According to Douglass, on his White Slave Master:
In the Narrative of Frederick Douglass, there are several points relative to his encounters with his white slave masters. It is important to note that in bridging the past (male slave) to today’s (males killed by white police officers) gives rise to the mentality of the white slave master “then” and the encounters of black males “now”.
There are several times in the Autobiography of Frederick Douglass where he tells of how he and other slaves were treated. One comment he made (speaking of his white superior) was “Mr. Gore – overseer “when he whipped, he seemed to do so from a sense of duty, and feared no consequences.13 Connecting this statement in today’s society, many police officers fear no consequences for their actions because the laws protect them from prosecution.
Douglass goes on to share the details of an incident that his white slave overseer, Mr. Gore, was involved in. There was a slave that tried to get away and Mr. Gore shot the man. The reason why Mr. Gore shot the slave…”he said he did it because the slave had become unmanageable. He was setting a dangerous example to the other slaves, one which if suffered to pass without demonstration on his [Mr. Gore’s] part, would finally lead to the total subversion of all rule and order upon the plantation. He argued that if one slave refused to be corrected, and escaped with his life, the other slaves would soon copy the example, the result of which would be, the freedom of the slaves, and the enslavement of the whites”. 14 Remember there was no judicial review of this crime. No sanctions occurred for this crime. No consequences. This is an important ideology. This is a concept that has endured through the pentacles of time. This is a systematic acceptance in society of this type of individual. Is such the same for police in minority communities today? Does this ideology still prevail today?
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