Since I did a piece on Bullying, I decided to share an experience with you… This isn’t as much about me, but about those I went to school with…
I loved my school and had many friends from all walks of life… That was great for the most part, but there were times it became a problem…
Our school had this ritual for freshman’s each year… What would happen was a two part thing…. First off there was Slave days… If you are wondering what that means, it is what it is… The upper class man would put the freshman’s on the block to be sold as slaves… Whoever bought you, you had to do that they said to do… Even if that meant humiliating yourself by wearing diapers or whatever unimaginable things… I was very lucky because my sister’s boyfriend or friend decided to spare me from having to do part two of this horrible ritual… So Brian bought me and that was that… He had a heart of gold and never made me do stupid things…
Before I continue I want to share with you the definition of what and who a slave is…
- (v. i.) To drudge; to toil; to labor as a slave.
- (v. t.) To enslave.
- (n.) A person who is held in bondage to another; one who is wholly subject to the will of another; one who is held as a chattel; one who has no freedom of action, but whose person and services are wholly under the control of another.
- (n.) See Slav.
- (n.) One who has lost the power of resistance; one who surrenders himself to any power whatever; as, a slave to passion, to lust, to strong drink, to ambition.
- (n.) An abject person; a wretch.
- (n.) A drudge; one who labors like a slave.
So, I will continue now!
Now if you didn’t get bought for Slave Days and made to do stupid things to embarrass yourself, then you were initiated for initiation days… That was even worse… They would have an assembly and those who weren’t bought would be ordered to do what they were told in front of the entire school… I had a couple friends who had to go through the humiliation in front of everyone… When their names were called I told my friends they shouldn’t go… They did anyhow because they were afraid they would get in trouble… My one friend, no names mentioned was told to dress up as a dog and eat from a dog bowl in the middle of the gymnasium… Another guy was to wear his gym shorts with a rope attached to the back and then he had to climb to the top of the rope… I was ticked… I didn’t stick around after that… I left and told my friends there is no way they should have gone along with that… This was back in 1980 and I still remember how humiliated and demeaning that was for my friends… I remember the tears on the faces of the other classmates as they were being told what to do and be put on the auction block… I don’t know if Willcox High still does this ritual… But if they do, shame on them… A lot of the classmates thought I was being sensitive… OK! Yeah, I will give them that one… What is wrong with treating each other with some dignity…
I should add one thing too… On Initiation Day, somehow the list of kids who didn’t get bought got lost… They were guessing to some degree on who was on the list… One of the girls did come up to me and told me I was on the list… Let me say that my language was quite colorful and I was less than impressed… I’m sure there were a whole lot of students who heard my thoughts on that…
After 30 years when I think of my high school years, I always think of that first… There were good things like the Hot Pickles at Rays Market, El Taco, and McDonalds… I was there when that first was built… Us students were happy over that… I loved Carters and cruising… But in my mind the Slave Days and Initiation Days were the worst… Then the way they would pick on this boy named Stevie… He was large and a lot of students were horrible to him… He eventually lost weight, but I know he had some horrible times in school…
I went to Google to see if there were any pictures by chance of slave days or someone posting… And it was sad that there were links to questions on yahoo just recently asking for good ideas to embarrass the two slaves they bought on slave day… This was a post a couple years old… I can’t believe that schools still do this and they get away with it… I know… I’m a party pooper… This is the post from someone named Deborah:
Tomorrow is Senior Slave Day at School…?
tomorrow is senior slave day at school and i need ideas as to what to make my slaves do… i have 2 slaves that i bought at a auction about two weeks ago and i don’t know what embarrassing things to make them do…… please help 🙂
I wish I was still able to comment or I would have said that it is a horrible ritual that belittles a person… I have also noticed when goggling this topic to find images that some schools will call it “Rent a Student”… OK! So the name has changed, but the purpose is still the same… Some people don’t see what the problem is, but knowing people who had to be put on display because you didn’t get bought on “Slave Day” is not fun, it is humiliating… I can’t even imagine what it would be like for the slaves’ way back when… They lived every day that way…
I hear some people trying to justify it as a way to raise funds and nothing is wrong with it… I find alot wrong with it and just because it is for a fundraiser or activity, doesn’t make it right…
Here is a link to a video of a young man that was sold as a slave in a classroom activity…
But I will get off this topic now… I could go on and on about this topic and how inappropriate it is…
Senseless Ramblings of the Mindless 
I guess I was fortunate all through school. I only had two incidents. It was in the fourth grade. My parents had just moved to California from Oklahoma. I’ve never been sensitive about being teased when I know it’s not malicious. However, there was one (isn’t there always?) girl who WAS being malicious. She called me a “dirty Okie.” I tried to ignore her, but to no avail. She would not shut up. We finally got physical! No more problem with her. The next year I road my new bike to school that I’d gotten for my birthday that summer. How I loved that Schwinn!! Three of the boys in the class decided to terrorize me. I lived in the country, and they were city kids. They followed me, trying to cause me to wreck, calling me names, kicking my bike, etc. I would end up crying, which of course, made them happy. On the third day, I couldn’t take it anymore, and told my dad I was going to start riding the bus again. Well, he got the reason out of me. My dad was a no-nonsense, old fashioned guy, and a stereotypical Irishman. No good my begging him not to go to the school. He took the next day off work, spoke to the principal. He told her if the school didn’t put a stop to it, he would! In those long ago days, things were different. The boys were called in, looking daggers at me, of course, then their parents were called in. My father was there, also, and he could be pretty intimidating at times! End result: The boys were all in deep trouble with their parents AND the school. Forbidden to ride their bikes the rest of the year, had to right 1000 word composition regarding treatment of others, not allowed to even speak to me. (YAY) That was the extent of me personally experiencing any bullying, and it was more than enough. Sadly, I’m afraid it wouldn’t be handled so well today.
Thats how things should be handled… I think parents are so afraid to stand up for what is right and the kids because things have changed like you said…
I got into a tiff with a 6th grader and we went to the back field… She and her friends would think they could do what they wanted to do… I guess she didn’t know I knew how to fight and I have to say that I used words that I never should have and I’m sure I had a pretty good amount of her hair in my hands… She bawled like a baby of course and whined…