Melissa Reddick

In my post on Day 110 I stated that I would rather be a brute warrior, big, dumb, and strong seeking Enlightenment, than to be a nerd.

Or something along those lines.

It’s true though. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, because apparently since 2020 we are not allowed to go one day without hearing about slavery in the US.

When I think of slavery in the US, one of the things I keep imagining is these huge African men and women being chained up and contained.

How many slim European men did it take to hold back one African slave?

If it was more than one, who had the real power in those situations? Really?

Also – just a reminder, people of all skin colors have been slaves throughout human history to other humans. That includes white people too, fyi. We were probably just easier to control so we didn’t need as much force to get us to submit.

When slavery was alive and well in the US, we hadn’t invented tasers yet. Whips, yes. Sharp nails and spikes? Yeah. A combination of the two? Unfortunately, and we were, at the time, choosing to use them against each other.

I wasn’t alive in a time when people owned slaves for labor in the US. They do own slaves in other parts of the world still. Slavery is still alive and well in the US in many different ways, unfortunately. Humans have not yet evolved past this…

I know the narrative on social media today IS changing to include the reality that Europeans were able to take African slaves away from an economy where they were being kidnapped, abused, bought and sold by other Africans. Europeans and Americans were able to put these servants to work in more useful and humane ways than they might have been had they not been purchased.

It’s the same as the sex trade that still happens today. Except…I don’t think those people are being treated with any dignity even if they are being “saved”.

If there wasn’t a demand, and no lack of regard for seeing humans as other people, there would be no supply. If there was no supply, and a greater deal of intellect and compassion, there would be no demand. Right? Which statement do you think is more accurate?

But ultimately my realization has been that there is greater power in being strong and stupid than there is in being wealthy, rich, and weak.

The greatest form of power comes from being all of those things at the same time.

Intelligence without arrogance, being stuck up, or nerdy (not just interested in niche subjects but an asshole because you’re *so much smarter* than everyone else and it’s all you have to cling to). Not so intelligent that you lord it over everyone else, meanwhile the men and women you are talking down to build your bridges, pave the roads that you drive your smart car over daily, make sure you have clean water, build whatever needs building while you couldn’t even carry one single stone.

I would rather be a person of great strength seeking Enlightenment than a Philosopher. If I am neither a person of great strength nor a Philosopher, then I would rather be on the road that leads to Enlightenment and great physical strength.

At the end of the day, who is running the streets of cities like Philadelphia and New York? Is it the nerds? Or are the nerds cowering in fear while the real power settles into their comfort zone daily?

And why are we okay with that? Why are we fine with making a lot of money just to hide in prison cells of our own making (aka apartments) while the strongest among us run the streets?

I used to visit South Street fairly often back in the early 2000’s. After I graduated high school, I would take the train into the city and just walk. Go shopping, eat at cool restaurants, hang out in the grungiest and seediest bars, end up in even grungier and seedy basement parties sometimes.

I have been back to South Street many times since then, but one time has stuck with me in particular. I ended up there after dark and thought “I’ll just walk around a bit. It’s a safe area.”

It’s not. Not today, not in 2026. Not when I showed up there.

Gangs on one side of the street, police on the other. That’s what was going on. Not interacting really. The police were just there to keep watch and make sure nothing happened. Like an after school program with guns. These men and women weren’t doing anything practical, they weren’t figuring out ways they could contribute to society or make it a better place. They were just hanging out. Looking for trouble. I’m surprised no one thought to bring a basketball hoop and just put it up in the middle of the street so they could play together.

I walked past where the police were huddled together, I think there were even barriers set up after a certain point in the street. I walked past them and a cop was watching me. He started following me, keeping an eye, making sure I didn’t go too far away. That’s when I turned back, went back to my car and got out of there.

None of the shops were open. It’s not like it was midnight, maybe it was 9 or 10 pm. No bars, no restaurants, everything was shuttered and shut just like in North Philly, West Philly.

Just cars, gangsters and police as far as the eye could see. It was absolute insanity. The people of Philadelphia are allowing this in 2026. The Mayor at the time had reported that he hated the city, after the people of Philadelphia threw trash at him for not letting them park their cars in the middle of the street.

Who has more power on those streets? Lil ol’ me, intellectual, ready to argue? Or someone who has been training, has experience, desire, and the will to pop a cap if need be? Or throw down just when you turn the wrong corner?

Yeah…this is what I wish the nerds of America would understand. The men, specifically. I was probably fine walking those streets because my presence didn’t automatically set off a turf war.

I don’t know why you’ve given up the land to people like this. Why you’re not working together, in 2026, to make the city something everyone can be proud of. To make the streets of Philadelphia safe for everyone except violent criminals and those who seek to harm the good people who want to walk freely and enjoy their lives today.

This is why we are losing the battle. Because money can solve a lot of problems. It can eliminate a lot of crime, if you actually use it that way. But money is not everything.