LYNCHING AS AN ENTERTAINMENT WILL SOON BE OUT OF FASHION – HOPEFULLY
COMPILATION AND COMMENTARY
BY LUCY WARNER
FEBRUARY 18, 2019


THE SENATE HAS PASSED A VERY INTERESTING AND IMPORTANT NEW BILL. SEE https://www.essence.com/news/senate-unanimously-passes-bill-to-make-lynching-a-federal-crime/ AND https://www.countable.us/bills/s3178-115-justice-for-victims-of-lynching-act-of-2018.

THERE ARE TWO PARTS TO THIS ISSUE THAT STRIKE ME AS BEING SIGNIFICANT, THE CONCEPT OF A “HATE CRIME” AS OPPOSED TO A “CRIME,” AND OF FEDERAL CRIMES OVER STATE OR LOCAL ACTS. AN INTERESTING SHIFT IN PERSPECTIVE HAS OCCURRED DURING MY YEARS ON EARTH. WHEN I WAS YOUNG, HATE WAS A SIN AND NOT A CRIME. THAT WAS BEFORE THE HOLOCAUST STIRRED THE CONSCIENCES OF AMERICANS, AND BEFORE AMERICANS BEGAN TO BECOME CONSIDERABLY MORE HONEST ABOUT OUR RACIAL INTERACTIONS, FROM BLACKS TO JEWS TO JAPANESE TO NATIVE AMERICANS, AND MORE.

LET’S FACE IT, THERE IS ALWAYS YET ANOTHER SET OF PHYSICAL FEATURES, SKIN COLORS AND OPINIONS TO ALLOW AMONG US AS BEING AS GOOD AS WE ARE. WE HAVE TO MOVE OVER AND GIVE THEM A SEAT AT THE TABLE. WE CAN’T JUST GET TO A PERFECT POINT AND NOTHING WILL CHANGE FROM THERE. BEING ALIVE AND NOT DEAD MEANS FEELING, GROWING, CHANGING AND APPROACHING EVER NEW GOALS AND PROBLEMS UNTIL WE DIE. IT IS MY BELIEF THAT DOING THAT IS AN ENDLESS PILGRIMAGE, LIKE WALKING A MAZE IN THE EARLY CHURCH, AND IS THE ESSENTIAL TRUTH ABOUT LIFE ITSELF, AT WHICH POINT I WILL DIE. AND AFTER THAT OTHERS WILL HAVE TO TAKE OVER MY DUTIES AND I WILL BE AT PEACE.

I AM AWARE THESE LAST TWO YEARS THAT I’M AT THE TRANSITION POINT, SO I’M TRYING TO LOOK AT THINGS IN A MORE SERIOUS WAY, THOUGH NOT WITH AN ABSENCE OF HUMOR, AND SQUEEZE OUT A LITTLE BIT OF WISDOM INTO MY WRITINGS. IT HAS AWAKENED A GREAT DEAL OF THOUGHT ABOUT LIFE, AND AN AWARENESS ON A DAILY BASIS. ODDLY ENOUGH, DOING THIS DAILY NEWS BLOG IS HELPING ME. EVERY DAY SOMETHING NEW COMES BEFORE MY EYES, AND AS I EXAMINE IT, I REALIZE IT IS AS OLD AS THE HUMAN RACE.

AS WE ARE BRINGING MORE PEOPLE INTO THE MIX OF OUR CULTURE HERE IN AMERICA, AND CREATING MORE FAIRNESS FOR ALL, EVERY CITIZEN NEEDS TO STEP UP AND ACT AGAINST A PROLIFERATION OF HATE GROUPS AND HATE DOCTRINES; JOIN AND SUPPORT GROUPS LIKE THE SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER; DARE TO READ ABOUT FACTS THAT ARE PAINFUL BECAUSE THEY AWAKEN US MORE ON THE WHOLE ISSUE. THE BLACK COMMUNITY IS THE SOURCE OF LOTS OF WORDS AND IDEAS, THIS LATEST OF WHICH IS CALLED “WOKE.” ARE YOU “WOKE?” THAT’S WHAT I HOPE TO BECOME MORE AND MORE.

