In many ways, slavery hasn’t ended—it has simply evolved into something more subtle, more insidious. We may not see chains or hear the crack of a whip, but the mental slavery that grips us today is just as damaging. This is the revelation we must face: though physical slavery has been abolished, the chains of the mind have only become harder to detect, making the struggle even more complex.
While some may argue that things have improved, it’s essential to realize that the nature of the battle has shifted. It’s no longer just about physical oppression, but the more covert forms of control we encounter every day. The deception lies in the fact that many of us don’t even realize we’re still enslaved, blinded by distractions and misinformation. It’s a sophisticated system designed to keep us docile, unaware of our mental paralysis.
As children, we are often introduced to the Bible, told to study its scriptures for guidance and strength. But even within these religious frameworks, interpretations have been manipulated to support submission. From a young age, many of us are taught to conform, to follow without questioning the deeper meanings behind what we read or hear. The mental and spiritual blindness that results from this is staggering. It’s like being paralyzed—unable to feel the pain of our predicament because we’ve been conditioned to accept our circumstances as normal.
This modern slavery is worse than physical slavery in many ways. Physical chains can be seen and felt, but the chains on our minds are invisible. The illusion of freedom is perhaps the most dangerous aspect of all. Legally, we can no longer be whipped or lynched in public squares. The brutality has shifted from the physical to the psychological. The legal systems that once allowed physical violence have now transformed into systems of economic, social, and mental oppression. And because we don’t feel physical pain, many of us fail to recognize the suffering we endure.
The trick of modern slavery lies in its subtlety. Like a person paralyzed from the neck down, we may not feel the pain of our current condition. The laws might protect us from overt brutality, but they do nothing to free our minds. Police brutality, for instance, still exists, but the legal apparatus ensures it remains sporadic and framed as an exception rather than the rule. Yet, this does not mean we are free—it simply means the methods of control have changed.
Those of us who are awake to this reality can feel the pain in ways others cannot. We see the atrocities and feel the weight of the deception because we are conscious of it. Those who remain asleep in this system may look at us with confusion, even contempt. They question why we cry out, why we resist, when everything seems ‘fine’ on the surface. They’ve been blinded to the realities that people like us, people like Irritated Genie or myself (LanceScurv), try to reveal.
Heroes and villains are a matter of perspective. Every system has its so-called champions, but often, these “heroes” are deeply flawed. The United States, for example, celebrates presidents like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln—men who owned slaves or were complicit in the system of slavery in one way or another. These individuals are glorified in history books, their faces are on our money, and their legacy is immortalized. Yet, for Black Americans, these men represent the brutal system that enslaved and oppressed us.
The painful truth is that we are still slaves, just paralyzed to the point where many of us don’t even recognize it. Our paralysis is both mental and emotional, keeping us from fully understanding the extent of the damage done to us. We think we’re free because we don’t feel the whip on our backs, but the slavery persists in our inability to see beyond the illusions placed before us.
Today, those who speak out against this mental slavery are often seen as radicals, extremists, or even terrorists. Take figures like Irritated Genie, who teaches self-defense and the importance of mental liberation. The system labels people like him as dangerous, not because they are violent, but because they threaten the status quo. It’s the same principle that applies to history—one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.
Those who owned slaves or perpetuated the system of slavery are celebrated as heroes by some, but for Black people, they represent the face of our ongoing oppression. And now, the battle is against the invisible chains—against the systems that keep us mentally shackled without us even realizing it.
This mental slavery is designed to keep us dependent, to make us feel like we can’t survive without the very system that oppresses us. It’s a form of Stockholm syndrome, where we defend and protect our captors because we’ve been conditioned to see them as our only option. We don’t want to be slaves, but many of us don’t realize we’re still wearing the chains.
It’s time for us to wake up. Those who are awake can no longer afford to be silent. We must break free from the mental paralysis that keeps us from recognizing our true condition. The platforms that give voice to this truth, like mine and others, must be supported. We can’t do it alone. It’s time to take action, to stand together and recognize that not everyone with Black skin is on our side. Some, even within our own race, are instruments of the system designed to keep us enslaved.
We must reject the overseers, the gatekeepers who prevent our liberation. The time for complacency is over. We must break the mental chains and rise above the systems that continue to oppress us.
Slavery may have changed its form, but it is no less real today than it was centuries ago. The chains of the mind are the hardest to break, but with awareness and unity, we can free ourselves once and for all.
