Frederick Douglass
This is a partial tale of a personal hero of mine, Frederick Douglass. He was born a slave in Maryland around February either in 1817 or 1818.
I first became aware of his greatness when I read the letter he wrote to his “owner”. It should be required reading. To me it is every bit as powerful and impressive as The Declaration of Independence. If you’ve never read it, please do.
I am not going to do a full synopsis of his life, to get that you should read his books, they are as well written as the letter. I would recommend this one to start. These are a few of the things that made an impression on me from what I have read.
He was born into slavery and never really knew his mother. She worked on a different farm and walked 12 miles each way in the night just to lay down with him a few times. This journey had to be made after a full day in the fields and then she had to be back at her home farm before the overseer would wake the slaves. He says this separation was done intentionally to destroy the mother-child bond. It worked, when she died and he was seven, it affected him “with much the same emotions I should probably felt at the death of a stranger”.
When he was seven or eight he was sent to Baltimore to serve his owner’s brother in law’s family. He was amazed to see his new mistress Sophia smiling when she met him. Her heart was kind, but would be hardened by being a slave owner. She taught him a little reading and how to spell some three letter words. When her husband found out, he was very upset. “If you give a nigger an inch, he will take an ell.* A nigger should know nothing but to obey his master–to do as he is told to do. Learning would ~spoil~ the best nigger in the world. Now, if you teach that nigger (speaking of Frederick) how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave. He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his master. As to himself, it could do him no good, but a great deal of harm. It would make him discontented and unhappy.”
* an ell is a measurement of about 18 inches
Hearing this impressed upon Frederick a stronger desire to read, but after her husband’s rebuke, Sophia became very careful about making sure Frederick wasn’t reading. To circumvent this, he would take bread from the house and bribe poor white kids into helping him. Sometimes he would challenge them as to who could write more words and learned that way. He also took Sophia’s child’s copy book and traced over the letters young Thomas had written in them.
Learning to read was a blessing, it opened new worlds and he read arguments that slavery was wrong (something he knew in his soul, but lacked the words to articulate) and how the slavers tried to justify it. It was a double edged sword, because it did make him hate his station in life and he had many moments of wishing he was as dumb as a beast.
When he was fourteen or fifteen, he was sent back to field work and had many run ins with his master. After several whippings that served no good purpose in changing his disposition, he was sent away to Mr. Covey, a farmer with a reputation for breaking slaves. After six months of working as long as there was light and being beaten constantly, Frederick admits he was broken.
His turning point came one day when Mr. Covey tried to beat him and Frederick snapped and fought back, he says they had an almost two hour struggle. After this Frederick says he was never whipped again. He believes this is because Mr. Covey would lose his reputation and the income that came from it if was learned that Frederick had fought him to a standstill.
This experience reignited his desire to be free and he vowed to himself that at the earliest opportunity, he would escape.
I am only halfway through and there is still a lot of his story to come. I will make a second part and submit it next week.
One of those people I know _of_ but know very little about.
I shall rectify that.
This, I even did a perfunctory report on him way back in middle school, but didn’t retain a thing about him.
Fun Fact- Douglas was an NFL player and the letter is to the Team Owner.
Great first half! I can see I’m going to have to add his books to my reading list.
Agreed as to the Letter. Very powerful stuff.
It is truly amazing that some are able to conquer life’s trials as F. Douglas did, while others today let opportunities slip away.
And others spend all their time and energy blaming everyone else for their problems.
That’s why he’s one of my heroes.
A good reminder to all of us, Ron, thanks
Glad you liked it.
“When he was fourteen or fifteen, he was sent back to field work and had many run ins with his master. After several whippings that served no good purpose in changing his disposition, he was sent away to Mr. Covey, a farmer with a reputation for breaking slaves. After six months of working as long as there was light and being beaten constantly, Frederick admits he was broken.”
This is why I find the concept of microaggressions the biggest crock of shit ever invented. Here’s a man who went through the atrocities of being a slave and but yet he refused to be a victim of his circumstance despite overwhelming and impossible odds. Black Lives Matter is an abomination that shits on the achievements of those like Douglas.
His strength is amazing, I work at it, but he was on a different level.
Thanks Ron.
What was interesting is that Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave seemed to still retain a copyright. For example the Amazon link is $5. A quick search didn’t turn up any public sources, but I did find one at the Library of Congress.
https://lccn.loc.gov/82225385
There is no chance that is still under copyright. Not unless some special law were passed for just that book.
I agree. However, it took a few minutes to find a PDF of the book which usually doesn’t happen for historically important works.
Gutenberg Project
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23
Douglass belongs on U.S. currency. Get rid of Andy Jackson.
There is a clause where, in order to remove Jackson from the twenty, someone would have to defeat his revenant in a duel. Do you want to go up against Undead Hickory?
You’d just need the proper combination of magic items: a set of paired gauntlets and walking stick of Revenant Throttling and Thrashing.
How tall are you? We need to put in an order for your coffin.
Read a story from when Jackson was a constable or something, a large man was causing a ruckus and several cops were yelling at him to stop or they would shoot him.
