Why exactly are people so shocked that slaves helped build the White House?

[Tommy_Carcetti]

Do they not want to bother their pretty little minds with that well-known fact?

Didn't they see the John Adams miniseries where they actually depicted just that?

[liberal N proud]

1. People are afraid of the truth and have long ignored much of the truth

[Hekate]

2. I must have missed that. Who is displaying shock & denial this morning?

Because it is a fact. Somemay not want to look at that fact, but there it is.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

7. Apparently Fox News wants to act like it was no big deal.

Because, you know, the slaves were fed.



And others are upset that the First Lady had the audacity to bring up that inconvenient truth in her speech, even though it highlights the historical significance of the fact that her ancestors were slaves and she's now living in that house of ultimate power.

[treestar]

3. And why the need to deny it in 2016?

Surely even racists admit slavery existed in those times and that DC was just on the border of the South.

[Fresh_Start]

4. But they were well-fed so it doesn't matter they were slaves

However, applying that same well-fed logic today...suggests that most GOP supporters have nothing to complain about either.
They sure look well-fed while they are supporting the Donald.

[Me.]

9. But They Weren't Well Fed

According to Abigail Adams

[still_one]

5. You mean, people like Bill O'Reilly, and those who are his audience

[onecaliberal]

6. Not shocked one bit, was already aware. They were forced to build much more than the White House.

We don't learn about history in this country. That's why we have been doomed to continually repeat it.

[librechik]

8. HBO aside, the education in this country is shit

especially regarding history of any kind.

[procon]

10. The home skoolers probably think it was built in the 50s by the pilgrims

with the muscle power supplied by their pet dinosaurs.

[Cirque du So-What]

11. Those who have remained blissfully unaware thus far

are not likely to be the sort who would watch the John Adams miniseries either.

[The2ndWheel]

12. What people?

Who is they?

[La Lioness Priyanka]

14. Many thousands that flipped out on all sorts of media

After Michelle obama's comments?

[The2ndWheel]

15. Didn't see it

[La Lioness Priyanka]

16. here are some examples

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/07/27/bill-oreilly-michelle-obama-white-house-slaves-speech/87604632/

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2016/jul/27/some-readers-unconvinced-our-true-rating-white-hou/

https://mic.com/articles/149779/was-the-white-house-built-by-slaves-some-are-really-doubting-michelle-obama-s-dnc-speech#.g1iELlWiU

[The2ndWheel]

20. Alright, but not sure I'd call those responses shock

[La Lioness Priyanka]

22. whatever

[La Lioness Priyanka]

13. Because then they'd have to acknowledge that

A lot of the wealth that has been accumulated by white people come from black labor and maybe they should stop being such racists fucks.

[KT2000]

17. +1000

Exactly!!! This is something that drives me nuts - the myth that white people built this country when it was slaves who did. That is what they cannot handle - the economy, the infrastructure existed because of the work slaves did. I want to see a huge statue/installation in DC on government grounds that acknowledges that fact.

[Skinner]

18. I'm pretty sure the people who are shocked by this...

...would not watch the John Adams miniseries.

(Which was excellent, by the way.)

[HughBeaumont]

19. Because . . . .

. . . . (while rolling their eyes) "It's just ONE MORE THING the white-guilt libs will say is MY FAULT!!"

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

21. Because they believe that we black people are inferior. We don't do great things.

We don't build. We don't create. We don't possess intelligence or ingenuity. We are nothing in their eyes.

That's what people believe.