What would I have done?

“The Giddy Multitude” opened my eyes to the practices of slavery. This quote astounded me, “What was happening was evident: Africans, unlike whites, were being degraded into a condition of servitude for life and even the status of property.” (page 57) It is so amazing to me how one person could own another person. What is even more surprising to me is how quickly African Americans were separated from the white slaves. White slaves receive less punishment than the black slaves simply because they were different. It didn’t even matter if they behaved better than the white slaves, blacks were still singled out. What even scares me the most about this time is that I have no idea how I would have treated others if I lived back then. I am a young white woman with English and Irish heritage. Slavery was simply accepted, so it scares me to think that I could have easily been a part of this injustice. Here is a quote I pulled from the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, “The fatal poison of irresponsible power was already in her ... hands, and soon commenced its infernal work. That cheerful eye, under the influence of slavery, soon became red with rage; that voice, made all of sweet accord, changed to one of harsh and horrid discord; and that angelic face gave place to that of a demon.” I don’t know how slavery would have changed me if I was a slave owner. Even a woman who treated slaves respectfully fell under the power of ownership. How would power affect me if it was considered to be normal? Many people today are against discrimination, but can all of us say that we would have stood up against white colonists to protect the slaves? We will never be able to know for sure.