African- American History Month : Nate Love

Mounted on my favorite horse, my ... lariat near my hand, and my trusty guns in my belt ... I felt I could defy the world. -- Nat Love in The Life and Adventures of Nat Love, 1907 Born in June, 1854 as a slave on Robert Love’s plantation in Davidson County Tennessee, Nat (pronounced Nate) Love would grow up to be one of the most famous cowboys in the Old West. Raised in a log cabin, Nat’s father had become a slave foreman on the plantation and his mother worked in the kitchen of the "big house.” He was looked after primarily by an older sister when he was young, but she, like her mother, had duties in the kitchen so Nat primarily looked after himself. Though he had no formal education, with help from his father, he learned to read and write. After the Civil War, when the slaves were freed, Nat’s father worked a small farm that he rented from his former master, Robert Love. But, freedom was to be short-lived for the former slave, as he died just a few years later. Nat Love, also known as "Deadwood Dick." This image available for photographic prints and  downloads HERE!   Nat then took various jobs on area plantations to help support the family and found that he had great skill in breaking horses. In 1869, Love left his family in an uncle's care and headed west with $50 in his pocket. When he reached Dodge City, Kansas he ran into the crew of the Texas Duval Ranch. Having just brought a herd to the Kansas railhead, the cowboys were having breakfast when Nat joined them. The young man soon approached the trail boss asking for a job. The boss agreed that Nat could join them if he could break a horse named Good Eye. The wildest horse in the outfit, Nat would later say it was the toughest ride he’d ever had. But ride he did and got the job with the Duval Ranch at $30 a month. The 16 year-old quickly adapted to the life of a cowboy, showing excellent skills as a ranch hand and practiced so often with a .45 revolver that his shooting skills also became very good. Earning a reputation as one of the best all-around cowboys in the Duval outfit, he soon became a buyer and their chief brand reader. In this capacity, he was sent to Mexico on several occasion and soon learned to speak fluent Spanish. After three years with the Duval Outfit, Love moved on to Arizona in 1872, where he went to work for the Gallinger Ranch on the Gila River. There he traveled many of the major western trails, sometimes working in dangerous situations in Indian battles and fighting off rustlers and bandits. During these years as an Arizona cowboy, Nat was referred to as Red River Dick and claimed to have met many of famous men of the West including Pat Garrett, Bat Masterson and Billy the Kid. In the spring of 1876, the Gallinger cowboys were sent to deliver a herd of three thousand steers to Deadwood, South Dakota. When the crew arrived on July 3rd, the locals were busy preparing for a 4th of July celebration. One of the many organized events included a "cowboy” contest with a $200 cash prize to the winner. The contestants competed in roping bridling, saddling, and shooting. Winning every competition, hands down, Nat walked away with the $200 prize and the nickname of "Deadwood Dick."

Nat continued to work as a cowboy in the southwest for another 15 years before he began to settle down and got married in 1889.The next year he took a job in Denver,Colorado as a Pullman porter on the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad. As such, he worked on the routes west of Denver and moved his family several times to Wyoming,Utah and Nevada before finally settling down in southern California. In 1907, Nat Love published his autobiography, The Life and Adventures of Nat Love, Better Known in the Cattle Country as "Deadwood Dick," a tale that tended to take on the epic proportions more noted in the many "dime novels” of the time.  Though he boasts in the book that everything actually happened, there is very little external verification, such as those famous western men that Love allegedly met. In other cases, there are no records for the cattlemen that he said he worked with and for. As to what portion of the book is fact, and what is fiction will never be known; however, that didn’t stop the American public, hungry for tales of the west, from avidly reading the book. Love’s last job was working as a courier for the General Securities Company in Los Angeles, California. Credit for this article goes to http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-natlove.html

Kesha, Rape culture, and victim blaming.

If you pay attention to celebrity news, you have probably heard the story about Kesha. If you haven't basically what happened is that Kesha was raped by Dr. Luke. She went to court to breach her contract, so she didn't have to work with her repeat abuser. Her case was denied. What happened to Kesha is bigger than her and her case. It is something that has happened to many girls. They get blamed for being raped. This is caused by the rape culture.

What is rape culture? Is it this mystical thing created by man hating feminists? Or is it real? It is real. Rape culture is the part of our culture that blames victims and affirms rapists. When a woman is raped they hear things like; Why didn't you speak up earlier? What were you wearing? You were drunk. She was asking for it. She should've worn a longer dress. Men can't help it. Or male rape victims hear; Why didn't you fight back? Men can't get raped especially not by women. You are a wuss.  These things make victims stay quiet. Who wants to face these accusations and justifications of what happened to them. In the end, rape culture promotes victim blaming. This leads to victims staying quiet. It is incredibly hard to fight all of that. You have to be very brave.

What can you do to support these silenced victims? You really never know who has been sexually abused or not. But what you can do is be a safe person to talk to. Be open about your struggles. Don't judge others or make rape jokes. You are only shaming victims and uplifting rapists. Try to love and show that you care and are not going to judge. Be understanding. Know that if a victim waits years to come out and tell others. It is because it is extremely hard to do so. And the best thing to do if you are ready is to BREAK YOUR OWN SILENCE! If you aren't ready just be try to understand yourself, and eventually you will be. 

The story of Kesha and her abuse has open up a new way of talking about rape culture and victim blaming. It is not something that just happens to girls who get drunk and get raped. It effects all victims and rape is NEVER someone's fault. We need to show our support and not promote rapists, victim blaming, and rape culture.

I AM FAT!

I am fat! Yes, I said it, "I am fat." I weigh more than the BMI tells me I am allowed to weigh. It makes me fat. I also love writing, I am reader, student, debater, speaker, and so much more than just fat. I am beautiful and I believe it. I didn't believe I was beautiful when I was smaller. It took me to be at my heaviest and my fittest in order to realize that simple fact. I am beautiful. 

The number on the scale is not going to make you happy. You have to choose to be truly happy with yourself. Good grades are not going to make you happy. You have to choose to be happy with the bad grades. That doesn't mean you don't strive for more. When you choose to be happy, you don't let circumstances control you. That is an ultimate victory. I choose to be happy with my body despite the dark marks that are speckled all over my skin, because of eczema. Despite the way my legs jiggle when I walk. Despite the fact I am single. I choose to be happy where I am. I can say I am fat with full confidence that I am also beautiful. One does not negate the other. So what I encourage you to do is be happy where you are. Love yourself. Project that love to the world. 

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.