The Double Blind

During yesterdays class we discussed a double blind argument when talking about a slave's life and impact of Christianity on a slave. In the Fredrick Douglas reading, he mentioned the legal status of chattel vs. the philosophical status of chattel. When Christianity was mistakenly seen as a "gift" from the slaves' master, slaves had to figure out how to survive in order for them to regain their freedom.
I thought it was very interesting how the slaves followed through with the thoughts and traditions of Christianity. Douglas helped me realize what a threat "learning how to read" was to slave owners. The narrative showed Fredrick's strength in teaching other slaves how to read so that slaves could eventually understand the duality of their situation as a slave.
The class discussion helped me understand how important education and reading was to the slaves. After I read the reading, I liked to think that reading gave them more strength to fight for emancipation. The slaves were beginning to see their dual life style; they were kicked and beaten like animals and face criminal charges when they were seen as humans. After the reading and class discussion I now know that reading was seen as a way out of slavery.