Sometimes the history of my state is not quite what you'd expect, but still disquieting: Wikipedia claims back when Hoosier lynch mobs -- White Caps and suchlike -- were running around, 1860 to 1910, they strung up nearly two-and-half times as many citizens of European ancestry as they did citizens whose ancestors were haled here from Africa. (Note, dear friends, that this is demographically askew; but one one-sided).
The common factor? Being accused of murder and/or rape. Not, however, necessarily being guilty of those offenses. It took five years after the Legislature passing an anti-lynching law in 1898 before the state got a Governor who bothered to enforce it -- which is another teensy little problem with "there otta be a law."
Behaving morally yourself, that's a good thing and raising up your kids to do likewise is even better; getting together a few dozen friends and going out to make your neighbor do so by main force, or give him a hemp necktie for failing, that's not so good. This is why we have a justice system and why it is so very ponderous: it's real damn hard to string a man back down if it turns out your little club's judgement was hasty when you strung him up. And even a very shiny justice system still doesn't work if somebody's got their thumb on the scales.
NOOOOO.
ReplyDeleteYou don't understand.
It was always racial!
Otherwise, we cannot generate more hate and divisiveness!