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This column reflects the opinion of the writer. Learn about the differences between a news story and an opinion column.

Slavery misunderstood

David Wordinger (May 8) believes Cliven Bundy’s assertion that black people had stronger families under slavery.

History begs to differ. Slave owners routinely sold parents away from children, and children away from parents, to plantations days away so that they never saw one another again. The children of slave women fathered by plantation owners were often taken into the big plantation house as privileged house slaves forbidden to associate with their biological parents.

Slaves were not even allowed legal marriages (I’m sure both Bundy and Wordinger are big on the marriage thing). The ignorant ramblings of a welfare cowboy can be dismissed as unworthy of response.

Would Wordinger care to be in that company?

Jackie McCowen-Rose

Spokane

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