There's an excellent passage somewhere in the book "The White Nile" by Alan Moorehead in which some British explorers are going through sub-Saharan Africa and witnessing one atrocity after another. They finally happen on an African Chief who seems to be a bit more talkative than the others. The explorers ask him how come all the poor people seem so innocent and good while all the rulers of the tribes seem so mean and despotic. The Chief replies that the poor aren't good, they are weak. There's a difference. If the poor were strong enough to do evil, then they would, but they're not. The Chief went on to say that if the roles were reversed the poor now in power would be doing evil deeds to consolidate their power.
That's something a lot of people confuse. Weak=Good. When this author comments on his father having seen segregation, his father may have thought the segregationists were being mean to black people. Yet, past experience may have caused the segregationists to be harsh with black people precisely because of their past experiences with black people.
Don't confuse weak with good. Just because someone is being "oppressed" doesn't mean they didn't deserve it. (Sort of reminds me of our current prison reform).
There's an excellent passage somewhere in the book "The White Nile" by Alan Moorehead in which some British explorers are going through sub-Saharan Africa and witnessing one atrocity after another. They finally happen on an African Chief who seems to be a bit more talkative than the others. The explorers ask him how come all the poor people seem so innocent and good while all the rulers of the tribes seem so mean and despotic. The Chief replies that the poor aren't good, they are weak. There's a difference. If the poor were strong enough to do evil, then they would, but they're not. The Chief went on to say that if the roles were reversed the poor now in power would be doing evil deeds to consolidate their power.
That's something a lot of people confuse. Weak=Good. When this author comments on his father having seen segregation, his father may have thought the segregationists were being mean to black people. Yet, past experience may have caused the segregationists to be harsh with black people precisely because of their past experiences with black people.
Don't confuse weak with good. Just because someone is being "oppressed" doesn't mean they didn't deserve it. (Sort of reminds me of our current prison reform).