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Pixieplumb Flanagan

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About Pixieplumb Flanagan

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  1. Wall o' text incoming; I couldn't find a way to link. It was a small thing, but it showed the innate kindliness of people and a willingness to help. Not perfect, of course not, but something rare in those times; seeing all people as equally worthy and equally human. No Sugar For Me - why many Cornish people refused to take sugar in their tea! by the late Reverend Julyan Drew* with minor updates (late Minister of the Newlyn Trinity Methodist Chapel) The Reverend Julyan Drew explains why a protest campaign more than 200 years ago means that many people in Cornwall refuse to take sugar in their tea. 1835 saw the final abolition of the slavery in the last part of the then British Empire - Mauritius. One of the key figures in the abolitionist movement was John Wesley, who was one of the founders of Methodism. The Methodist Church was and still is very strong in Cornwall. It was almost the established church here in Cornwall. Most of us who were reared here, were taught not to have sugar in our tea because Mr Wesley said that we shouldn't as a protest against the slave trade. Many slaves were used in sugar production and Mr Wesley thought that a boycott of sugar by devout Methodists would be a good way of showing disapproval of a trade which he despised. It's thought that in those days most people would normally have taken sugar in their tea so that refusing it was more unusual than it might be today. It was, perhaps, one of the earliest examples of people power. Of course, we Methodists had a particularly Cornish way of being involved in that boycott, we said that there was an exception when we had a pasty. Wesley became interested in slavery when he went to, what was then the British colony of Georgia in America, in 1736. There he saw slavery around him and saw the conditions in which the slaves lived and worked, and how they were treated. On the long sea voyage back to England he taught a young black man how to read and write. It's thought that the young man was probably a slave. It was around 40 years after his trip to Georgia that the abolitionist movement was starting to take off. Wesley's own experience of slavery in Georgia was still on his mind. So he set about writing his pamphlet called 'Thoughts upon slavery'. It contained a very careful and considered approach to the issue. He set out, for everybody to read, the conditions in which the slaves were kept and worked. Here is an excerpt from 'Thoughts Upon Slavery' by John Wesley "When the vessels arrive at their destined port, the Ne****es are again exposed naked to the eyes of all that flock together, and the examination of their purchasers. Then they are separated to the plantations of their several masters, to see each other no more. Here you may see mothers hanging over their daughters, bedewing their naked breasts with tears, and daughters clinging to their parents, till the whipper soon obliges them to part. And what can be more wretched than the condition they then enter upon? Banished from their country, from their friends and relations for ever, from every comfort of life, they are reduced to a state scarce anyway preferable to that of beasts of burden. The time they work in the West Indies, is from day-break to noon, and from two o'clock till dark; during which time, they are attended by overseers, who, if they think them dilatory, or think anything not so well done as it should be, whip them most unmercifully, so that you may see their bodies long after wealed and scarred usually from the shoulders to the waist. Did the Creator intend that the noblest creatures in the visible world should live such a life as this?" Although it was a carefully set out piece of work, the pamphlet was not without emotion. It was very clear that Wesley considered the slave trade utterly immoral and inhuman, and not something that anyone who called himself a man could be involved in. Another excerpt from 'Thoughts Upon Slavery' by John Wesley "Are you a man? Then you should have an human heart. But have you indeed? What is your heart made of? Is there no such principle as Compassion there? Do you never feel another's pain? Have you no Sympathy? No sense of human woe? No pity for the miserable? When you saw the flowing eyes, the heaving breasts, or the bleeding sides and tortured limbs of your fellow-creatures, was you a stone, or a brute? Did you look upon them with the eyes of a tiger? When you squeezed the agonizing creatures down in the ship, or when you threw their poor mangled remains into the sea, had you no relenting? Did not one tear drop from your eye, one sigh escape from your breast? Do you feel no relenting now? If you do not, you must go on, till the measure of your iniquities is full. Then will the Great GOD deal with You, as you have dealt with them, and require all their blood at your hands." Wesley made his views on slavery known in his sermons and speeches as well as in writing. He wasn’t afraid to carry his message to the heart of the slave trade in ports like Liverpool and Bristol. One on occasion in Bristol, Wesley was preaching to a large gathering which descended into uproar and violence. It’s thought that the slavers sent people into the crowd to disrupt the meeting. It was more than 200 year ago that early people power helped bring an end to slavery. So it's remarkable that many members of my congregation and other Methodists across Cornwall, and around the country, still refuse sugar in their tea 'on account of Mr Wesley'. *The Reverend Julyan Drew died of cancer aged 64 years on 25th July, 2019. A bard of the Cornish Gorseth, he had three children and six grandchildren, served as Superintendent of the West Penwith Methodist Circuit and for 20 years, as Minister of various West Cornwall Chapels. Chaplain of the Penlee lifeboat, he also served as Chaplain to the Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service, Penzance town council and had been chair of numerous local bodies, including the YMCA, The Newlyn Fish Industry Forum and the 3 Villages Project.
