摘要：弗雷德里克·道格拉斯（Frederick Douglass）在其自传《弗雷德里克·道格拉斯：一个美国奴隶的自述》（Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave）中，写到：

是完全没有思想的动物，吃饭劳作？还是自己天生如此，为主人服务是我的荣幸？还是受迫于制度无法反抗？

弗雷德里克·道格拉斯（Frederick Douglass）在其自传《弗雷德里克·道格拉斯：一个美国奴隶的自述》（Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave）中，写到：

“我发现，要造就一个满足的奴隶，就必须让他丧失思考能力。必须蒙蔽他的道德与精神视野，尽可能摧毁他的理性力量。他必须察觉不到奴隶制中的矛盾；必须让他觉得奴隶制是合理的；而只有当他不再是一个真正的人时，才能做到这一点。”（I have found that, to make a contented slave, it is necessary to make a thoughtless one. It is necessary to darken his moral and mental vision, and, as far as possible, to annihilate the power of reason. He must be able to detect no inconsistencies in slavery; he must be made to feel that slavery is right; and he can be brought to that only when he ceases to be a man.）

“自来到北方后，我常对一些人感到无比惊讶——他们竟将奴隶的歌唱视为奴隶满足与幸福的证据。这不可能是一个更大的误解。奴隶最常唱歌时，正是他们最痛苦的时候。奴隶的歌声代表着他内心的哀伤；他只能通过歌声来缓解，就像一颗疼痛的心通过泪水缓解一样……有时我在听奴隶们交谈时甚至觉得，他们竟以主人的残酷为荣。如果一个奴隶比另一个受虐更甚，这对他来说不是抱怨的理由，而是炫耀的资本。最能忍受鞭打、最能承受侮辱的奴隶，被视为最值得尊敬的。”（I have often been utterly astonished, since I came to the north, to find persons who could speak of the singing, among slaves, as evidence of their contentment and happiness. It is impossible to conceive of a greater mistake. Slaves sing most when they are most unhappy. The songs of the slave represent the sorrows of his heart; and he is relieved by them, only as an aching heart is relieved by its tears... I have sometimes thought, in listening to the conversations among slaves, that they even took pride in the cruelty of their masters. If one slave was treated worse than another, it was a matter of boasting, rather than complaint. The slave who could endure the most stripes, or bear the most insult, was looked upon as the most worthy of respect.）

道格拉斯曾是一名逃亡的奴隶，他描写了当时种植园里一种普遍存在的怪象：来自不同庄园的奴隶们聚在一起时，常常会激烈地争吵。他们争吵的内容，不是如何争取自由，而是一一“谁的主人更富有、更强大”。写道：这些奴隶们似乎觉得，“主人的伟大，仿佛能转移到自己身上。”他们炫耀自家主人能轻易买下对方的主人，对方则反驳说自己的主人能把他的主人鞭打一顿。争论常常以斗殴收场，打赢的一方仿佛就证明了自己主人的优越。

想起小时候，一干光屁股娃娃在一起，时常相互攀比谁爹爹谁爷爷谁祖上最厉害，你说我父亲是牛逼农民，你说你舅舅是镇里工人，他说他姑父在城里当干部……似乎是一个心路，但相对而言这货真价实的奴隶真心实意的“努力攀比”更不堪！

来源：晋观历史