Hi @jeffreymartin. It's a somber story that reflects in a way numerous elements that are still practiced and felt today.
1.Appearance of not being prejudiced in front of others. Just as today, the outside appearances of discrimination doesn't match what's heartfelt. Hence, talked amongst each other as dinner discussions, but act civil in public. That how kids learn.
2.Discrimination. When Douglass was "rented" out, I believe, he worked alongside caucasians who feared the loss of their jobs if slaves knew as much as they did and were elevated. They quickly realized they needed to keep them from the workforce. Beginnings of modern thinking to ensure inequality. This covers a host of other suppression tactics today.
I would propose that there are better things than those two in the book, but I did mention the holidays, political parties, and religion in one line. And, I don't read it as a somber story. Those two points aren't particularly pertinent to the division between slaves and free people, especially from the perspective of taking individual action from the enslaved position. Two faced people, especially politicians, and various forms of preference and discrimination are always ongoing battles in all societies. A society that supports universal individual rights is of course the answer to both of those, and that's the ideal that the United States brought into the world, but it's a long and hard fight.
Tackling those unsolvable existential inherent human problems is something I do at times, but it's often best to separate the two approaches to avoid causing pointless frustration. I've been trying to move toward the actionable stuff in general too.
I agree. Do you
Think there is anything that
Should be in this list?
- jeffreymartin
I'm a bot. I detect haiku.
Hi @jeffreymartin. It's a somber story that reflects in a way numerous elements that are still practiced and felt today.
1.Appearance of not being prejudiced in front of others. Just as today, the outside appearances of discrimination doesn't match what's heartfelt. Hence, talked amongst each other as dinner discussions, but act civil in public. That how kids learn.
2.Discrimination. When Douglass was "rented" out, I believe, he worked alongside caucasians who feared the loss of their jobs if slaves knew as much as they did and were elevated. They quickly realized they needed to keep them from the workforce. Beginnings of modern thinking to ensure inequality. This covers a host of other suppression tactics today.
Thanks for your engagement.
I would propose that there are better things than those two in the book, but I did mention the holidays, political parties, and religion in one line. And, I don't read it as a somber story. Those two points aren't particularly pertinent to the division between slaves and free people, especially from the perspective of taking individual action from the enslaved position. Two faced people, especially politicians, and various forms of preference and discrimination are always ongoing battles in all societies. A society that supports universal individual rights is of course the answer to both of those, and that's the ideal that the United States brought into the world, but it's a long and hard fight.
I see the point you are making from the writer's perspective of taking individual action.
Tackling those unsolvable existential inherent human problems is something I do at times, but it's often best to separate the two approaches to avoid causing pointless frustration. I've been trying to move toward the actionable stuff in general too.