Hacker News Reader

No, the "best people" weren't responsible for slavery. Any rich guy can write a book or do math especially if they live off slave labor.

There were plenty of people who opposed slavery. Those were the best people, even if they're not remembered in a culture that worships slavemasters.

View on HN

You're right that the abolitionists were better people who lived at the same time. My point is really that people can be good in many honorable ways and yet also be complicit in the common evil of their time. Likely many abolitionists were against LGBT; it's good to remember both their greatness and their failings.

You can bet that even the “best people” held some unpopular view. I’m sure they used words that would be considered terrible by today’s standards.

It’s the same as going all the way back to the beginning of someone’s Twitter account to find a rap lyric quote to get them fired.

Even the most cautious careful views today may look terrible 100 years from now.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com