[steve-b]

it was not the bull whips and plantation jails of the imagination, even though those things existed and were used

It's traditional to insert padding between mutually exclusive assertions. That way, you maintain at least a thin pretense of respect for the reader's intelligence.

[Mark in the Old South]

Re: "It's traditional to insert padding between mutually exclusive assertions. That way, you maintain at least a thin pretense of respect for the reader's intelligence."

Only for those who miss a subtle point. Perhaps you have never seen a child get more upset about the anticipation of a spanking than he does during the spanking reality. The human mind often hold a contradiction, one of imagination the other of reality. They often fail to realize it even when pointed out to them.