North Shore Notes Harry Drabik

To the races

I should know better and play it safe ships, sometimes with the horrific here at my Home on the Range. But consequence of shackled slaves not all gain wisdom with age; well I sometimes being dumped over to haven’t, anyway. Plus I’m back where I drown in an attempt to prevent seizure started and wrote my first of the ship. political piece about a President frittering away on the golf course, to me NORTHSHORE Slave ships and shippers were often Portuguese, but that’s only part of a a more serious issue than Presidential philandering. NOTES complicated web of Arab traders and African groups

Actually can’t think acting as slave hunters. of a politico who 100% fulfilled my standards, HARRY North Africa, the Middle East, and Ottoman Empire but then they are people of the people so what can DRABIK imported staggering numbers of black slaves as you expect? A greedy, expendable labor. conniving public seems Their virility feared, male to produce greedy connivers and puts slaves not going to the Americas were them in office to greedily connive for often castrated (a version of which was the public benefit, of course. Uh huh, visited on the Lost Boys in more recent so that’s how it’s supposed to work, or times.) Many died afterward from maybe officials are elected to amuse us. infection. Well at least they often manage that. Female slaves were for sex or dom

In any case I’d be a wiser person to estic service. The survival of any of avoid like Novel Flu the topic of race. their children had lower than low But how can any of us help but face priority. the issue? A snapshot view shows why we see

This is especially so when not adoptmore slave decedents in the Americas ing particular stances makes you (to than the equally extensive Arab and some extent dependent on color) a Middle Eastern slave markets. racist. Neutrality or color blindness is There’s no question that the sugar unacceptable. cane to rum to slave cycle of trade that

But where to start? went on in the U.S. and Britain was

I’ve heard the once mainstream popevil and abusive; so much so that both ular Cosby Show was not representative those nations became early reformers. of actual racial experience. (Look up Wilberforce in English

What is? history. John Brown was the U.S. abo

Are Oprah, Colin K, or Obama litionist who tried to speed up the representative or do we have to look process in the US. but failed. In both at a Zulu Impe for a legitimate view? countries, despite their sympathies, How’s a paleface muggle like me exa typical person then as today feared pected to figure this out if there’s baresocial turmoil and didn’t wish for open ly a hint of explanation among the conflict.) drum beats of accusation? In contrast, there was no reform

An account given credence today movement among the Turks or Arabs, begins with 1619 (aka Sixteen Teenth both of whom dealt in slaves on the perhaps?) as the birth of American scale and in the way Saudis sell oil slavery. This is absolutely correct, but today. Things that went on in the we have to remove from consideration Americas from the 1500s to the 2000s the practice of enslavement before that are far more complex than racism date by various native groups in North alone. and South America. It’s worth a jog to note that af-ter

And there were the Spanish, Portubattling the British for our indeguese, and French actively bringing pendence one of the first major agricultural slaves for their plantations. international efforts the new country Can’t be certain of numbers, but a made was to establish a navy in part to majority of African slaves were taken to balk British efforts to press U.S. citizens Central and South America. Estimates to serve in their navy and balk those are 10% of slaves ripped from Africa North African states taking American went to North America. It’s too many, seamen for ransom or sale as slaves. but still a junior part of the bigger With the U.S. Navy came the birth of picture. the Marines on the “shores of Tripoli.”

Well before the U.S. Civil War and Turks and Arabs were known to the Emancipation U.S. and British navies point of being notorious for selling harassed the slave trade by stopping non-Muslim Europeans. (Enslaving “A danger in heated times is the growth of reactionary oppression. Moral certitude is a certain danger. As the Rebel Confederacy learned, freedom in belief or politics does not include the freedom to impose those things on others.”

Muslims was prohibited. Anyone else was fair game.)

From before the time of the Crusades pale and blonde Christian children were prized as valuable commodities for trade. Non-Muslims in the Balkans paid a tax in children for household and military service. The Swedish Bikini Team we joke about would have brought big bucks in Arab and Ottoman slave markets. (Precise numbers are not known, but seacoast towns were often abandoned in fear of Arab slavers as they’d been over Viking raiders. In other words some evidence is indirect but reasonably valid.)

To use a phrase that sounds awfully out of place, slavery and racism are not the stark, cut and dried, black and white issues often presented as being the story.

I’m not a fan of Robert E. Lee, but I can say from what’s known of him his motivations as a Confederate general were not particularly racist. I don’t understand or sympathize with his allegiance to the State of Virginia, but he believed the independence of Virginia worth fighting for even though he disagreed with it on the subject of owning other human beings as property. (Indentures and Apprenticeships, etc., were other “lesser” forms of holding people as temporary property as was the widespread system of sharecropping.)

