perhaps this was not slavery to the extent we saw of African and Jamaican people in the 17th and 18th Century, but obviously being made to work in such a building shows no regard for the worth of people's lives. Both retailers look like they have tried to clear up their act since then, but supply chains is an interesting animal as there are lots of middle people or agents involved. Our hunger for cheap fashion is keeping many in slavery, if we care about social justice we need to examine where we buy things from. This is not easy, because one site will say that they are ethical and another will say the opposite, but we can but try to source our products from ethical places. You can be pretty sure if you are buying a decent piece of clothing for a fiver you can be sure that somewhere someone is paying for your discount and practically being treated as a slave for their skill. Pretty much like the seamstresses we read about in slavery days. 

Many of those who are slaves in our world are also children, like back in the day they are born into slavery. We can think of the brick slaves in india, children and their families who are cheated out of wages 

https://www.antislavery.org/report-slavery-india-brick-kilns/

SEX TRADE 

Then we have those involved in the sex trade and those who are trafficked men, women and children. There are some awful facts coming to light now of the rich, famous and powerful who are involved in this industry. For many years we believe that those who were involved in trafficking were mainly wicked men from eastern europe and perhaps the middle east. We are now finding out that those hollywood celebrities, those who have been household names are also involved in this industry and who knows what else will be uncovered next. 

There are many more examples of modern day slavery in our society and I believe that it is trying to come closer and closer to encompass you and me. 

END TIMES 

I have heard it said many times that these are the last days and until recently I have poo pooed the idea, things were ticking along and where as an evangelist or at least married to an evangelist I have an urgency to share Jesus with others, I thought it was highly unlikely that I would see the great tribulation or the actual end times. With every article I read, every facebook article I see and each event I see occur in the world I am starting to believe that yes we really are in the actual end times or at least the beginning of them, life as we knew it will never be the same again. 

CORONA VIRUS 

Let me start by saying I believe that this virus is very very real and just because it has not touched you does not mean it does not exist. I have seen many christians saying they don't think it exists, well I heard about a friend's mother who died of covid 19 back in April and she was a nurse so yes it exists and it is real, so I believe we do need to be aware of it and be careful. I have been on a journey of working out what is truth and what isn't. How bad it is any how bad it isn't. I choose to wear a mask when I need to and to social distance where needed. I am trying to work out how to navigate this new world we are living in. 

PLANDEMIC 

Now I am starting to research into this phenomena. I remember hearing that the official line was that it started in bats and somehow mutated into affecting people in China.  I thought to myself really is that even possible. Then I heard a prophecy that the virus had been released from a laboratory in Wuhan China. I have since heard that 7 people were let out and allowed to travel around the world to spread it. 

Now that made a lot more sense than a bat, I also asked myself how on earth and why did they not contain it quicker, even in this country we did not go into lockdown until much later. I have questions on how it was contained and slowed down and what was deliberate and what was shoddy leadership and negligence, only time will tell. 

I do think it's quite funny and disturbing that anything on social media that even suggests that it was a plandemic, or anything about the virus which goes against the mainstream line. Or suggests that everything is not as it seems automatically gets shut down. Or it has a message on the front to say it is a hoax or not true or non factual. Why would people put their professtional neck on the line to speak out against what everyone is being told if there was not something about what they are saying. 

Since when does facebook get to decide what truth is, they are starting to tell us what we should be thinking and if we disagree with what the official line is we get slandered. I have even heard of christian article put on facebook which have been taken off as they do not meet the values of facebook, since when is facebook a moral guide, will talk about this in another blog soon.

I do find it interesting though that covid 19 started off a chain reaction of events such as the need to wear masks, then all this talk about the vaccine which I will come to in a moment 

MASKS  

Like I said I wear a mask quite a bit I have elderly parents and I want to keep them safe and I am honest I am not sure if it has gone and tend to be a person who takes precautions and follows the rules where I can. However I cannot ignore the parallels between wearing a mask and the masks that slaves had to wear, these were devised to muzzle slaves and to be painful. 

As the church we have been told we cannot sing in buildings because it spreads the disease, most of the church buildings have been shut down as well.  Many are saying that the authorities are trying to shut down the church, now that may be but I believe that the buildings being shut down is the best thing that could have happened to us. I will explain what I think God is doing in the church in another blog on another platform. I know that this is a movie blog and I am going to get to movies in just a minute and show you how it is all connected in a bit. 

VACCINES ETC 

I have my doubts about what this vaccine is all about, never have I seen a vaccine pushed like this one. Now I understand that there is a need to find a solution but it is being pushed so much that makes me ask questions, it does not seem to have been tested properly. Vaccines take decades to be tested and approved. Then there is the sources of the funding which if you trace them back seem to go back to a very dubious source. Why would the head of microsoft be the main funder of vaccines. Bill gates is a genius with technology not medicine unless the two could be some how linked. 

It also seems that the WHO are ....

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Just Mercy and other racial themed movies (Spoilers alert)

JUST MERCY 

Just Mercy was brought out in 2019 and it is about black Judicial Politics in Alabama in the 80's and 90's. The Story begins in 1989 where a man called Walter Mcmillian played by Jamie Fox is on death row for a murder he says he didnt commit. Lots of people say they are innocent on death row but the difference here is that there is next to no evidence. Bryan Stevenson is drafted in as the attorney of all those at the time who are on death row.  As I write this I cannot believe that the death penalty is still a thing. The death penalty still exist in 7 of America's 52 states, one of which is California not used as much but it is still there.

