Can You Blame Them?

This past week in American Studies and American Literature, we've read a number of things where characters were ignorant; for example, Rowlandson's encounter with the Indians and Jefferson explaining Africans. When first reading these things, I was completely shocked and vexed with the lack of knowledge; like how can you really be so unknowledgeable to the point you'd take lives just for your muse, or you can go around and call people savages and barbarians. But I came to the realization, you cannot blame Mary nor Thomas for their ignorance. You cannot blame them because if you think about it, these are people who've been sheltered from everything and do not know it is wrong. But what really got me was the self-application. If you put yourself in Mary or Thomas' position, how would you react in their position? Could you really blame these people for their doings because of their ignorance? And if these people never done what they have, or thought the way they did, would we still be the same way we were then? After applying myself, and thinking, I cannot blame them, I do not think what Jefferson did was right, and I do not think the way Mary went about some things were right but I think they were fitted actions and thoughts for the people.