Every so often, columnists find stories that don’t seem like they should be happening. Usually, these are awful tragedies like school shootings, police brutality, natural disasters, etc. This is one of those stories that I don’t think I should have to write about, because it’s so obviously bad, so plainly toxic, that touching it with a mile-long pole is giving it too much attention. But unfortunately, this is happening in Iowa, on hallowed electoral grounds just south of us, so I feel obligated.

Jan Mickelson is a radio host in Iowa, described by MediaMatters.com as a “conservative kingmaker.” He has hosted numerous candidates for president already, including Carly Fiorina, Rick Santorum and Ben Carson. And this is what he said on August 17: “Anyone who is in the state of Iowa who is not here legally and who cannot demonstrate their legal status to the satisfaction of the local and state authorities here in the State of Iowa, become property of the State of Iowa. So if you are here without our permission, and we have given you two months to leave, and you’re still here, and we find that you’re still here after we we’ve given you the deadline to leave, then you become property of the State of Iowa. And we have a job for you. And we start using compelled labor, the people who are here illegally would therefore be owned by the state and become an asset of the state rather than a liability and we start inventing jobs for them to do.”

This is a real quote. When a caller said that this amounted to slavery, Mickelson replied with “What’s wrong with slavery?” I repeat: that is an actual quote, on record.

What’s wrong with slavery? Why do I feel like I have to answer this question?

What’s wrong with slavery is that owning human beings is illegal in this country. It has been since 1865, when the 13th Amendment was ratified by the states. What’s wrong with slavery is that most of humanity has agreed that owning human beings as property demotes their status as human beings. What’s wrong with slavery in this country is that it has left a racist legacy that we are still affected by in so many negative ways. Here’s the full text of Section 1 of the 13th Amendment: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” And you can see that there is an important loophole there, “as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.” This is how we have prison labor in the United States. But that is also misleading, because even prisoners are paid.

So yes, slavery is wrong. State-sanctioned slavery is even worse. But that’s not really why I’m talking about these remarks. I’m talking about them because they are incredibly dangerous, and not just because they are ugly, racist and deplorable in 1715, 1815, 1915 and especially 2015. I’m talking about them because of what will happen if a presidential candidate doesn’t call people who espouse these views out.

Two Donald Trump supporters in Boston recently beat an old man with a metal pipe, breaking his nose, battering his chest and arms and leaving him soaked in urine, claiming, “Donald Trump was right. All these illegals need to be deported.” When asked about this, Trump replied with, while it was the first he had heard about it, “It would be a shame.” He then added, “I will say that people who are following me are very passionate. They love this country and they want this country to be great again. They are passionate.” He doesn’t condemn the act in this statement, rather he almost praises the attackers, who both had criminal records.

But you know what? I don’t deny people’s right to say these statements. I truly believe in the freedoms of speech and the press, without which I may not have my job as a columnist. I firmly believe that freedom of speech is at the core of any democracy. It allows us, as people and members of the press, to expose corruption, deceit and atrocities that people in power may otherwise want covered up. And yes, it means you can say horrible things like this.

But free speech or freedom of the press only means that the government cannot stop you from saying things without fear of reprisal, and there are limits to this. What you say and what you write has consequences. As citizens, when we exercise our first amendment rights we must also accept the responsibility that comes with those rights—to not dehumanize or harm another individual. What Mr. Mickelson said was wrong, and I refuse to dignify it with any further commentary.