re: #196 SanFranciscoZionist

John Brown challenges me. His cause was righteous. His means were horrifying, and without a doubt terroristic—and yet, eventually, his cause, among other things, would lead to a war that make his actions look, if not mild, right at home. I look at him, and try to assess him, and it’s not easy. What do others make of the man?

Well said. Honestly the horrors of slavery in America, were sufficiently vile that I have a very hard time condemning any actions (short of random murder or rape) that a slave might take to secure his freedom. If the overseer or the master gets killed, can you really blame the slave who had been abused and degraded, whipped and separated from his home and his family? If I were there, I would want to kill master too.