AM I AWAKE TO THE NATURE OF THE MIX OF INTERRACIAL ATTITUDES, AND ACTIVELY TRYING TO IMPROVE OUR POSITIONS ON IT? YOUNG BLACK PEOPLE SOMETIMES SEEM TO BE UNWILLING TO ADMIT THAT THEIR OWN ATTITUDES ARE EQUALLY IMPORTANT IN THE LOVE/HATE DIVIDE. A FRIEND OF MINE HAD TAKEN A JOB SELLING CANDIES, ETC. AT AN AIRPORT, AND SHE WOULD ARRANGE THEM ALL BEAUTIFULLY. WHEN HER SHIFT WAS OVER A YOUNG GIRL WOULD TAKE OVER AND LEAVE EVERYTHING IN A MESS. SHE CONFRONTED THE GIRL, WHO SAID “YOU’VE GOT AN ATTITUDE.” ANN SAID, “EVERYBODY’S GOT SOME KIND OF ATTITUDE.”

OF COURSE, THAT IS NATURAL TO YOUNG PEOPLE. GROWING UP TAKES EXPERIENCES, AND THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH THOSE. EXPERIENCE IS THE MANY, MANY THINGS THAT WE LIVE THROUGH WITH OUR EYES, MIND AND HEART OPEN. AS LONG AS INDIVIDUALS ARE WALKING ACROSS THE LINE TO MEET WITH THE OTHER SIDE, THERE IS HOPE FOR US ALL. WE ALL NEED TO INTERACT ACTIVELY, POSITIVELY, FAIRLY AND IN A FRIENDLY AND CARING WAY WITH THOSE OF OTHER RACES, RELIGIONS, ETC.

FEDERAL LAW OVER LOCAL LAW

THERE IS A FASCINATING GROUP OF PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY WHO CALL THEMSELVES “SOVEREIGN CITIZENS.” THEY SAY THAT THE HIGHEST AUTHORITY RECOGNIZED UNDER THE CONSTITUTION IS THE COUNTY SHERIFF. THIS COMES FROM THEIR SPECIFIC READING OF THE LAW. OUR LAWS BEING WHAT THEY ARE, HOLDERS OF THIS BELIEF ARE NOT JAILED OR PUNISHED IN ANY WAY, THOUGH IF THEY ARE CAUGHT ACTUALLY COMMITTING A CRIME THEY WILL BE JAILED, OFTEN AFTER DEFENDING THEMSELVES IN THEIR TRIAL IN BIZARRE-SOUNDING WAYS. GO TO GOOGLE AND TYPE IN “SOVEREIGN CITIZENS YOUTUBE.” IT IS MY OPINION THAT THEY DON’T REALLY “BELIEVE” ANYTHING MUCH, BUT THEY LOVE PROVOKING PEOPLE MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE IN LIFE. THEY’RE “MERRY PRANKSTERS,” THOUGH OFTEN WITH A TRULY MALICIOUS TURN OF MIND.

BOTH OF THOSE ISSUES – HATE CRIME AND THE SOVEREIGN POWER OF FEDERAL LAW OVER LOCAL -- HAVE BEEN DEBATED BY “CONSERVATIVES,” IN THE PAST AND WILL BE AGAIN. THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION HANDLES, ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY, FEDERAL CRIMES, OR CRIMES DERIVED FROM A FEDERAL LAW OR RULE. A FEDERAL CRIME CAN BE GENERATED BY A SUSPECT MERELY CROSSING A STATE LINE, THUS BREAKING DOWN THE STATES’ RIGHTS PREROGATIVE IN THAT CASE. THE FBI CAN THEN BE CALLED IN TO CAPTURE HIM, AND PERHAPS DO A BETTER JOB OF IT THAN THE LOCAL POLICE OFFICERS CAN. THE FBI ARE HIGHLY TRAINED INDIVIDUALS, AFTER ALL. IT’S MY BELIEF, ALSO, THAT THE FBI IS USUALLY LESS LIKELY TO TAKE A BRIBE FOR LETTING THE CRIMINAL ESCAPE.

THE SOUTH HAS LONG FOUGHT “FEDERAL OVERREACH” INTO “STATES’ RIGHTS,” WHICH IS A REMAINDER OF THE OLD CIVIL WAR ERA SOUTHERN VIEWPOINT. THIS COMES UP IN MYSTERY STORIES FROM TIME TO TIME, WHEN A FEDERAL OFFICER BULLIES THE LOCAL POLICE. THAT ADDS A LITTLE EXTRA TENSION TO THE WRITING AND MAKES IT SELL. I GREW UP WITH THE TERM “STATES’ RIGHTS” AS A HIGH MORAL PRINCIPLE. IN 1950, MANY IN THE SOUTH STUBBORNLY INSISTED THAT “THE DARKIES” WERE HAPPIER WITH ALL THEIR “RESPONSIBILITIES” TAKEN AWAY FROM THEM, SO THEY COULD PLAY THE FIDDLE AND EAT WATERMELON. NONE OF THAT HAD CHANGED MUCH AT ALL FROM 1850, YOU WILL NOTICE, AND NOW WE HAVE ANOTHER GENERATION OF LIARS IN POWER SPOUTING THE SAME NONSENSE.

