I was challenged to give the definition of an 'uncle tom' in the context in which it was meant during the interview.
Actually, no. You claimed that others didn't know what "Uncle Tom" means. I called you on it, and you wrote five pages of stuff we already knew. So you wasted your time, again, the way you already wasted your time pursuing the false trail that the rest of us didn't know what "Uncle Tom" meant.
shootinstudent,
You're also missing the point. Uncle Tom, a fictional character, was highly influential in ending slavery, by bringing an anti-slavery message to thousands of Northerners. After all,
Uncle Tom's Cabin was an anti-slavery tract, and a very popular stage play. But it wasn't a guide to slaves (most of whom couldn't read, after all), on how to gain their freedom. It would be quite wrong to think that Stowe was giving Black people an example of what a slave should do. He was a symbol to Whites, that Blacks were human beings capable of good character, and a reminder that they were Christian brothers and sisters. He also served the literary purpose of a martyr, and I seem to remember he was surrounded by quite a bit of Christ imagery.
Take a look at American history. Slave revolts, whether John Brown's, Nat Turner's, or Denmark Vesey's, did nothing to end slavery. In fact, the slave revolt in Haiti only made White Americans more determined to keep Black Americans in subjection. Blacks who escaped slavery and joined the Abolitionist cause, such as Frederick Douglas, did much more to end slavery, but even their efforts could only go so far.
And then, you would have to understand that, as a pious Christian, Tom was not primarily concerned with ending slavery. Christian teaching has always put more value on spiritual liberty than earthly liberty, and on other's well-being that one's own. This is why Jesus of Nazareth taught a message of spiritual salvation, and did not seem terribly concerned about the Roman yoke that his disciples perceived as a major, if not the major, problem to be overcome.
None of which implies that revolution or violent overthrow are always wrong, or that slavery is ever right. And you will also kindly note that I don't deny the validity of "Uncle Tom" as an epithet, in common usage. Which is why Nader's use of the term was so callous and stupid.