Professor Asked His Students What Would They Have Done In Slavery Times If They Were A White Southerner, Students Delivered
Robert P. George, a Princeton University professor, recently asked his students what their position would have been if they were white and living in the South before the abolition of slavery in 1865. Of course, the students said that they would be abolitionists.
So, they would have all been against the state of culture, society, and politics of the time, namely against slavery, claiming that they would have worked tirelessly to oppose it.
However, Prof. George doubted such an answer. And he explained why in a 5-piece Twitter thread that has since gone viral.
More info: twitter.com
One of the main tactics of teaching students is asking them challenging and thought provoking question
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So, Princeton Professor R.P. George asked his students a hypothetical: what would their stance be as a white person in the South before the abolition of slavery?
Their answer ended up being the right thing to say, but not one that would be likely given the context
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Professor Robert P. George is an American legal scholar, political philosopher, and public intellectual serving as the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University who lectures on constitutional interpretation, civil liberties, philosophy of law, and political philosophy.
His doubt in his students’ claims was based on considering the context of the times. Prof. George explained that it was very likely that many of them would have gone along with the established system, and, in fact, would even happily have benefited from it.
That was because when someone goes against that which is considered the norm, they immediately become an outcast. This comes in the form of becoming unpopular among peers and even being abandoned by friends, being loathed by the influential figures and powers of the day, and even being denied professional opportunities.
The thread sparked a healthy discussion, with some sharing how they do an analogous exercise
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Others discussed the question, its nuances, and shared their thoughts on the matter
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While it’s easy to claim what one would have done, it’s not so easy taking on that claim and the risk, and even danger, that comes along with it. After all, it was quite likely that nobody would risk their well-being, their loved ones, and even their lives if they can just live through it as neutrally as possible until it’s no longer a thing.
The thread gained a significant amount of attention online, garnering over 6,000 retweets and nearly 22,000 likes on Twitter, and sparking a discussion in the comments section among those who also tried asking an analogous question. The tweets also found themselves on Imgur where they got another couple of thousand upvotes with 127,000 views.
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comment section below!
We tend to look at history through a modern lens, which is a mistake. We are the products of our time, conditioned to think and behave in specific ways in order to matriculate our way through society without losing our place in it. As a woman, in the mid-nineteenth century I wouldn’t even have had a voice, much less a vote, in pushing for change. I would’ve been outcast for it, at a time when few women who weren’t born rich could make a successful living on their own. Being so powerless and dependent, I probably would’ve been careful never to voice my beliefs because, if my husband or father didn’t share them, he was legally free to thoroughly beat them out of me, his chattel. So, though we like to think we’d be heroes and stand up for others, chances are we wouldn’t have had the courage to take that risk. We would’ve held back and left it up to the few truly brave individuals to take those risks and take the beatings, imprisonment, and disenfranchisement for it (repeated often, to try and break them) by those who benefit greatly from the status quo. Sound familiar? Yeah, it still happens today. Eventually the rest of us cowards reach our limit of what we’ll allow to happen, and join the heroes whose heads are bloody but unbowed, until we finally represent the majority. That kind of power is necessary to significantly change the status quo, and eventually society itself.
Your statement is extremely well written and has obviously been thoroughly thought through. It's also painfully honest. Thank you for sharing it and I completely agree
Not all of us, some of us are the black sheep you read about in history books............. Sorry
Very well written. Totally reflects my thoughts about this topic.
The defnition of "revolution"
*thunderous applause*
We are not all in outrage of chinese child labor, yet we openly support it because we buy made in china stuff cheap, we don't say let me pay a few extra bucks so a child can have a break today
So true, no-one cares when it suits them. I don't consume/buy animal products, I avoid buying anything from China - I don't even like companies that sell in China because of the awful animal abuse laws there, I avoid high street shops that I've seen exposed as modern day slavery. I consider the environment when shopping...people think I'm extreme - I'm sat here on a phone from China because I wanted the pretty pictures...it suited me
For most of us, the choice is either go without something (even something necessary, like a computer, phone, shoes, clothes, etc.) or buy it knowing that slave wages, child labor, and abusive factories made it. For the lucky, you can buy only very expensive boutique products...Although, your tech is still tainted by horrible labor practices no matter what. There are no phones, tv's, or PC's made by union labor who are paid a living wage and treated well.