He ignored them until Jackson showed up, then he surrendered.
When asked why he gave up to Jackson, he replied “Everyone said they were going to shoot me, but he actually meant it.”
Andy can replace FDR, turn on a dime, so to speak
Progressives love quoting Douglass’ “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July” but never quote Douglass’ letter to his “owner”. I don’t wonder why.
Nice work Ron!
Even that, they take out of context, he was specifically talking about slaves, not blacks in general.*
* I could be wrong, it’s been years since I read that one.
It’s also been a while for me too. I also don’t remember if he referred to just slaves or blacks in general.
But knowing the Progressives I knew, it wouldn’t matter. They can use it as a tool, possibly warped and misinterpreted, to bash something they don’t like.
Sad but true.
Bet they don’t quote the part about how to interpret the Constitution.
And they never quote this either: “A man’s rights rest in three boxes. The ballot box, the jury box and the cartridge box.”
Wow, what a letter.
Thanks, Ron! I need to read more from him.
That letter was the first thing I read of his.
I was blown away by it and started reading his books.
DEI training said that you have to see your own color to have a hero or mentor, but I think Frederick would disagree.
Very telling the difference in that he calls on those who have offended to repent, whereas the modern call is to submit (since there is no redemptive grace for them to be admitted to).
Yes
Our modern activists track more closely to Nathaniel Turner.
Fredrick Douglas never smiled in pictures??
So he was Metal before metal was even a thing?
?
Because of the exposure time required for photographs during the time he was around, it was too difficult for those positn to hold anything but a neutral expression. So you did not see smiles until faster photographic methods were developed.
Yep.
I was just playing off the blurb on the home page.
I wish I could look as good in pictures as Fredrick Douglas.
It’s the boss hair.
Elie Mystal is not worthy of the hairstyle.
I read the “happy slave” story somewhere, but your explanation makes more sense.
I suspect both are right.
Thanks, Ron.
Very well done.
Thank you
Ukraine mall goes splat.
False Flag. Propaganda. Victoria Nuland. Azov. CIA. Reformed Russian Military. Near Abroad is Historical Russia. Denazification.
Did I miss any?
Of course you did.
TRUMP!!!
PISS HOOKERS!
/The Hat
I can only read that in a certain cartoonist’s lisping voice.
Same here.
Any people in the building at the time?
https://kyivindependent.com/national/at-least-8-killed-by-russian-missile-attack-on-kyiv-shopping-mall-photos/
Probably a wedding party. These things happen.
There is an image in one of the replies that shows a parking structure attached to the mall was being used to house Ukraine military vehicles. Can’t confirm if it’s valid or not.
I wonder why they didn’t zap the parking structure, then.
They did. Everything was taken out.
If vehicles are being housed in the parking structure, it’s likely there are least some supplies and defenders within the mall itself. Seems odd to not take both out at the same time.
Got it. Watching the clip again, the missile hit right at the juncture of the mall and the parking garage.
You missed, “Fuck around and find out. This is the Ukraine finding out.”
Not our circus. Not our monkeys.
That’s the most sensible attitude.
I can still sympathize with the folks being attacked and mock the apologists for the aggressor.
None of that means I want us fighting.
None of that means I find much trustworthy coming out.
fair enough
I have plenty of sympathy for the suffering Ukrainians and Russians. Of course we won’t fight. We just set things up so other people fight.
That’s pretty much where I stand.
Last I read Ukraine claims to have killed 11k Russians, the US “estimates” in the WSJ said up to 7,000.
No idea what the Ukraine totals are. It’s all just a tragic waste.
I can still sympathize with the folks being attacked and mock the apologists for the aggressor.
I respect that. I honestly do. But, I don’t think concluding that the U.S. government set this fight up is apologizing for the aggressor. Saner heads warned about this years ago. The realists told us, for years, “Work this out. Get a mutually acceptable resolution.” Our government, and the Ukrainian government by extension, just couldn’t accept that. There were reasonable accommodations that were possible. And the Russians seemed open to them. It was our government and the Ukrainians who went on with the whole “No, the only acceptable settlement is Ukraine with pre-2014 borders in Western orbit!” line. That was something the Russians were never going to accept. Again, this is something that our own experts had told us for years.
How many Bolshoi ballerinas are they paying you to be a Russian apologist?
/asking for a friend
I got a Ukrainian slave girl and I can trade her in after 6 months. I think I’ll keep her. She’s very nice and is a good cook.
* notes that Homple is alpha AF – my wife would kill me for talking about her like that *
Wait…you get paid in ballerinas?!
That’s pretty balla.
Thanks, Ron. Men like this do not come around very often. Inspiring, to say the least.
You’re welcome.
I think it is more proof of the “Hard times create strong men” theory.
On topic: Fredrick Douglass vs. Thomas Jefferson Some NSFW language
Love ERB.
(Epic Rap Battles of History)
Douglass pretty much destroyed Jefferson in this one.
Just as Gandhi used British principles to defeat the British empire.
My goodness. I have never read his writing before. The letter make me want to read his memoir. I only knew the “facts” and dates taught in HS.
