7.23.2004

Three Things I Learned This Week

Because I do occasionally encounter subjects unrelated to the kiddlings.

From my friend PV the cardiologist
Drinking unfiltered coffee raises your cholesterol level. Bad news for this French-press-and-Turkish-coffee-brewing, genetically-predisposed-to-high-cholesterol girl.

From Seymour
Everyone on Iron Chef is legit, except Chairman Kaga. He is a Broadway-style stage star.

From Sunday's guest sermon
Somehow I never learned about this: American colonists tried to enslave Native Americans before they started importing slaves from Africa. Why was this never taught in American History? I passed the fucking AP exam, for chrissake.

Anyhow, the Native Americans said "fuck you" and escaped easily as they knew the geography, and could disappear back into their communities. That, or they died from imported European illnesses.

Then the price of trans-Atlantic passages nosedived. This simultaneously tapped out the stream of indentured servants coming from Europe, and made African slave importation feasible.

The Africans were ideal victims. They were shellshocked by separation from their culture and geography. They were unlikely to escape as they didn't know the land or language, and stood out instantly.

The early Americans got around that pesky "all men created equal" thing by reason of the Africans' "heathenism." Once the Africans started converting to Christianity, lawmakers created grandfather clauses chaining the converts to their ancestors' status. Yes, I'm sure that's what Jesus would have wanted.

None of this part three information was included in the America Rocks cartoons Iz and Leelo watched this afternoon. When they're old enough, though, I will make sure my kids know and remember these omissions.

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