Imagine you lived as a Southerner in mid-1800s America. Would you be opposed to slavery or would you support it?

Keep in mind that it is the cultural norm of the time. Speaking out against it would probably have people resent you as much as people resent vegans these days.

Do you put your image on the line by defending the the voiceless, or do you just go along with the status quo because everyone else is fine with it?

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AmbivalentFriability · 26-30

I would have been entirely opposed to it.
I don't think I would have been very vocal about it, but I would have found quiet ways to show my support for those who needed it just like I do now. Or who knows, maybe I would grow up out of my own hypocrisy, fear and cowardice and really be there for the oppressed as much as a woman of the 1800's could have been.

SW-User

@AmbivalentFriability It's scary to consider that there wasn't an internet or much in the way of anonymity in those days. If we wanted to speak out on something, that would impact our reputation directly. We could potentially, sometimes even likely, lose the support of our families and friends if we did break our silences.

I think I would have had to start small. Maybe convincing one person, then another about the reasons for my opposition. And maybe that would all blow up in my face. Doing the right thing is not often convenient. You have to have quite a bit of resolve to stick to your guns. It's hard to say how many of us would in the face of such a ubiquitous zeitgeist