Huckabee Suggests Volunteer Slavery As A Way To “Stop Black Criminality”

Mike Huckabee, GOP presidential candidate, has made it a habit to make troubling statements publicly since throwing his hat into the ring. On Thursday, Huckabee continued his streak by saying people convinced of crimes should be sold into slavery, ThinkProgress reports. He apparently made the comment while weighing in on the United States’ criminal justice system during a spot on Iowa radio show Mickelson in the Morning.

Mickelson said that punishment for offenders should be modeled instead of the Bible’s Old Testament Book of Exodus: “It says, if a person steals, they have to pay for it two-fold, four-fold. If they don’t have anything, we’re supposed to take them down and sell them…wouldn’t that be a better choice?” Huckabee responded: “Well, it really would be. Sometimes the best way to deal with a nonviolent criminal behavior is what you just suggested.”

However, Huckabee then went on to say that the Bible “truly has an incredible amount of wisdom contained inside it,” and that “men have ignored its word for too long,” implying that Americans do not live in accordance with the Scriptures anymore.

“It might sound too strict or even misplaced for progressive, forward-thinking people who focus on the tomorrow rather than on yesterday, but when it comes to resisting the modern day plagues that we have now, I’m more inclined to go back in time and look at how our ancestors handled similar issues. And I feel that we should apply more of the wisdoms and advice the Bible offers us, instead of just admiring how things used to be done,” the former governor of Arkansas told Mickelson.

“Are you saying that you agree we should bring back some old rules from the Bible and apply them today, in the contemporary American society?” the host inquired Huckabee.

“Absolutely, yes. I think we will be lost without them,” Huckabee replied. “And what’s more, the elephant in the room is slavery. I think that the answer to stopping these incredibly high crime rates that are raging across America is bringing back slavery.”

Mickelson seemed amused: “Really? How do you figure that?” “Well,” the former pastor said, “You know as well as I do that African-Americans are the most, shall we say, criminally-inclined race in average in the country. So, what I’m suggesting is bringing back slavery as a form of ownership. That would result in white people being able to have slaves once again, and that would definitely lower the crime rates significantly as black people wouldn’t need to rob liquor stores, 7-11s and commit crimes any longer. They would have food and shelter provided by their owners, and all they’d have to do in return is not get themselves flogged.”

“Sounds legit to me,” Mickelson agreed. “You better believe it, Jan,” Huckabee added, “because things in this country worked better back in the day, if you know what I mean.”