Roy Moore said America was great during the time of slavery, and Twitter is outraged
Roy Moore, the Republican Alabama Senate nominee accused of inappropriate sexual advances toward teenage girls, has continued to astound with his behavior. On December 7th, social media was in uproar over a slavery comment Moore made during a rally, in which he seems to look back on the Civil War with fond nostalgia.
At a rally in Florence, Alabama, Moore responded to a black audience member’s question about what Moore considered to be the last time America was great. Moore’s answer reportedly acknowledged the racial divisions of the time but still settled on the 1800s — when slavery was still in place.
"I think it was a great time when families were united — even though we had slavery — they cared for one another...Our families were strong and our country had direction," Moore said.
The comment was covered by the Los Angeles Times in a September article, but social media didn’t latch onto Moore’s words until a viral tweet on December 7th. The tweet was posted by Eric Columbus, who worked in the Department of Justice and Homeland Security under President Barack Obama. Columbus’s post was retweeted more than 9,000 times.
Can't make this up — Roy Moore said in September that the last time America was great was when we had slavery. (h/t @reckonalabama)https://t.co/NMF4BCQ6ZS pic.twitter.com/XbpPtdifuS
— Eric Columbus (@EricColumbus) December 7, 2017
Twitter users were incredulous, saying that Moore seemed to want a second Civil War.
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Others pointed out that there were plenty of other periods in American history that Moore could have chosen.
Roy Moore literally says that the last time America was great was not when we fought Nazis. Not when we eliminated polio. Not when we WENT TO THE FUCKING MOON. He thinks the last time America was great was before the Civil War, "even though we had slavery." #weepforAmerica
— 🇺🇲 J.D. Rhoades #SlavaUkrayini 🇺🇦 (@JD_Rhoades) December 8, 2017
Not to mention that, as some said, enslaved families were often separated from one another during the 1800s — definitely not among those who were “united” at the time.
Roy Moore believes that the greatest time in the US was during the Civil War “when families were still together”. Slave families were split
— Jamie Griles (@JamieGriles) December 8, 2017
"It was great at the time when families were united even though we had slavery." Slavery literally tore families apart. Possibly at no time in US history when families were less united than during this time.
— sistermagpie (@sistermagpie) December 7, 2017
And others said the comment was racist. Some even suggested that the Trump-coined phrase “MAGA” referred to bringing back slavery all along.
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/938903115721592832
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America was great when black people were slaves, according to Roy Moore. (PS: many Black people have long known that this is what MAGA meant all along.) https://t.co/VLWfXVkCec
— Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) December 7, 2017
What did y'all think MAGA referred to?!
— spring (@TheRealMCSloth) December 7, 2017
A dangerous, insensitive, white supremacist statement from #RoyMoore. Rhetoric our nation and world cannot afford, particularly with our neighbors on the auction block in #Libya. https://t.co/ffPRp7XPdW
— The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center (@TheKingCenter) December 8, 2017
Moore has been accused of sexual misconduct by nine women. Several of these women alleged that Moore made sexual advances toward them when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s. Moore has denied the allegations against him. Despite this, President Donald Trump officially endorsed Moore for Senate on December 4th. And the Republican National Committee was not far behind, saying they would resume funding Moore’s campaign a few hours later.
The sexual misconduct allegations against Moore were enough for us to want him out of the Senate race, but these comments add a new layer. There was nothing great about slavery. We hope that the people of Alabama consider Moore’s comments when they vote in the upcoming election.
