MDMD(8) Christ's true Pity

[davemarc]

> From: Steven Maas (CUTR) <maas at cutr.eng.usf.edu>
> 
> I'm convinced by Chris' cogently argued case that the L.E.D. represents
> higher consciousness, "god" if you will.  The old dog=god that someone
> pointed out yesterday provides corroborating evidence.  But the L.E.D. 
> seems to serve other purposes as well, for example what is the reason for
> pointing out that "I am a British Dog, Sir"?  This onion has lotsa
layers.
> 
When it looks like the canine's going to get into a bar-room scrap, Dixon
asks "Oughtn't we to summon the Owners...?" and the Dog sniffs "I am a
British Dog, Sir.  No one owns me."  Isn't the pup calling upon a kind of
national (British) cliche that, in M&D, turns out to be relevant in view of
its slave themes?  The British position on slavery seems to have been that
it was fine for the colonies but intolerable on home turf.  I recently read
a slave narrative from 1831 that describes how slaves brought to England by
their masters were "free" upon touching its soil.  Of course, slaves who
liberated themselves didn't necessarily have any resources.  And they were
subject to re-enslavement if they returned to the colonies....

davemarc