Country musician Charlie Daniels stirred controversy when he said on social media that “some kids in college who should spend a year picking cotton.”
The message, posted on Twitter, was made following a previous comment on the status free speech.
When you try to stifle dissenting opinions don’t claim you believe in free speech
— Charlie Daniels (@CharlieDaniels) April 5, 2016
There are some kids in college who should spend a year picking cotton
— Charlie Daniels (@CharlieDaniels) April 5, 2016
College students in places like Emory University have drawn ridicule for their over-sensitivity to political free after students protested about instances of “Trump 2016” written in chalk.
The protesters, who said that they were “in pain” due to the chalk messages, demanded that the university president punish the person who wrote the message and condemn the message.
Daniels’s remark provoked criticism for being insensitive about the historical context surrounding cotton-picking, which is commonly associated with antebellum slavery in the South.
“Hey racist, picking cotton was typically not a paid position,” wrote one commenter.
“White people have NO history of manually picking cotton in the USA so I feel like he’s being racist..” wrote another.
Others were more sympathetic to Daniels’s message, which appeared to be a general statement about the perceived immaturity of the new crop of college students.
“I think he’s saying they need to learn what it’s like to have to actually do hard work that’s all,” another commenter wrote.
Earlier this week, Daniels was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
