True enough in ancient Rome, I suppose, when slaves could have been of any race. But the antebellum South?

New Hampshire Republican: 'Owning Slaves Doesn't Make You A Racist'

A lawmaker in New Hampshire said this week that American slavery had nothing to do with racism and was just purely about economics.

Economics supplied the motive. Racism supplied the legitimation.

Republican state Rep. Werner Horn raised eyebrows in a now-deleted social media post, insisting those who owned slaves weren’t racist and were just making a “business decision.”

How would he know they weren't racist?

And, really, given the ferocity and durability of racism emanating from the South to all points white in the USA, how could anyone actually believe anything so absurd?

But what's the point, if he's just lying, as he all but certainly is?