Sen. Tom Cotton Calls Slavery Nation's 'Necessary Evil' In Shocking Interview

[PatrickforO]

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 can’t 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]

1. that the paper is giving that racist asshole a voice

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]

14. Would you prefer that they not report his remarks? NT

[agingdem]

15. why give him forum?

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]

18. In fairness to the NYT...

...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):

The basic arguments advanced by Senator Cotton — however objectionable people may find them — represent a newsworthy part of the current debate. But given the life-and-death importance of the topic, the senator’s influential position and the gravity of the steps he advocates, the essay should have undergone the highest level of scrutiny. Instead, the editing process was rushed and flawed, and senior editors were not sufficiently involved. While Senator Cotton and his staff cooperated fully in our editing process, the Op-Ed should have been subject to further substantial revisions — as is frequently the case with such essays — or rejected.

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 Cotton’s views within a larger framework of debate.

[thesquanderer]

19. I'm glad these remarks were published for the world to see.

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]

25. they knew what he was/is

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]

26. They're talking about him as a presidential candidate. It matters. n/t

[agingdem]

32. the idiots that voted for Trump knew who and what he was

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]

42. Most voters outside of his state know little to nothing about him.

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]

45. But he did attract voters beyond his base

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]

46. Yes, Trump got more than his base...

...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]

48. but the electorate have very short memories...

to paraphrase George Santayana: those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it...

[thesquanderer]

49. Quotes like this will be brought up in debates and opposition ads. (n/t)

[agingdem]

50. hope so...

I am the child of Holocaust survivors and pissed as hell that I'm living through history repeating itself over and over again...

[sinkingfeeling]

20. I think the paper has done a service to the people of Arkansas, showing all

how horrible their elected Senator really is.

[TomSlick]

53. Despite its name, the Arkansas Democrat - Gazette is a very conservative paper.

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]

2. "Necessary" to greedy white men who grabbed all the best land

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]

33. People like Cotton only seem to measure progress

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]

43. Consider that the slave system also strangled the south's other economy

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]

44. Extremely important points!

Too bad most poor southern whites identified with the slave-holding white plutocrats more than with black slaves.

[llashram]

47. this, partially

[PatSeg]

51. And sadly the wealthy landowners

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]

3. is he saying the ends justified the means?

only a white male repuke would say that

[rpannier]

5. Be ready for Kanye West to agree with cotton

[Skittles]

52. Kanye is bipolar

these other folk are just sick in another way

[Tom Traubert]

35. He seems to have laid a foundation for a discussion on reparations.

“We have to study the history of slavery and its role and impact on the development of our country because otherwise we can’t 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 Nation’s history. Cotton is a racist dumbf#@k. But that’s a different issue.

[agingdem]

38. Cotton and his "opinion" is not a different issue because

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]

40. We agree.

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]

41. Absolutely..

acknowledge the evil and educate and eradicate but no more right or wrong "discussions"

[RainCaster]

4. Now I know where "Uncle Tom" came from

Yep--that bum Tom Cotton.

[ouija]

6. The guys name

Is Tom Cotton. It’s good to know irony is alive and well.

[calimary]

8. And he thinks he's presidential material.

[Gore1FL]

7. There are many in the U.S. that believe we need a slave class to survive economically.

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.

[Mersky]

10. +1000

[Locrian]

17. we thrive most when everyone is valued

"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]

28. We must support labor unions and help create more of them as the need arises.

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]

9. Once again....

Fuck these Republicans.

[TomCADem]

11. It Is No Surprise That He Believes Something Abhorently Racist...

...the surprise is that he said it out loud.

[Solly Mack]

12. White. Wash.

[djacq]

13. Demand that Senator Cotton RESIGNS!!

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]

16. Good lord.

sick.

[NurseJackie]

21. No it's not.

but the greatest and noblest country in the history of mankind,

No it's not. Not by a long shot. --- He sounds like a cult leader or a cult disciple.

[IronLionZion]

22. Is he volunteering to be a slave?

Plenty of wealthy GOP want a permanent servant class in this country who are desperate and have no other options for survival.

[Yeehah]

23. Cotton is a corrupt and evil man

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]

24. Cotton is infected with a boll weevil and should be picked and thrown into a waste bin. . . . nt

[Under The Radar]

54. Boll Weevils and Moth eggs and worms - beyond Monsanto's help

[Vogon_Glory]

27. This is the sort of comment you hope that a right-winger will make and

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]

29. Another apologist for slavery.

His statement should be disqualifying for his job as Senator.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

30. Really? How about these colonizers picking themselves up by their "ye' old

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]

36. Yep, the North seemed to do OK without slavery.

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]

31. PEOPLE...

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]

34. Your concern is noted.

“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]

37. Oh my. Traitor tom cottonmouth is at it again?

[Kid Berwyn]

39. Out of all the GOP turds, he's the most dangerous.

Onerous NAZI.