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Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Outcasts

Happy Tuesday Block 2,
   You might read the title of my blog and think I am going to talk about outcasts and how they don't socially or economically fit into the world because that is not true. I am going to talk about my book that my mom and I recently started called In the Sanctuary of Outcasts. This book is a well written book by the man himself, Mr. Neil White. He himself is not a social outcast, but when he goes to prison for writing fraud bank checks the types of people he shares the prison "grounds" with is unreal. You would think in Louisiana that a penitentiary would be a wired in, dead grass area where not a soul smiles. According to Mr. White that is wrong. He roams mostly in the prison commons while on the other side of the yard is leopards. Not the animal leopards but people who have leprosy. Back then leprosy was a disease everyone was afraid of getting and anyone who had leprosy was considered harmful and gross, and sometimes had to change there name and get disinherited by there own family members. I don't know about you but if my family did that to me I would defiantly be heartbroken.
   I have a point to my blog, I promise! I am trying to get across to you, as a reader, that just because somebody has a skin disorder, mental disorder, or something that affects the way they grow up, you shouldn't bring them down. This relates back to my book because in my book Neil shows up at this penitentiary ready to serve his one year and get out. Little did he know that he he would be sharing air with leopards and that he would soon become friends with some, even though they were "dangerous" and there disease spread and could kill you. I think Neil did the right thing because those people with disorders are humans just like us and have feelings just like us. If we have friends, family, and a life why can't they?

Thank y'all and have a good rest of the week
LOVE, ksparkles77

<Reading Log>
January 15, 2012: 94 minutes, 50 pages
January 16, 2012: 62 minutes, 34 pages

2 comments:

  1. Katie this sounds like a really interesting book! Maybe once I get through my long list of books to read, I'll check it out. I really like your point about treating people with diseases just like everybody else. I completely agree!
    P.s. I thought people with leprosy were called lepers? I'm not sure though.

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  2. Katie, it does sound like an interesting book. I've been to the National Hansen's Disease center in Louisiana, and it's a fascinating place. Actually, I made a zine about it. Terri's right that the word is "lepers" and not "leopards," but actually the language has changed because there is so much negativity associated with the words "leprosy" and "leper." So the accepted term now is "Hansen's Disease" and "people with Hansen's Disease."

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