Reading logs were an interesting way of learning. I’m not much a fan of reading, but having a weekly reading to go through and pick apart for class discussions proved to be addicting. Though I did miss one, and funnily it was about the gold rush.
Besides the point the reading logs were a great way for me to learn. Below are what I think were my best two reading logs.
Reading Log 8:
Honour is something that everyone has and it be should defend, but not by murder. People always try to work at others and break them down. This is one of the big things that is wrong with society. However no matter how hard someone tries to break you, your dignity, and your honour, you can not let them. Fighting back is a fine way to counter, but guild lines should always be in place. That is why dueling was invented.
Dueling back in the old old days was fought with swords. The clashing of steel until on person is injured or surrenders. Yet dueling is very dangerous, however sword duels do rely on skill. Swordsmen spend years practicing with their blades so if two evenly skilled combatants are dueling the probability of a death occurring is limited. Although times do change and dueling with swords feel out of favour and dueling with guns emerged from the ashes. One key point that Cecilia Morgan made in her writing “In Search of the Phantom Misnamed Honour’: Dueling in Upper Canada”, is that dueling with pistols was adapted because it allowed more people to get involved (534). This was a problem however because allowing more people to accesses the sport of dueling means that less experienced people get involved which leads to more fatal accidents. Lots of fatalities did occur, like Peter Clark, John White, and John Lyon (Morgan 535-538). Dueling was especially dangerous,but people of the time believed that it was the best thing for settling their disputes and defending not only their own, but others honour.
Now defending honour is very important, but killing someone is not the best way to go about it. Dueling still exists today, but as a very popular sports. Fencing is dueling with swords and pistol dueling still occurs however with wax cartridges instead of live ammo. Both sports take protection very seriously so competitors do not get seriously hurt. I have fenced before and it was fun to do, and injuries did occur, but they were rare. I was stabbed in the throat before which disabled my speech for about a week, but the person I was versing was inexperienced and jabbed their sword instead of controlling it.
If all combatants are rightly knowledged about their sport and safety precautions are met then dueling does have a rightful place in this world. As for settling big disputes talking it out is a better way of going about it. However for dealing with someone who is constantly pestering you, challenge them to a duel. Killing someone because of a dispute is wrong, but a little friendly competition to settle things is perfectly fine.
Cecilia Morgan, “In search of the phantom misnamed honour’: Duelling in Upper Canada,” Canadian Historical Review, Vol. 76, No.4, 1995, pp.529-562.
Stephen Bown, “Pistols at Six O’clock,” Beaver, Vol. 79, No.4, Aug/Sept. 1999, p.22.
Reading Log 5:
There is quite a few things that annoy me in my house, but there is one thing in particular that absolutely frustrates me. The fact that my family calls Dallas (The Dog) a pet. I do not like the word pet, as it shows possession over the animal. I prefer to call Dallas my companion because as far as people may believe, you can not own another life.
Slavery is a terrible thing to even think about. Innocent men, women, and children being used to do labour that others are to lazy to do.The ideology that you can own one’s life is such a horrible statement. All living things are meant to be free and live life on their own terms, but unfortunately for slaves they are unable to have that dignity. Many people in the 18th and 19th centuries saw slavery as something usual. That having people work for you for little to no pay is just hard to even grasp. Did rich families really need a poor unfortunate to be tormented and worked to brokenness? NO. Slavery was an indignity to so many American-Americans/Canadians. They were innocent people who just wanted a chance to live, but nope they had to be used like tools, their only purpose to serve until death.
I am happy that people like Colonel John Graves Simcoe were smart enough to see that slavery was wrong in every way. The fact that Simcoe was fully willing to be an odd voice in the crowd, to call out that he wanted to right the wrongs that the people before him had committed. Abolish slavery was his goal. A goal that makes people proud that in times where some group is being abused, a select few will swoop to their aid.
We are all people, no one should be looked down upon, we all should work to look up into the heavens and see how to truly love each other. I am proud to be a Canadian, but slavery and indifference is the past I hate. The wrongs in history that my ancestors did not think to fix. We are all the same, but yet all unique. Slavery blocked many men, women, and children from showing their true selves. They are all our brothers and sisters, and the things we’ve done is unforgivable, but if something is truly not fully fixable, would it not be the best to bridge as much as possible?
Afua Cooper, “Acts of Resistance: Black Men and Women Engage Slavery in Upper Canada, 1793-1803,” Ontario History, Vol.99, No.1, Spring 2007, pp.5-17.
These two reading logs I think are my best because I was able to get more into them as the topics to me were more interesting. As well I contributed more in class with these because I think they are my best. Please overlook the fact I spell with “U”, spellcheck is already on my back about that.