Sen. Tom Cotton Calls Slavery Nation's 'Necessary Evil' In Shocking Interview
Source: Huffington Post
The senator told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that slavery was the evil upon which the union was built.
He made the stunning comment while discussing how slavery should be taught in schools.
We have to study the history of slavery and its role and impact on the development of our country because otherwise we cant understand our country, Cotton said. As the Founding Fathers said, it was the necessary evil upon which the union was built.
Instead of portraying America as an irredeemably corrupt, rotten and racist country, the nation should be viewed as an imperfect and flawed land, but the greatest and noblest country in the history of mankind, he added.
Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tom-cotton-interview-slavery-necessary-evil_n_5f1e4101c5b69fd4730e31ad
Well, there you have it. This is why we need the massive civil rights movement that has developed.
agingdem
(7,849 posts)says it all..a day from now the paper will write a mea culpa piece..."we're so sorry for Tom Cotton's racist vomit...we didn't know what he was a despicable prick"...all better, right?...so sick of this garbage!
mahatmakanejeeves
(57,438 posts)agingdem
(7,849 posts)the NYT gave Cotton a forum followed by a series of disclaimers (does not reflect the views of blah blah) and resignations...so the Arkansas paper prints an attention grabbing Tom Cotton racist interview "slavery was a necessary evil"...how is that news? and who cares...
thesquanderer
(11,986 posts)...they took a lot more responsibility than the typical "does not reflect the views" disclaimers... as seen here (shortened slightly to meet the 4 paragraph quote limit):
For example, the published piece presents as facts assertions about the role of cadres of left-wing radicals like antifa; in fact, those allegations have not been substantiated and have been widely questioned. Editors should have sought further corroboration of those assertions, or removed them from the piece. The assertion that police officers bore the brunt of the violence is an overstatement that should have been challenged. The essay also includes a reference to a constitutional duty that was intended as a paraphrase; it should not have been rendered as a quotation.
Beyond those factual questions, the tone of the essay in places is needlessly harsh and falls short of the thoughtful approach that advances useful debate. Editors should have offered suggestions to address those problems. The headline which was written by The Times, not Senator Cotton was incendiary and should not have been used.
Finally, we failed to offer appropriate additional context either in the text or the presentation that could have helped readers place Senator Cottons views within a larger framework of debate.
thesquanderer
(11,986 posts)It was a worthwhile interview, and OMITTING that part would have been a terrible whitewash (quite literally).
People need to know who they have elected to office.
agingdem
(7,849 posts)and that's why they voted for him and keep voting for him...so the "world" sees him as a pig..big deal...the "world" can't vote him out of office and those that can won't ...instead of wasting inches on another Tom Cotton hates blacks interview which is not news how about an in-depth article about his like-minded constituents
thesquanderer
(11,986 posts)agingdem
(7,849 posts)and voted for him anyway...his stupidity, bigotry, racism, depravity, and narcissism were on full display..they knew he was a congenital liar and a sexual predator and they voted for him anyway...they voted their hate..so Tom Cotton is a possible presidential contender...his vileness is on full display...does that mean no one will vote for him?..and does wasting column inches so he can spew his junk make him less or more palatable come election time?
thesquanderer
(11,986 posts)Of course the people who support Trump today would have no problem supporting him based on these comments. But it is useful to minimize his ability to attract additional voters beyond the Trump base.
agingdem
(7,849 posts)it wasn't his base that voted the sociopath into the White House..it was the idiots what bought into "what do you have to lose" that put him over the top...and then there was Comey....
thesquanderer
(11,986 posts)...and anything that in any way impedes Cotton's ability to appeal to people beyond that base is helpful. The more of it, the better.
agingdem
(7,849 posts)to paraphrase George Santayana: those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it...
thesquanderer
(11,986 posts)agingdem
(7,849 posts)I am the child of Holocaust survivors and pissed as hell that I'm living through history repeating itself over and over again...
sinkingfeeling
(51,454 posts)how horrible their elected Senator really is.
TomSlick
(11,098 posts)Its editorial position is consistently Republican. In the last four years or so, the editorial position has influenced its news reporting.
Unfortunately, it is the only state-wide newspaper and the only newspaper for much of the state.
Warpy
(111,255 posts)by hook or by crook, even having Indian tribes slaughtered or relocated to free up more of it and found they had grabbed all the land but had no way to work it themselves...or inclination to do so, farming is hard work.
Pure greed drove the most pernicious slavery system the world has ever seen, one that extended to much of the western hemisphere.
And that fool doesn't even have the sense to be ashamed of it.
PatSeg
(47,427 posts)in monetary terms, as if we couldn't have been a vibrant flourishing democracy without slavery. Of course, maybe we wouldn't have had so much wealth concentrated in just a handful of families, but I hardly see that as a bad thing. Without slavery, there probably would have been more small farmers or sharecroppers, but less profit for the elite.
Warpy
(111,255 posts)People who came later and had to take less desirable land were held back from providing necessary goods and services because slave labor did those things so much more cheaply. So you had the rich men playing at being English country gentlemen while the other white class were called trash to their faces because ways out of poverty were largely blocked. The south eventually saw a boom as entrepreneurship became possible, but history likes to focus on the plight of the rich.
Then again, Jim Crow largely came into being because neither white class wanted any competition from black skilled labor.
klook
(12,154 posts)Too bad most poor southern whites identified with the slave-holding white plutocrats more than with black slaves.
llashram
(6,265 posts)PatSeg
(47,427 posts)managed to convince the poor white men to put on uniforms and die for the rich man's right to control most of the wealth. They were as dispensable as the enslaved black folks. Well probably more, as the slaves were valuable property, the whites were as you say considered "trash", having little or no value at all.
