UNITED STATES—By now, I KNOW everyone has heard the comment that was made by Dr. Ben Carson, who is the new Secretary of Housing, which was beyond despicable, stupid, egregious and careless. I mean comparing slaves to immigrants? WTF! Carson, who was once in contention to become the next President of the United States of America, has always been off to me.
This is a guy who when it comes to public speaking seems nervous, out of the loop and not just capable of conveying his thoughts without a person wondering if the guy is capable of engaging in a dialogue with others. Now, the gist of the conversation occurred while Carson was having a conversation about immigrants, and for reasons that I cannot even fathom, actually compared slavery, yes slavery to immigrants. Mr. Carson did you not even consider thinking about what you were saying before you said it? I mean you’ve angered quite a few people, even Samuel L. Jackson who sent a tweet summing up what I think most people were thinking: how stupid can you be.
Slavery and immigrants cannot even be compared to one another. You’re talking about someone who illegally came to America in most cases to look for a better life. Whereas, slaves did not have that opportunity; they were FORCED to America, and then FORCED to do work against their will. If they failed to comply they were whipped, beat, raped, starved, and most horrific of all lynched.
I don’t think immigrants experienced the types of horrors that slaves endured, especially for over 400 plus years. It is because of slaves that so much of America has developed to a degree; slavery allowed some families to make loads of money and keep that money moving from generation to generation. This is what truly frustrates me about so many Americans: they don’t think before they speak. I don’t want to even hear someone pitch out the idea of the First Amendment which protects Freedom of Speech.
Yes, you have the freedom to say what you want, but there are limits people. You don’t just shout out stupid stuff without considering that it can have ripple effects that can not only tarnish your image, but also open up a rhetoric that can be dangerous. Plenty of speech nowadays is a form of rhetoric to fuel hate; something that many Americans pick-up on, while others are oblivious to what is taking place and just following the conundrum of what everyone else is saying.
I’m thinking to myself, did Dr. Carson, who I would like to believe is quite intelligent, even consider what he was saying before he said it? Did he NOT expect some sort of backlash from saying such careless comments? I mean you’re an African-American, how could you echo such words? It was like a complete slap in the face to an entire race, to his ancestors and those who fought tirelessly to obtain their freedom and resist oppression that has haunted and will continue to haunt this country for centuries to come.
Shame on you Mr. Carson! I’m expecting you to make a public apology or some sort of amends for those comments you made, they are not only unacceptable, but hold no merit. Slavery and immigrants, the same thing, you have to be kidding me?!