Comments on: Why the Slaves Fled

By: Kato

Kato — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 19:56:19 +0000

I have to admit I was drawn by this most grotesque photo as for the first time I saw a name and could know his story…
what struck me about Col. Butler’s comment is it betrays a level racism that is implicit and may be a clue as to what attitudes are extant even among those on the side of “emancipation” as it were. What I mean is, I would have thought they were already masters of manual labor and equal to any task after a lifetime of toil and hard graft. If it was Olympic weight lifting how would the Marines do against the champions?
It seems that in the mind of the Col. we see the essence of the idea that, ‘blacks have to work at least twice as hard to be seen as equal to whites’ whatever the truth of that phrase we have all heard it somewhere. Granted the good Col may have preconceptions based on observations of depressed and emaciated slaves doing as little as they can except to avoid the lash and obviously “John Brown” was nowhere to be seen.
That it must be the idea of emancipation that makes them almost as good at digging than white soldiers is nowhere near as generous of spirit an ‘observation’ in the circumstances as Id like. Maybe it is a clue as to why there was the need for Mr X & Dr King more than a hundred years later…

By: Donald R. Shaffer

Donald R. Shaffer — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 16:48:47 +0000

Hi Alisea. You make a valid point. I wanted make my point powerfully and therefore the use of the photo was appropriate. Slavery was a cruel system and the photo makes that point well. I certainly didn’t use it gratuitously.

By: alisea mcleod

alisea mcleod — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 16:35:01 +0000

Good post, but I have to admit to being completely disturbed by the often circulated photograph of the wounded slave. Within this rhetorical context and given your message, I would not say that the photo is inappropriate. However, I could not look at it and therefore couldn’t concentrate as I would like to have on your words.

By: Donald R. Shaffer

Donald R. Shaffer — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 22:12:06 +0000

Hi Jean. Glad you like my post and I hope you like my book as well.

By: Jean Libby

Jean Libby — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 19:32:26 +0000

This is the best article about the Civil War that I have seen in the whole 150th whizbang.

I am eager to read your books and to communicate my small findings about Black Civil War Veterans.