Skittles
(153,160 posts)only a white male repuke would say that
rpannier
(24,329 posts)Skittles
(153,160 posts)these other folk are just sick in another way
Tom Traubert
(117 posts)We have to study the history of slavery and its role and impact on the development of our country because otherwise we cant understand our country, Cotton said. As the Founding Fathers said, it was the necessary evil upon which the union was built.
I disagree with the latter statement that slavery was necessary. But given our history, it is important to study and teach the history of slavery, and the treatment of Native Americans, and all of the atrocities that are an indelible part of this Nations history. Cotton is a racist dumbf#@k. But thats a different issue.
agingdem
(7,849 posts)Last edited Mon Jul 27, 2020, 01:18 PM - Edit history (1)
Cotton's "slavery was a necessary evil" now becomes a yes and no discussion and allows the great thinkers (sarcasm intended ) to ponder a series of "maybe": maybe the Holocaust was a necessary evil...maybe Rwanda/Congo/Sudan were necessary evils...maybe putting babies in cages was a necessary evil...maybe starting a never-ending war a with country that never did us harm was a necessary evil...maybe Japanese-Americans in concentration camps was a necessary evil...maybe robbing Native Americans of their land and placing them on reservations was a necessary evil...maybe a pandemic that has killed 150,000 innocent people (so far) is a necessary evil...maybe Trump is a necessary evil...there is no "necessary" about any one of those atrocities..all evil and that's not a supposition but a statement of fact.....and not worth wasting brain cells or column inches on Tom Cotton...
Tom Traubert
(117 posts)None of these evils were at all necessary, and our county has a history that is shameful in many respects. But acknowledgement, education and discussion is the first step in addressing these historical wrongs and atrocities. The fact that Cotton is a racist POS is apart from the point.
agingdem
(7,849 posts)acknowledge the evil and educate and eradicate but no more right or wrong "discussions"
RainCaster
(10,872 posts)Yep--that bum Tom Cotton.
ouija
(397 posts)Is Tom Cotton. Its good to know irony is alive and well.
calimary
(81,240 posts)Gore1FL
(21,130 posts)The fight for low wages for the poor and low taxes for the rich.
A large portion of The United States was built on the backs of slaves. I submit if they were actually allowed to be part of the the economy beyond their extorted free labor, the nation would be better for it. We, as a nation, would have thrived more and faster. The same is true today; we thrive most when everyone is valued.
Locrian
(4,522 posts)"We" do but then you wouldn't have multi-billionaires (the tragedy!)
And since the wealthy are in power and have a gov that only cares about them....
There's something about our culture and how money works that makes the wealthy think of themselves as gods, and the rest as animal or something to be "used", and that they alone know what "should" be done with wealth.
The thought of everyone equal or as worthy just blows their mind and woldview apart.
CTyankee
(63,912 posts)The union movement in this country has not had a smooth history as we all know. But we need more activist voices in it, to keep it in accordance with the goal to dignify work and workers, without racial or gender prejudice.
But I believe that unions still have a great purpose and need strengthening and, when necessary, correcting. Only when we band together to fight are we successful.
yuiyoshida
(41,831 posts)Fuck these Republicans.
TomCADem
(17,387 posts)...the surprise is that he said it out loud.
Solly Mack
(90,765 posts)djacq
(1,634 posts)Contacting my two senators immediately...
Senator Tim Kaine
Senator Mark Warner
Tom Cotton doesn't need to apologize.
No lengthy correction.
Just Leave.
GO.
honest.abe
(8,678 posts)sick.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)IronLionZion
(45,438 posts)Plenty of wealthy GOP want a permanent servant class in this country who are desperate and have no other options for survival.
Yeehah
(4,587 posts)It is an indictment of our society that such a person was elected to the US Senate.
Justifying evil. Such a good Christian man!
Bernardo de La Paz
(49,001 posts)Under The Radar
(3,401 posts)Vogon_Glory
(9,117 posts)that the lame-stream corporate news media won't ignore (And they've been so very good at ignoring comments like this in the past), and someone caught him making it.
I hope people bring it back up when Cotton tries to run for President in 2024.
MineralMan
(146,288 posts)His statement should be disqualifying for his job as Senator.
Guy Whitey Corngood
(26,501 posts)bootstraps. And doing their own fucking work instead of forcing someone else to do it for them at the end of a gun barrel?
JaneQPublic
(7,113 posts)While the South was clinging desperately to slavery, the North abandoned it and took part in the Industrial Revolution.
"By 1860, almost all the industry in the nation, most of the banking and financial centers, most of the rail lines, and most of the
coal, iron, and gold reserves in the nation were located in the North."
https://www.coreknowledge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/CKHG-G5-U11-about-growing-apart.pdf
louzke9
(296 posts)As much as I think Tom Cotton is a despicable baboon, Tom Cotton did not say HE BELIEVED slavery was a necessary evil! He just DIDN'T. By distorting what he said, now Cotton is getting enormous publicity and even if it seems bad, what is worse is to deliberately twist Cotton's words to attack him. Now the right will use this as a foil against liberals claiming they and the fake news are LYING AGAIN. Cotton will be depicted as a poor martyr, a victim of liberal hate. He is already being being defended in RW newspapers.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/fact-check-no-tom-cotton-did-not-say-he-believes-slavery-is-a-necessary-evil
BUT ANOTHER FACT! http://factmyth.com/factoids/the-founding-fathers-supported-slavery/
mac56
(17,566 posts)As the Founding Fathers said, it was the necessary evil upon which the union was built.
Why did he say it if he doesn't believe it?
niyad
(113,302 posts)Kid Berwyn
(14,902 posts)Onerous NAZI.