Courtesy of
CNN:
Ben Carson appeared to liken slaves to immigrants who choose to come to the United States while addressing employees at the Department of Housing and Urban Development Monday.
"There were other immigrants who came in the bottom of slave ships, who worked even longer, even harder, for less, but they too had a dream that one day their sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters, great grandsons, great granddaughters might pursue prosperity and happiness in this land," said Carson, who is black.
"And do you know of all the nations in the world, this one, the United States of America, is the only one big enough and great enough to allow all those people to realize their dream. And this is our opportunity to enhance that dream," he added.
Yep those silly old African immigrants all chained together for safety who came to this country to pursue their dreams of not being whipped to death or raped by their white masters.
Actor Samuel L. Jackson responded quickly on Twitter.
Later Carson tried to
walk his remarks back:
I’m proud of the courage and perseverance of Black Americans and their incomprehensible struggle from slavery to freedom. I’m proud that our ancestors overcame the evil and repression that we know as slavery.
The slave narrative and immigrant narrative are two entirely different experiences. Slaves were ripped from their families and their homes and forced against their will after being sold into slavery by slave traders.
The Immigrants made the choice to come to America. They saw this country as a land of opportunity. In contrast, slaves were forced here against their will and lost all their opportunities. We continue to live with that legacy.
The two experiences should never be intertwined, nor forgotten, as we demand the necessary progress towards an America that's inclusive and provides access to equal opportunity for all.
We should revel in the fact that although we got here through different routes, we have many things in common now that should unite us in our mission to have a land where there is liberty and justice for all.
Dr. Ben Carson
Secretary of HUD
Nice try. However this is response cobbled together for damage control, while the initial statements were just off of the top of Carson's pointy head.
Which one do we think more accurately portrays his way of thinking?
Oh yeah, and there is also this.
Carson also famously suggested that the Egyptian pyramids
were used to store grain, so his understanding of history in general seems to be suspect.
And these are the people who are now in charge of our country.
