The Nonlinear Library EA - Celebrating Benjamin Lay (died on this day 265 years ago) by Lizka
Feb 8, 2024
22:51
Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Celebrating Benjamin Lay (died on this day 265 years ago), published by Lizka on February 8, 2024 on The Effective Altruism Forum.
Quaker abolitionist
Benjamin Lay died exactly 265 years ago today (on February 8, 1759). I'm using the anniversary of his death to reflect on his life and invite you to join me by sharing your thoughts sometime this week.
Lay was a radical anti-slavery advocate and an important figure in the
Quaker abolitionist movement. He's been described as a moral weirdo; besides viewing slavery as a great sin, he opposed the death penalty, was vegetarian, believed that men and women were equal in the eyes of God, and more. He didn't hide his views and was known for his "guerrilla theater" protests, which included splashing fake blood on slave-owners and forcing people to step over him as they exited a meeting. Expulsion from various communities, ridicule for his beliefs or appearance (he had dwarfism), and the offended sensibilities of those around him didn't seem to seriously slow him down.
Consider sharing your thoughts this week (February 8-15)!
You could share a post, a
Quick Take, or simply comment here. (If you post something, you could also link to this post and invite readers to share their own thoughts.[1])
Here are a few discussion prompts, in case they help (feel free to write about whatever comes to mind, though!):
How can we develop the courage to be "
morally weird"?
How can we avoid missing potential
ongoing moral catastrophes (or get more moral clarity)?
When are disruptive approaches to moral change or advocacy more useful than "polite" or collaborative ones? (When are they less useful?)
In the rest of this post, I share a brief overview of Benjamin Lay's famous protests , life and partnership with Sarah Lay (a respected Quaker minister and fellow abolitionist) , and how their work fits into the broader history of slavery .
I should flag that I'm no expert in Lay's life or work - just compiling info from ~a day of reading.
Protests against slavery: shocking people into awareness
"Over the course of the twenty-seven years that he lived in Pennsylvania, Lay harangued the Philadelphia Quakers about the horrors of slavery at every opportunity, and he did so in dramatic style."
Will MacAskill in Chapter Three of
What We Owe the Future
Lay's famous protests illustrate his "dramatic style" (and how little he cared about the opinion of others). Here are some examples:
1738: At the biggest event of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, Lay showed up in a great coat and waited his turn to speak. When the time came, Lay rose and announced in a "booming" voice: "Oh all you Negro masters who are contentedly holding your fellow creatures in a state of slavery, . . .
you might as well throw off the plain coat as I do." He then threw off his coat, revealing that he was dressed in a military uniform and holding a sword and a book: "It would be as justifiable in the sight of the Almighty, who beholds and respects all nations and colours of men with an equal regard, if you should thrust a sword through their hearts as I do through this book!" When Lay plunged his sword through the book, it started gushing red liquid.
In preparation for the event, Lay had hollowed out the book and inserted an animal bladder filled with bright red pokeberry juice. As he finished speaking, he splattered the fake blood on the slave owners present.
Smithsonian and
WWOTF)
One Sunday morning he stood at a gateway to the Quaker meetinghouse, knowing all Friends would pass his way. He left "his right leg and foot entirely uncovered" and thrust them into the snow. Like the ancient philosopher Diogenes, who also trod barefoot in snow, he again sought to shock his contemporaries into awareness. One Quaker after another took notice and urged him not to expose himself to the freezing col...
Quaker abolitionist
Benjamin Lay died exactly 265 years ago today (on February 8, 1759). I'm using the anniversary of his death to reflect on his life and invite you to join me by sharing your thoughts sometime this week.
Lay was a radical anti-slavery advocate and an important figure in the
Quaker abolitionist movement. He's been described as a moral weirdo; besides viewing slavery as a great sin, he opposed the death penalty, was vegetarian, believed that men and women were equal in the eyes of God, and more. He didn't hide his views and was known for his "guerrilla theater" protests, which included splashing fake blood on slave-owners and forcing people to step over him as they exited a meeting. Expulsion from various communities, ridicule for his beliefs or appearance (he had dwarfism), and the offended sensibilities of those around him didn't seem to seriously slow him down.
Consider sharing your thoughts this week (February 8-15)!
You could share a post, a
Quick Take, or simply comment here. (If you post something, you could also link to this post and invite readers to share their own thoughts.[1])
Here are a few discussion prompts, in case they help (feel free to write about whatever comes to mind, though!):
How can we develop the courage to be "
morally weird"?
How can we avoid missing potential
ongoing moral catastrophes (or get more moral clarity)?
When are disruptive approaches to moral change or advocacy more useful than "polite" or collaborative ones? (When are they less useful?)
In the rest of this post, I share a brief overview of Benjamin Lay's famous protests , life and partnership with Sarah Lay (a respected Quaker minister and fellow abolitionist) , and how their work fits into the broader history of slavery .
I should flag that I'm no expert in Lay's life or work - just compiling info from ~a day of reading.
Protests against slavery: shocking people into awareness
"Over the course of the twenty-seven years that he lived in Pennsylvania, Lay harangued the Philadelphia Quakers about the horrors of slavery at every opportunity, and he did so in dramatic style."
Will MacAskill in Chapter Three of
What We Owe the Future
Lay's famous protests illustrate his "dramatic style" (and how little he cared about the opinion of others). Here are some examples:
1738: At the biggest event of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, Lay showed up in a great coat and waited his turn to speak. When the time came, Lay rose and announced in a "booming" voice: "Oh all you Negro masters who are contentedly holding your fellow creatures in a state of slavery, . . .
you might as well throw off the plain coat as I do." He then threw off his coat, revealing that he was dressed in a military uniform and holding a sword and a book: "It would be as justifiable in the sight of the Almighty, who beholds and respects all nations and colours of men with an equal regard, if you should thrust a sword through their hearts as I do through this book!" When Lay plunged his sword through the book, it started gushing red liquid.
In preparation for the event, Lay had hollowed out the book and inserted an animal bladder filled with bright red pokeberry juice. As he finished speaking, he splattered the fake blood on the slave owners present.
Smithsonian and
WWOTF)
One Sunday morning he stood at a gateway to the Quaker meetinghouse, knowing all Friends would pass his way. He left "his right leg and foot entirely uncovered" and thrust them into the snow. Like the ancient philosopher Diogenes, who also trod barefoot in snow, he again sought to shock his contemporaries into awareness. One Quaker after another took notice and urged him not to expose himself to the freezing col...