On the night of August 22, 1791 in Santo Domingo (present-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic) an uprising started a revolution, and that revolution helped paved the way to the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) designated today, August 23, as a day to remember a time when there was a way of life that no human being should ever endure, but also to promote tolerance and human rights.Nowadays we are being asked to focus on our modern-day form of slavery: human trafficking. Human trafficking is going on right here in Florida. We have reported on trafficking rings getting busted up in Collier County for example, but it also happens elsewhere in the state. It's not unique to this area either nor is it confined here. Human trafficking is a bustling business, so to say slavery is 'dead' is inaccurate.
Remember that nobody has the right to take away another human being's freedom and rights by coercion, not for any reason, but especially not for exploitation. Slavery the way it happened in the transatlantic trade routes 200 years ago may be a tragic memory now, but slavery still exists, from the human trafficking taking advantage of non-English speakers from all over the world who are desperate to leave the extremely poor conditions of their homeland, to the spouse living with abuse inside a home with no witnesses. No type of slavery is acceptable, and it will take all of us working together to bring it all to an end.
Valentino Day
Rudolph Valentino scorched the big screen at the genesis of the movie industry's golden age, the silent era. Known as the "Latin lover" his sex appeal reached far and wide: women swooned for him causing men to emulate his style. He is best known for his work in The Sheik and The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.On this date in 1926, Rudolph Valentino died of complications from appendicitis and gastric ulcers. And when I say complications I do mean complications. I could hardly believe my eyes - the following is from the Wikipedia on Valentino:
On August 15, 1926, Valentino collapsed at the Hotel Ambassador in New York City, New York. He was hospitalized at the Polyclinic in New York and an examination showed him to be suffering from appendicitis and gastric ulcers which required an immediate operation. The operation was a success but Valentino's condition had become so aggravated by then that peritonitis set in and spread throughout his body. On August 18 his doctors gave an optimistic prognosis for Valentino and told the media that unless Valentino's condition changed for the worse there was no need for updates.[68] However, on August 21 he was stricken with a severe pleuritis relapse that developed rapidly in his left lung due to the actor's weakened condition.[68] The doctors realized that he was going to die, but decided to withhold the prognosis from the actor who believed that his condition would pass. During the early hours of August 23, Valentino was briefly conscious and chatted with his doctors about his future. He fell back into a coma and died a few hours later, at the age of 31.I prefer to focus on the man's work and his Leo DiCaprio-like handsome looks. In fact, I wonder why DiCaprio hasn't portrayed him in a movie about his tragically short life yet? That's who I'd pick, and not just for the looks either.
And this concludes my NaBloPoMo challenge. Today is the 30th day I have posted to this blog, and I am just barely making the cut waiting until well after 10pm eastern time!
But I made it. Pardon me while I go break my arm patting myself on the back...
And you packed a one-two punch for your last day of NaBloPoMo commemorating two completely disparate dates that we all should remember.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind comments over at Left Coast Cowboys. See you round the Blogosphere.