 Thankfully Stevenson is very perseverant because at first walter does not trust Stevenson and thinks that he is just going to get his hopes up like the last person and then just drop him and give up. He does not know how far Stevenson will go for justice. 

I can remember 1989 I was 11, that's the year I started high school now I can't remember my high school years in great deal I remember they were better than my junior ones. The point is though that I can remember it, in fact it is the year that my husband was born. It is less than 40 years ago. I have to be honest I thought that by this time oververt herd racism was a thing of the past. Nonetheless I have realised that racism is not a thing of the past not even today. In fact the systems that were in place during the slavery plantation days, when many white families owned black slaves still exist in some way today. 

That is why only 31 years ago this even happened in America, sadly if we dig a bit deeper and not too deep we will see injustices all around us that are still a reality due to these systems which were perhaps not invented but were fortified in 17-18th century. 

The whole conviction of Jonny D as he is known to his friends and community hinges on the testimony of a white convicted felon. Despite the case against Walter being so flimsy. It seems that the very fact that he is black and coming from a black neighbourhood is enough to convict him. No-one wants to re-visit this case. It was a quick conviction with the testimony of someone and they want to leave it there. 

Ryan Myers is manipulated into giving the testimony in exchange for a lighter sentence . 

You would think that it would be easy to get this conviction overturned but actually Stevenson goes through so many trials whilst he fights for Walter. A number of times he has a run in with the law because they are out to get him, not that he has done something wrong at all. His car is searched and two officers steal the documents that he has to help him with the case are stolen by the police. He is strip searched before he can see his client and they try to hang a conviction of perjury. 

I would put forward that the reason that he gets treated with such contempt and disrespect is because he is a black attorney and what's more he is trying to represent black men on death row. 

Quite frankly the story brought me to tears especially when some of the men were clearly innocent 

There is a scene which really stands out to me. When Stevenson is coming into the prison there is a field at the front and all the men are in white uniforms tilling or working on the ground. For me it was a very moving scene, it was reminiscent of other movies I have seen where Afro slaves are working the cotton fields. It could be that they were going for that imagery but it was certainly very powerful.

The movie and other movies since have made me realise that our world is a corrupt place and we cannot always trust the authorities that are meant to fight for justice for us or are meant to even look out for us. 

Now I am not saying that all authorities are corrupt or are out to get you. One needs discernment in this world. 

At this point I can make the point that I am a believer and so I don't automatically trust the authorities, or shall I say I don't take things at face value. Recent times has shown me this more and more. We need the guidance of the holy spirit more each day for every decision we make. So when we face something where there are authorities like social services, justice system, the police, doctors, lawyers, the council etc I used to assume they would fight my corner, that's what they are there for right?

In recent years I have realised that these systems are not always fair, in fact they are there for those at the top to benefit. Yes they are meant to benefit the people that need the services but I have seen that this is not always the case. Therefore we need discernment from the holy spirit when we are working out what cause of action to take.

I have also learnt that we often need to fight for those things that we are entitled to or in order to see justice. I have learnt from working with others and even in my own life that if you just go with the flow of life and just let lift happen to you then you could end up in a really difficult position.

I know there are many of you out there who are not believers and to be frank I actually do not how you live, how you make decisions without guidance. It is amazing to have the someone who tells me which way to go. I suppose many of you trust in the authorities but as you can see from this film we cannot always trust them. 

I would love to think that what happens in this movie would not happen today but to be honest I am not so sure that would be true. There are still so many injustices in the world and particularly around what are considered to be minor ethnicities in places like England and America. 

Just last year there was the George Floyd incident which shocked the world and woke us up to the fact that racism is alive and kicking. Since then I have seen a number of videos where I have seen senseless racist violence by the American police, one is a young boy who is manhandled and accosted by 6 officers yes you read that right 6 officers, the second is a disabled man in a wheelchair who is beaten up by officers and the last one is an unarmed man who is shot when he is not posing a threat. 

Now the videos have died down but this issue has not gone away. I have heard stories of kindergarden teachers who were asked to age some white and black children they ended up being the same age but the black children were aged older and consequently would receive harsher treatment. It seems we are conditioned to think that black people are criminals or at least to be afraid of them. This needs to change but we also as white need to recognise that we have been conditioned to think this way.

My heart is sad that we are not all treated the same and although I would shout that everyone should be treated the same and I don't think of colour at all, that is because nothing has happened in my life which has led me to. Nonetheless I realise that is not the same for my friends from other ethnicities particularly a black ethnicity. I have started to hear about story upon story where they have had to fight harder than their white counterparts for the same opportunities, or where they simply have not had the same opportunities. I think really in this day and age but this thing of racism is so deeply engrained in our culture and history that those of us who are white do not even recognise our own thoughts and attitudes. I am aware here that I need to be careful as I am white writing this but I am just sharing my recent journey to realising that this oppression has never gone away and it is not going to anytime soon until we start recognising that there is a problem and those of who are white need to start examining ourselves closely our thoughts and attitudes. 

I have become aware of a phrase called White Supremacy, there are things that I will never experience. There are things that I will never notice because I am white. 

HARRIET TUBMAN

MISS VIRGINIA 

I watched yet another film recently called Miss Virginia  

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