If you liked the letter, read his books.
George Washington Carver is another. My dad was a history buff, so I had the fortune to learn about these great men.
George Washington Carver I learned about in junior high. Never heard about Frederick Douglass.
Definitely learned more about Carver than Douglass.
It wasn’t part of the formal class materials. I had a biology teacher that had selection of books on his desk that you could read for extra credit. I read GWCs biography. Which is kind of funny, because the teacher was openly racist (Chattanooga TN circa 1971).
Peanuts are slightly less threatening than abolitionists.
We learned more about Douglass since he spent much of his life in my hometown.
We learned about Sojourner Truth instead.
This was the days before MLK Day was a thing, so we even had a floating winter holiday called “Sojourner Truth Day” which I presume now was put in district calendar to appease some black activist who whined about something. The excuse for it being a floating day was that Sojourner Truth being born a slave, nobody knows when she was really born. (Seriously.)
Friend of mine did a bio of GWC.
I don’t remember learning much about him either.
I know he’s never mentioned during African-American month, but Oprah Winfrey is.
Ditto Robert Williams; his full-throated advocacy of armed self-defense (and chasing off Klan raids with the skills he learned as a WWII Marine) eventually saw the FBI framing him for kidnapping. Check out his book Negroes With Guns.
Good read, Ron. Can’t wait for Pert 2. I’m trying to read his letter, but WORK keeps getting in the way.
Is that what shampoo he used for the glorious hair?
Thanks, guess I’ll have to get off my ass and type it up.
Either that or what Q will be linking to!
… true.
Gee, his hair smelled terrific.
Douglass would be an interesting battleground in the “nature vs nurture” wars.
AoS has an art thread every morning.
This one really works.
I disagree with his take.
I think microdosing might actually make her self aware.
Regardless, this is scary.
I have no clue what she’s trying to communicate.
https://twitter.com/sparkyandtaz/status/1503210559898066954
LOL!
Well done.
Really excellent.
hahahaha
Traffic court was fun. Not.
Remind me not to bother fighting automated ticketing systems again unless I know I have an absolute out.
But I did find out one way to get out of those. Register your vehicle in two names. They can’t ticket two people for the same offense.
Yes, but you did a public service. OTH, one of your customers is probably doing this…
https://www.reddit.com/r/ThatLookedExpensive/comments/tbnosa/oh_my_damn/
Nope nope nope nope……
And that guy walking back over while those chains are whipping around…. nope…
Yes, Mr. Greenshirt must be the chief rigger.
Im sorry. It was “naggers”.
I thought that as I wrote that!
Meh…we need everyone who has gotten a ticket to fight it otherwise the outcome isn’t good. Flooding a courtroom with 100-200 of these a day will eventually get a judge to say enough.
The pisser is that if you just pay the fine, you get no points.
If you take it to court, you get points on your license.
Yet another case of drugs falling out of someone’s ass?
Police: Florida man found with drugs after getting stuck in port-a-potty
ES’s new Glock?
Mildly NSFW.
When I have to click two gatekeeping questions about age/nsfw I expect NSFW content.
I don’t know what’s more offensive, the idea that I would own that Glock, or the idea that I would own a Glock in general…
(nudges Glock 48 farther back in the safe)
Weren’t you shopping for a 34 not long ago?
I’m into something…darker, now.
Really, I bought a Staccato C2 and liked it so much that I’m standardizing on the platform. All my other non-game guns are going on VAGunTrader.
Good comment
What’s the point? Nobody can see it, because you have to hold a Glock sideways.
I always love this bit J-School writing style.
The important thing is to capture the details so that it reads like you were there.
Can Eric Adams Cheerlead New Yorkers Past the Pandemic?
Answer – No.
I think they learned that from Brit tabloids where they go into detail over what anyone is/was wearing.
Was the wine vegan?
If something grows from soil that has been fertilized by manurer does it still qualify as vegan?
Depends if the finining process used egg whites.
Given this crew, probably…
Many insects were killed during harvesting, some of which ended up in the crusher
This is the clown who has instituted “Vegan Fridays” in schools.
Why does every miniature tyrant insist on shoving their lifestyle down our throats?
I’m guessing the myth that people are too chicken to return to the office is still being promoted. While I suppose there is some of that, there is also the fact that many of us are sick and damn tired of the theater that still persists. For example, I will not return to the office while Biden makes me hide my face for two or three hours of commuting.
The commute was always the crappiest part of the day. The mask just turns it up to “11”.
It was better when I didn’t have to take two trains and a long walk thru the WTC.
Now, I just wanna keep WFH. I have no reason go in there. It saves so much time and money.
“This is the clown who has instituted “Vegan Fridays” in schools.”
I know I’m far too late, but I cannot leave a thread with this unsaid.
You know who else was vegetarian?
Thanks for the article and the link to the letter.
I love the fact that even though the main thrust of his letter to the “owner” is dead serious, he takes time and ink for the occasional mock:
“ I know you to be a man of some intelligence, and can readily determine the precise estimate which I entertain of your character.”
ZING!
Ain’t no insult like a high-brow insult.
That had to sting.