MEN HAVE USED THE SAME ARGUMENT ABOUT THEIR DESIRE TO DOMINATE WOMEN ALSO, INCLUDING “WHAT WOMEN REALLY WANT IS....” A FRIEND OF MY FIRST HUSBAND’S USED TO SAY THAT MEN SHOULD “KEEP WOMEN PREGNANT AND BAREFOOT.” I NOTICED THAT HE TREATED HIS OWN WIFE LIKE A QUEEN, THOUGH. I WISH I COULD AGREE WITH IT TODAY. IT SOUNDS SO MUCH EASIER. IT TENDS TO INVOLVE LESS JUSTICE RATHER THAN MORE, THOUGH, AND NO MORE SECURITY.

IT WOULD BE PLEASANT TO BE ABLE TO SWEEP THE MISTREATMENT OF PEOPLE UNDER THE RUG AND NEVER THINK ABOUT IT, BUT I JUST CAN’T; LIKEWISE, I CAN’T GIVE SOMEONE ELSE THE RIGHT TO DOMINATE ME. AS I THINK IT IS MY DUTY TO PROTECT MYSELF, I FEEL THAT I AM DUTY BOUND TO WORK FOR THE FAIR TREATMENT OF OTHER GROUPS OR INDIVIDUALS AS WELL, IF THEY NEED HELP. LET’S FACE IT. SOMETIMES, EVEN I NEED HELP, AND I WANT THEM TO STAND BY ME.

HATE CRIMES

A HATE CRIME IS A CRIME MOTIVATED BY HATE, USUALLY GROUP ORIENTED, WHOSE PUNISHMENT IS STRONGER THAN FOR OTHER MOTIVATIONS OF THE SAME TYPE OF CRIME. ONE REASON FOR THAT IS THE UNFAIRNESS OF THE VIEWPOINT, AND ANOTHER IS THE GROTESQUE EXTENT TO WHICH A HATE CRIME CAN GO. THEY SHOW A LACK OF EMPATHY AND CONSCIENCE. MANY “CONSERVATIVES” HAVE VOICED THE OPINION THAT THEIR BELOVED AND TIME-HONORED LOAD OF HATRED AND BIAS IS THEIR FULLY JUSTIFIABLE “MORAL STRUCTURE AND BELIEF SYSTEM,” AND AS SUCH, IT IS THEIR RIGHT AS A USA CITIZEN TO PURSUE IT. “TO THE VICTOR BELONG THE SPOILS.” IN THE USA, THAT’S WHAT “CONSERVATIVE” THINKING TOO OFTEN AMOUNTS TO, REALLY. IT’S A PHILOSOPHY OF PEOPLE WHO JUST WEREN’T TAUGHT THE VIRTUES OF SHARING WHEN THEY WERE YOUNG, OR SEEING OTHERS AS EQUAL TO THEMSELVES, OR BEING PURPOSELY GENTLER TO THOSE WHO ARE WEAKER RATHER THAN BEING HARSHER. THE SENATE IS, AGAIN, TRYING TO PASS LEGISLATION THAT WOULD PUT HATE CRIMES ABOVE OTHER KINDS OF MOTIVATIONS, IN JUDGING THEIR SERIOUSNESS. THERE IS A LONG HISTORY OF THAT, HOWEVER, AND NO SUCH LAW HAS YET BEEN PASSED. ARE WE TOO BRUTISH TO DO THAT? WE’LL SEE SOON, HOPEFULLY.

HERE IN THIS COUNTRY THERE ARE STILL, ESPECIALLY LATELY, THOSE WHO DECLARE THAT WHITE ANGLO SAXON PROTESTANTS (WASPS) ARE CLEARLY AND PROFOUNDLY SUPERIOR TO ALL OTHERS, AND THEREFORE SHOULDN’T HAVE TO SHARE GOODS, POWER, POSITION, CIVIL RIGHTS, LIVING COMFORTS, POSITIONS IN COMMUNAL GROUPS, ETC. AN AMERICAN “CONSERVATIVE,” BELIEVES IMPLICITLY IN THE STATUS AND POWER STRUCTURE WHICH BENEFITS HIM OR HER. IT’S LIKE THAT REPUBLICAN FREE MARKET VIEW THAT THE ULTIMATE RESPONSIBILITY OF A BUSINESS IS TO “MAXIMIZE PROFITS.” IF THAT’S NOT WORSHIPPING THE GOD OF MONEY, NOTHING IS. IF THEY WERE OF THE MINORITY, THEY WOULDN’T BE SO SANGUINE ABOUT IT. THIS IS A COUNTRY IN WHICH MOST PEOPLE DO GIVE LIP SERVICE TO “EQUALITY,” AND “LIBERTY,” BUT NOT FOR ALL, JUST FOR THEMSELVES, THEIR FAMILY AND THEIR FRIENDS.

