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My dad was a white slave, Kentucky Republican tells NAACP (www.motherjones.com)

submitted 9 months ago by ZeroCool@slrpnk.net to c/politics@lemmy.world

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[-] ZeroCool@slrpnk.net 147 points 9 months ago

When the reporter persisted, Decker explained that her father—a preacher born around 1933, according to the Courier Journal, or 68 years after slavery was outlawed—was “born into poverty” and worked for free with his family on the property they lived on. (It’s unclear whether the adults were paid, though the Courier Journal notes that it sounds more like “Decker’s father was forced by his parents to do chores” and that the family were tenant farmers.)

“My dad had to do chores when he was growing up 😭😭” - KY State Rep. Jennifer Decker

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 65 points 9 months ago

Meanwhile, this was her original statement:

My father was born on a dirt farm in Lincoln County. His mother was the illegitimate daughter of a very prominent person who then was kind enough to allow them to work for him as slaves. So, if you’re asking, did we own slaves? My father was a slave, just to a white man and he was white.

I wish the Courier Journal had simply asked her, "was your father able to leave whenever he wanted?"

[-] athos77@kbin.social 56 points 9 months ago

There were landowners who were abusive to their tenant farmers, or her dad could even have grown up in a sharecropper family. You know what eventually ended sharecropping and tenant farmers? FDR's New Deal. She should study history more.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 33 points 9 months ago

The paper speculated that they were tenant farmers. And maybe they were abused tenant farmers. But do you know what tenant farmers could do?

Leave.

[-] mojofrododojo@lemmy.world 36 points 9 months ago

anyone who experienced slavery would be opposed to it, want to educate people of it's evils, not defend it. what a bucket of stupid.

[-] Late2TheParty@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago

I'm totally stealing "what a bucket of stupid" from you. That's just danged funny!

[-] mojofrododojo@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago

lol @ the two people who think slavery is groovy... chuds follow me everywhere

[-] Seraph@kbin.social 21 points 9 months ago

Wait until she finds out about prison labor and the systematic imprisoning of a portion of the American population.

I'm sure she'll be flabbergasted and demand the situation change immediately!

[-] spider@lemmy.nz 3 points 9 months ago

...as soon as the Pope shits in the woods, that is.

[-] HikingVet@lemmy.ca 2 points 9 months ago

Well, lets drag that fucker out into the woods and start force feeding him exlax.

[-] Telorand@reddthat.com 11 points 9 months ago

...a preacher...

Oh, so he's well-versed in lying to push an agenda. Got it. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

[-] PrincessLeiasCat@sh.itjust.works 29 points 9 months ago

“My father was born on a dirt farm in Lincoln County. His mother was the illegitimate daughter of a very prominent person who then was kind enough to allow them to work for him as slaves. So, if you’re asking, did we own slaves? My father was a slave, just to a white man and he was white.”

“Kind enough”. wtf

[-] deft@lemmy.wtf 5 points 9 months ago

Can't call grandpappy mean can we? A "slaver" sure but a kind slaver grandpappy was

[-] s_s@lemm.ee 21 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Poverty in Kentucky and wider Appalachia is still a very real and very serious problem.

It's very hopeless feeling and was hit extremely hard by the opioid crisis.

I'm sure it was bad 100 years ago, too--although alcoholism was usually the drug of choice back then.

Lots of systematic suffering. Children growing up in the nightmares their parents created for them.

But it's not slavery, lol.

[-] Drewelite@lemmynsfw.com 6 points 9 months ago

This is the best response to this. Slavery is kind of at that "Hitler point". Like, if you don't like somebody they're literally Hitler. If you had hardships it's literally slavery.

No folks, you don't have to have the most extreme take to bring legitimacy to a problem. In fact, it really invalidates your point.

[-] sndmn@lemmy.ca 17 points 9 months ago

A feckless cunt says what now?

[-] Gingerlegs@lemmy.world 16 points 9 months ago

yep

[-] GladiusB@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

My favorite part of this scene is that he is eating cereal while driving

[-] PP_BOY_@lemmy.world 16 points 9 months ago

I mean, the argument that there are/were white slaves does have some merit, but I wouldn't expect any of these people to either A) know about it or B) argue it in good faith.

[-] dudinax@programming.dev 6 points 9 months ago

Even if true, what is it an argument against? If her great-great-grandpappy was a real slave, she might have heard slavery is bad.

[-] LordOfTheChia@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

what is it an argument against?

"All slaves matter"

( Just like the "all lives matter" response to "black lives matter", it's a way to dismiss the concern behind the original sentiment or facts )

[-] JIMMERZ@lemm.ee 14 points 9 months ago

Big difference between allowing someone to work on your farm, vs owning someone and forcing them to work and they can’t leave. What a total piece of shit with a dumbass false equivalency.

[-] Infinity187@lemm.ee 14 points 9 months ago

White trash

[-] TwattyMctwatterson@lemmings.world 7 points 9 months ago

This woman looks like she calls black people coloreds.

[-] some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 7 points 9 months ago

GOP leaders are liars. Every single one of them.

[-] desmosthenes@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago

bruhhhh

this post was submitted on 13 Feb 2024

179 points (95.4% liked)

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