“Repressive societies always seemed to understand the danger of "wrong" ideas.” what does that mean to you

“Repressive societies always seemed to understand the danger of "wrong" ideas.”Only then does Alice tell Dana that another house slave on the plantation, Liza, had informed the two men of Dana’s escape. In response to this news, Dana thinks to herself, “I had never had a serious enemy—someone who would go out of their way to get me hurt or killed here was a woman who hated me and who, out of sheer malice, had nearly killed me” (178). Through her thoughts, it is evident that Dana does not come from the time of slavery. No amount of research or number of books could have prepared her for the struggles she has to endure in actually experiencing slavery. The slaves of this time “go out of their way” to do just about anything to have an opportunity to get on their master’s “good” side—even if it is at the cost of another person’s life. The moral of this incident is to expect the unexpected. Dana assumes that everybody is asleep when she leaves her sleeping quarters. Her lack of caution and underestimation of the cruelty of the people surrounding her leads to the discovery of her escape and destruction of her survival tactics. The norm is every man for himself. The norm is hatred. Hostility. Dana is clearly unprepared to be thrown into a world where malevolence exists so intensely.“Repressive societies always seemed to understand the danger of 'wrong' ideas.” (pg. 141; This thought of Dana's comes when Rufus forces her to burn the history book on slavery.)

Explanation:

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the anecdote makes readers feel sorry for the man’s lack of heritage, then reminds readers that the man has an equally valuable heritage.