ABOUT LYNCHING

HOW FAR DOWN THE HUMAN SCALE CAN WE GO? WE’LL SEE. THE TRULY SHOCKING PRACTICE OF LYNCHING IS DEEPLY BONDED WITHIN THAT OLD TRADITION, AND IS THEREFORE AN “ACCEPTABLE” PART OF IT TO MANY SOUTHERNERS. IT IS THE LONG-ESTABLISHED BELIEF OF WESTERN SOCIETY, THAT WHITE, PROTESTANT, MALE INDIVIDUALS SHOULD BE RULERS OVER ALL OTHER SKIN COLORS, GENDERS AND RELIGIONS. PEOPLE HAVE “RIGHTS” ONLY IF THEY HAVE BEEN GIVEN THEM AND CAN DEFEND THEM. RAW POWER IS THE HIGHEST TENET OF THE TRADITION. IF YOU WANT RIGHTS, YOU WILL HAVE TO FIGHT FOR THEM. IN THIS WORLDVIEW, LYNCHING IS “JUSTICE” METED OUT FOR THE CRIME OF REBELLING OR NOT CONFORMING. VOICING ONES’ OWN OPINION IS ONE WAY OF REBELLING, AND CAN EVEN TODAY BE DANGEROUS. I THINK THE KEY WORD IS “ACCEPTABLE.” MANY PEOPLE DO NOT SEE THEIR DUTY UNDER GOD AS PRESERVING THE RIGHTS OF ALL CITIZENS, NO MATTER THE GROUP IDENTITIES, BUT KNUCKLING UNDER INSTEAD, TO WHOEVER IS MORE POWERFUL, AND BEING OBEDIENT AND GENIAL ABOUT IT. LOOK AT THE COUNTENANCES OF THE MEMBERS OF TRUMP’S WHITE HOUSE. THAT’S THE WAY OBEDIENT PEOPLE ARE SUPPOSED TO LOOK AND ACT. GOOD PEOPLE DON’T STAND UP, SPEAK UP, OR MAKE WAVES.

THESE “GOOD” PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY THE ENABLERS, THE FLIP SIDE OF THE “CONSERVATIVE” PERSONA – THOSE WHO FOSTER THE SURVIVAL OF THE WEALTHY AND POWERFUL BY FIGHTING FOR THEM, ADMIRING THEM, PRAISING THEM UNENDINGLY, CURRYING FAVOR WITH THEM, COMMITTING CRIMES FOR THEM, LAUGHING AT THEIR JOKES, NO MATTER HOW CRUDE, CRUEL, OR MERELY INSIPID. AS PAYMENT FOR THAT, THEY EXPECT THE REWARD OF BEING ABLE TO ABUSE THE SCAPEGOAT THEMSELVES WHENEVER THEY FEEL LIKE IT, AND LIKEWISE, WITHOUT PUNISHMENT. THE COIN OF THIS REALM IS ALLOWING ONES’ INNER SELF TO BE SACRIFICED, WHICH IS CALLED “LOYALTY.” THAT IS THE KIND OF POWER STRUCTURE THAT PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP HAS BROUGHT INTO THE WHITE HOUSE, AND WE HAVE BEGUN TO SUFFER NOTICEABLY FOR IT ALREADY, BUT WE WILL SUFFER MORE THE LONGER HE IS IN POWER. ONE REASON WHY I WON’T VOTE FOR A REPUBLICAN IS THAT MANY OF THEM FOLLOW THAT VERY SAME TRADITION. A GOOD CITIZEN IS A QUIET AND OBEDIENT ONE. SO MUCH FOR AMERICAN DEMOCRACY, I’M AFRAID. SO MUCH FOR THE LAND OF THE FREE.

