well, thank goodness no other country ever had slavery
dylan sucks. his music sucks.
If slavery had never been allowed here, today there would not be the millions of black racist perpetual "victims" bleeding our economy, filling our prisons and destroying our culture. Detroit would still be a great city, for example.
The only black people here would be the ones who wanted to be here.
Note he said the “stigma” of slavery, not slavery itself.
By that, he could mean the “stigma” created by those who have exploited slavery for their own personal gain....the kind of people Booker T Washington warned us about that “don’t want the patient to get well.”
Bob Dylan is not a kneejerk leftist and was roundly criticized by the left for walking away from their cookie-cutter Red politics.
The guy is a student of history and of American culture, as well as being an important part of American culture in his own right.
His points are valid: the legacy of slavery has poisoned this country's political discourse for a very long time, the fact that slavery ended in a brutal war rather than being phased out is a tragedy that took an immeasurable toll of our country's best, and real change is not about government programs or elections but about personal behavior.
The quality of the discussion here is the type I would expect to find on DailyKos.
If slavery ruined America it’s because it precipitated the 14th amendment.
Dylan ruined music for me.
Well then Mr. Dylan, every country in the world has been ruined by something in their past. You’re wasting our time.
in what country(ies) did slavery never exist?
Otherwise, IMHO, he was the most overrated, ahem, singer/songwriter/poet in history.
But, he was a liberal hippy freak and that’s the people who stand out in American history these days. Conservative entertainers are usually loathed.
The only way slavery has ruined USA is that there are those who still make a living off of it today!
Better comments: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2929995/posts
Well, you can stuff it, Bob, because my ancestors never owned slaves and even if they had, I’m not responsible for what my ancestors did. If we researched YOUR family tree and found an ancestor named “Horse Thief Dylan,” would you feel guilty forever?
Ditto! He was the biggest put-on in the history of popular music.
Africa didn’t quit selling slaves. We quit buying them. Who stopped slavery?
What is this freakin lunatic talking about? Does he think slavery was abolished in 1965?????? The whites who didn’t want to give up slavery have been dead for 100 years. He’s completely lost it, talking about slavery and things that happened 150 years ago as somehow being current.
Dylan can’t sing.
I never liked his songs.
I like only one song of his.
Did I say, “Dylan can’t sing”?
Shut up and sing (even though he can’t sing?)
Dylan sucks.
Dylan has ruined music for all time.
Bad Zimmy. Am I missing any deep thoughts? Feel free to add.
Democrats and their goal of keeping racism alive has ruined America!