I need opine that addressing serious social concerns with accusations of guilt and malice is not the way to dialog. Throwing a roommate’s clothes out a window and burning them doesn’t start a discussion.

A danger in heated times is the growth of reactionary oppression. Moral certitude is a certain danger. As the Rebel Confederacy learned, freedom in belief or politics does not include the freedom to impose those things on others.

Season looks different for Milwaukee Brewers

By Megan Hart

The Brewers won their first game of the season last Friday, against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.The Brewers, who lost in last year’s National League Wild Card Game, will aim to make the playoffs for a franchise-record third consecutive season.

Here’s what fans need to know. WISCONSIN How will the season NEWS work?

Teams will play just 60 regular WPR season games, instead of the typical 162, a schedule designed to limit travel amid the pandemic. The Brewers will face each of their NL Central division rivals 10 times. Their remaining 20 games are scheduled against American League Central division teams due to their proximity.

On Thursday, the league announced an expanded playoff format for this year, with 16 teams reaching the postseason.

The playoffs will still feature four rounds, but no Wild Card Game. Instead, the top four seeds from each league will host seeds five through eight for a best-of-three series. After that, the format goes back to normal, although Major League Baseball has reserved the right to move postseason games to neutral sites if a city or region is experiencing a severe coronavirus outbreak.

There are also some rule changes for this year. Both leagues will allow designated hitters to limit wear and tear on pitchers. During the regular season, extra half-innings will begin with a runner on second.

This year also marks the implementation of a new rule that was announced last year: Pitchers will be required to face at least three batters or pitch to the end of an inning. The move is an attempt to reduce the number of pitching changes a team can make, and effectively speed up the game.

What safety precautions will the team take?

The league put together a pretty comprehensive list of precautions teams should take to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Some are commonsense: no hugs, high fives, spitting or chewing tobacco. Coaches or players who come within 6 feet of an umpire to argue a call can be suspended or fined.

Testing is also an important part of the league’s strategy, with players being tested every other day for COVID-19 and monthly for antibodies.

The Brewers have made several adjustments inside Miller Park, said Steve Ethier, the team’s vice president of stadium operations. To allow for social distancing among players and staff, the dugout has been expanded to encompass some areas typically dedicated to fans. The team has also instituted new cleaning procedures.

Will there be fans?

Major League Baseball told teams there should be no fans for at least the first two weeks of the season. After that, it will be up to the league, clubs and local health officials, Ethier said.

The Brewers have also asked fans not to tailgate, in accordance with the city’s public health rules on public gatherings.

Milwaukee County has among the highest number of per capita coronavirus cases in the state. Still, the team is preparing for the possibility it will welcome fans to Miller Park this summer. Precautions would include two-way traffic in the concourse, socially distanced seating and establishing a capacity for restrooms and stores, Ethier said.

In the meantime, Miller Park won’t be completely empty. Brewers fans had the opportunity to purchase cardboard cutouts of themselves or their pets, which will adorn the stands at home games.

What will the broadcast look like?

When the New York Yankees and the Washington Nationals faced off Thursday, with Dr. Anthony Fauci throwing out the ceremonial first pitch, things sounded pretty normal. The Nationals piped in crowd noise and played music. It was almost easy to forget there were no fans in the stands.

Brewers announcer Brian Anderson is a bit nervous about calling games with all the changes this season, he said. He and Jeff Levering will call Friday’s game from Miller Park, not Wrigley Field, making it a bit like announcing a video game, Levering said.

What are the players saying?

On Thursday, Brewers outfielder and 2018 league MVP Christian Yelich said it’s likely to be a quiet opening day.

“It’s definitely exciting, though, to play some games that count and get back to a semi-normal year,” he said.

The Brewers played an exhibition game against the Chicago White Sox Wednesday, and they practiced at Wrigley Field Thursday. Yelich said he feels healthy despite a shortened training camp.

Travel is a bit different amid the pandemic, he said. For example, players aren’t allowed to eat at restaurants. But Yelich said he trusts the safety precautions the league has put in place.

Ryan Braun was on the opening day roster despite dealing with a recent oblique injury. Even though there won’t be fans in attendance, he hasn’t ruled out the possibility he could get booed at Wrigley Field, maybe by fans on nearby rooftops.

“Obviously for all of us, we’d prefer to have fans,” he said. “Even on the road, in the most challenging environments, I just think they create such a unique atmosphere.”

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