Republican lawmaker claims that 'owning slaves doesn't make you racist'

[Soph0571]

Horn originally made the comments in response to a Facebook post from the former state House representative Dan Haynes, who took to the social media site to ask:

If Trump is the most racist president in American history, what does that say about all of the other presidents who owned slaves?

In response, Horn reportedly said:

Wait, owning slaves doesn’t make you racist...

Writing on Tuesday, Haynes then said:

I guess not.

Which is surprising since everything else makes someone a racist.

According to USA Today, Horn then added:

It shouldn’t be surprising since owning slaves wasn’t a decision predicated on race but on economics. It’s a business decision.

On Thursday, Hayes took a different position on Facebook, saying that "slavery in the U.S. was in fact racist", reports USA Today.

However, Horn, a three-term lawmaker, doubled down on his claims in interviews with the Huffington Post and the New Hampshire Union Leader. Speaking to the Huffington Post, he said that he thought that "slavery's not OK", however, he also said:

Human beings have been owning other human beings since the dawn of time. It’s never been about race.

According to Horn, slave owners didn't consider race at the auction block, but instead, it was "an economic decision". He also added that women and children cost less than male slaves, saying:

Unless you’re going to try to tell me those plantation owners were so in the dark ages that they delighted in being also sexist and ageist — practicing age discrimination and sex discrimination when they bought slaves — I don’t see how you can say they’re being racist because they bought black slaves.

Essentially, his main argument was that slave owners were motivated by economics, meaning they weren't discriminatory.

Consolidating his argument, he said:

My comment specifically was aimed at a period of time when that was how you survived, that’s how you fed your family.

It wasn’t, ‘I want to own a black person today.’ It was, ’I need to feed my family; I need five guys who can work stupidly long hours in the sun without killing themselves.'

[link:https://www.indy100.com/article/republican-slaves-werner-horn-racism-new-hampshire-9012001|

This is where republicans are now

Send her back and Slaves - neither are racist...

[tanyev]

1. Uh-oh, did he forget he's the "Party of Lincoln"??

[Iliyah]

2. OK, Republicans need to keep their racist

mouth shut tight.

Slaves were not even considered human, just property.

Fuck off.

[DBoon]

3. and being a guard at Aushwitz doesn't make you an anti-semite either, right?

Every time I think Republicans have hit rock bottom, they manage to achieve a new low