You've done a lot of reasoning and deriving and explaining, but the fundamental conclusion you reach through all that work: > I wonder if Douglass had... blame

You've done a lot of reasoning and deriving and explaining, but the fundamental conclusion you reach through all that work: > I wonder if Douglass had... blamed others... instead of learning to read, educating himself, and becoming resolutely determined to gain freedom, [we would not] even be talking about him right now has as its counter-example the very discussion in which you're taking part... Douglass is a perfect example of two facts that cut agains the thesis of your comments in this thread. His work demonstrates that 1) critique is necessary; and 2) placing blame where it is due is NOT, as your question insinuates, mutually exclusive with action or self-improvement.