Jul 1, 2011
A man’s hand branded for freeing slaves, 1845
(The image is of a right hand with two S‘s branded beneath the thumb. The old-style of photography reversed images.)
From the Daguerreian Society…
The inscription on the back of the case reads:
This Daguerreotype was taken by Southworth Aug. 1845. It is a copy of Captain Jonathan Walker’s hand as branded by the U.S. Marshall of the Dist. of Florida for having helped 7 men to obtain “Life Liberty, and Happiness.”
S.S. stood for “Slave Stealer” to those who inflicted the punishment. To others, it meant “Slave Savior.”
(via TYWKIWDBI)
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I’d have been proud to be branded for that reason!
I look at things like this, and think “I’m so glad we’re past the barbarianism of our past”. Then I see people who think that homosexual human beings shouldn’t have the same white as heterosexual humans. Seriously, how is this any different?
I hope my grandchildren can look back on the early 21st century and shake their heads and wonder how we could possibly justify our primitive views.