  2. I remember doing a similar exercise during foster carer training. To see one's unearned privilege lain out clearly should be (it was for me) a very sobering moment.
  3. On the plus side, the more people you pop on the ignore list, the quicker you get through long threads, which is brilliant.
  4. Well, I am. I don't think they understand this concept, but even if they do, I'm too old to spend time reading the same tired old arguments. Luna, you have the patience of a saint xxxx
  5. If it turns out to be a full on revolution well, people die in revolutions, on both sides. Who would like to argue against the American or French revolution on the basis that some people died? I mean, sure, I would much prefer that the racists stop being racist, that the police stop deliberately targeting POC and escalating situations so that they can use their shiny shiny toys, that statues of murderers be removed, that history be taught fairly and accurately, but it seems at this point that a lot of people don't fancy that, so maybe you just have to have the revolution instead. Your choice.
  6. yup, and yet another name hits the ignore mat. That was some of the clearest racism on here, and oh boy do we ever have a selection.
  7. It's always helpful when people let you know who to add to the old ignore list, eh? bye Felicia.
  8. Off topic, but people who pretend to have blocked you, but then stalk you to trash your posts and utterly misrepresent what you say are funny, aren't they? I blocked it (for realz, lol). Anyway, Bristol looked like fun today. That pos should have been drowned at birth, but better late than never!
  9. I liked your post because there isn't a hug option - it's always darkest before the dawn, so chin up lovely. xxxxx
  10. Well I like to think in a broader sense that we are all baby monkeys, but yes, I like to work from home in pyjamas I'm glad you find the tees handy, and thank you for popping us on the list. The more the merrier xxxxx
  11. I have noticed a few people concerned about the possible illegality of some of the protesters' actions. It made me think. And I'm afraid I'm about to commit something of an internet faux pas. Sorry not sorry. In the 1930s and 1940s, Germans removing gay, Jewish, differently abled, Roma, Jehovah s witnesses et al along to the ghettos and camps, were all operating strictly within the law. Defying these orders was criminal. When Richard and Mildred Loving got married in 1958 they were breaking the law, criminals. When slaves escaped to Canada they were breaking the law, criminals. When you dumped our tea into the harbour you were, yeah, you get it. The real story of progress is littered with people who broke the law, and many of whom paid the highest price. There's a reason for that famous Chinese curse, and interesting times are uncomfortable for the lucky and deadly for the rest. Drumpf says he's all about law and order. He isn't, but even if he were, that's not always a good thing.
  12. They? I've seen mainly white provocateurs doing this, I've seen the police escalating violence, I've seen people of colour forming cordons to protect businesses. If you watch faux news you'll see what they want you to see. Also, if you're still more concerned with property destruction than you know, actual lives, then you're a big part of the problem.
  13. People like the Nazarene then?* The USA has had almost 500 years to get their 'stuff' together and stop oppressing, torturing, murdering, side lining, bullying and r*ping people of colour. No, I know plenty of other countries are also pretty bad, yes, mine included. If there truly were an army of non working, non contributing, constantly active campaigners they must have learnt to live off fresh air. Of course they also work. They contribute. They have families. But they see injustice and will not let it stand. I like those people; I am in awe of those people, I want to be more like those people. *Trashing the temple was such a shocker - why couldn't he have protested peacefully? /s
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