Which was pretty much exactly the kind of arguments made by slave owners. The idea that it's 'impossible' to live our lives without having people work for us who live in conditions that we would never tolerate is taken for granted. The reality is that we know for a fact that our lifestyles are supported by horrible cruelty and deprivation, but we are unwilling to give up anything or stand up against what is happening. We are all complicit in some of the most horrible crimes, and we do less than nothing.
If they get a normal income and the bosses still get their millions, a lot can't afford that stuff and you just don't buy nonsense anymore and sew your own clothes.
I couldn't agree with you more. Future generations will be horrified by some of the things we are doing know, just as we are horrified by past generations. Not that we shouldn't strive to be better, it's just too easy to point a finger at someone else.
I try at all cost to avoid anything made in China for that reason right there.
Chinese child labour? How about real Chinese (yes, of course, it is illegal) slave labour?!? Faux jewellery sold for only one (1) Euro in European high street shops? Well, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually comes with a different back story. One that we are a direct cause of when we buy that stuff. I could not possibly agree with you more, Cristopher.
Christopher Callahan ?
Excellent discussion and opportunity for honest self examination
We tend to look at history through a modern lens, which is a mistake. We are the products of our time, conditioned to think and behave in specific ways in order to matriculate our way through society without losing our place in it. As a woman, in the mid-nineteenth century I wouldn’t even have had a voice, much less a vote, in pushing for change. I would’ve been outcast for it, at a time when few women who weren’t born rich could make a successful living on their own. Being so powerless and dependent, I probably would’ve been careful never to voice my beliefs because, if my husband or father didn’t share them, he was legally free to thoroughly beat them out of me, his chattel. So, though we like to think we’d be heroes and stand up for others, chances are we wouldn’t have had the courage to take that risk. We would’ve held back and left it up to the few truly brave individuals to take those risks and take the beatings, imprisonment, and disenfranchisement for it (repeated often, to try and break them) by those who benefit greatly from the status quo. Sound familiar? Yeah, it still happens today. Eventually the rest of us cowards reach our limit of what we’ll allow to happen, and join the heroes whose heads are bloody but unbowed, until we finally represent the majority. That kind of power is necessary to significantly change the status quo, and eventually society itself.
Your statement is extremely well written and has obviously been thoroughly thought through. It's also painfully honest. Thank you for sharing it and I completely agree
Not all of us, some of us are the black sheep you read about in history books............. Sorry
Very well written. Totally reflects my thoughts about this topic.
The defnition of "revolution"
*thunderous applause*
We are not all in outrage of chinese child labor, yet we openly support it because we buy made in china stuff cheap, we don't say let me pay a few extra bucks so a child can have a break today
So true, no-one cares when it suits them. I don't consume/buy animal products, I avoid buying anything from China - I don't even like companies that sell in China because of the awful animal abuse laws there, I avoid high street shops that I've seen exposed as modern day slavery. I consider the environment when shopping...people think I'm extreme - I'm sat here on a phone from China because I wanted the pretty pictures...it suited me
For most of us, the choice is either go without something (even something necessary, like a computer, phone, shoes, clothes, etc.) or buy it knowing that slave wages, child labor, and abusive factories made it. For the lucky, you can buy only very expensive boutique products...Although, your tech is still tainted by horrible labor practices no matter what. There are no phones, tv's, or PC's made by union labor who are paid a living wage and treated well.
Which was pretty much exactly the kind of arguments made by slave owners. The idea that it's 'impossible' to live our lives without having people work for us who live in conditions that we would never tolerate is taken for granted. The reality is that we know for a fact that our lifestyles are supported by horrible cruelty and deprivation, but we are unwilling to give up anything or stand up against what is happening. We are all complicit in some of the most horrible crimes, and we do less than nothing.
If they get a normal income and the bosses still get their millions, a lot can't afford that stuff and you just don't buy nonsense anymore and sew your own clothes.
I couldn't agree with you more. Future generations will be horrified by some of the things we are doing know, just as we are horrified by past generations. Not that we shouldn't strive to be better, it's just too easy to point a finger at someone else.
I try at all cost to avoid anything made in China for that reason right there.
Chinese child labour? How about real Chinese (yes, of course, it is illegal) slave labour?!? Faux jewellery sold for only one (1) Euro in European high street shops? Well, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually comes with a different back story. One that we are a direct cause of when we buy that stuff. I could not possibly agree with you more, Cristopher.
Christopher Callahan ?
Excellent discussion and opportunity for honest self examination