THERE’S A CATCH PHRASE I’M SEEING A LOT ON THE INTERNET NOW, WHICH I DIDN’T SEE IN THE PAST – “IDENTITY POLITICS.” BY THAT PHRASE, GROUP MEMBERS DO NOT MEAN THEIR RIGHTS AS AN INDIVIDUAL CITIZEN, BUT AS AN “IDENTIFIABLE” GROUP MEMBER WITH GUARANTEED RIGHTS. THIS IS THE ERA OF MINORITY RIGHTS. I WISH THAT MERELY WRITING THEM INTO THE CONSTITUTION WOULD ACTUALLY TO CAUSE THEM TO BE RESPECTED. IN THE PAST, SUCH PEOPLE RARELY GROUPED TOGETHER TO FORM A POWER BASE, OR DEFENDED THEIR RIGHT TO EXIST AND FUNCTION AS A CITIZEN. IN THIS LAST CENTURY FIRST THE WOMEN BECAME QUITE OBSTREPEROUS OVER THE RIGHT TO VOTE, AND PROVED THE PRINCIPLE THAT BEHAVING IN A DOCILE WAY IS VERY LIKELY NOT THE BEST WAY TO GET WHAT YOU WANT. IT MAY BE THE MOST GENTEEL OR BEAUTIFUL WAY, BUT SO OFTEN THE PUNISHMENT WE GET FOR STUBBORN BEHAVIOR IS WORTH IT.

THAT THINKING, THE CLINGING TO GROUP IDENTITY, TENDS TO CAUSE DISSENTION THAT SPLITS THE FABRIC OF A SOCIETY, BUT IT IS ALSO THE BEGINNING OF AN IMPROVED SOCIETY. CHANGING THE POWER STRUCTURE WILL OPEN OUR COUNTRY UP TO MORE FAIR AND DEMOCRATIC MEASURES, THOUGH IT IS ALSO LIKELY TO BRING IN NEW PROBLEMS. THEY MAY STILL BE BETTER THAN THE OLD UNFAIRNESS OF THE 1900S, EVEN IF WE HAVE TO WORK TO FIND SOLUTIONS FOR THEM. LIFE WITHOUT PROBLEMS DOESN’T EXIST, AND AS EVERY MASOCHIST KNOWS, BEING OBEDIENT WON’T KEEP A BULLY FROM ATTACKING THEM. SO, FOR ME, IT’S A MATTER OF HOW MUCH I WANT TO TAKE.

I BELIEVE THAT THE FIRST CRACK WILL APPEAR AROUND SKIN COLOR OR OTHER APPEARANCES (BIG NOSES AND CULTURAL CLOTHING – JEWISH SKULL CAPS, OR “YARMULKES,” ESPECIALLY.) I WAS IN GRADE SCHOOL WHEN A CERTAIN CARTOON STRIP WAS PUBLISHED, STARRING AS A SCORNED INDIVIDUAL -- A BOY WHO ALWAYS WORE WHAT WAS CALLED “A BEANIE” – AND A GROUP OF “NORMAL” KIDS. I KNEW NOTHING AT ALL ABOUT JEWISH PEOPLE AT THAT TIME. I DIDN’T IMAGINE THAT THE WORD “BEANIE” WAS A JEWISH DEROGATORY MARKER UNTIL I HEARD A FRIEND'S HUSBAND SAY IT. TO ME, THE JEWS WERE THE PEOPLE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, THE “GOOD GUYS.” IN THOMASVILLE, NC, THE HATED SCAPEGOAT WAS THE BLACK PERSON, NOT JEWS. SEVERAL OF MY CLASSMATES WERE JEWS, BUT NOBODY POINTED THAT OUT TO ME, AND I USUALLY LIKED THEM BECAUSE THEY WERE INTERESTED IN LEARNING, AND FUN TO TALK TO. ONE EVEN TOOK ME TO MY FIRST DRESS UP DANCE. IT IS THEREFORE WITH A VERY PERSONAL ANGER THAT I SEE THESE CRUELTIES COMING OUT INTO THE OPEN SOCIALLY AGAIN.

ABOUT FEDERAL CRIMES

A FEDERAL CRIME IS ONE THAT ALLOWS THE FULL STRENGTH OF THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT TO COME INTO THE INVESTIGATION, CAPTURE THE SUSPECT, TRY AND SENTENCE THE CRIMINAL. THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IN THE PAST QUITE A FEW CRIMES WERE LEFT UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT, AND THE PENALTIES TEND TO BE WEAKER AND BIASED ALONG EXISTING LINES OF POLITICALLY BASED DIFFERENCES – WHITENESS, WEALTH, MASCULINE GENDER, AND THE UNSEEN PART – LAYERS UPON LAYERS OF FINANCIAL CORRUPTION BASED ON FAMILY, WEALTH, POLITICS, RACE AND RELIGION.

TOO OFTEN THE LOCAL LEGAL STRUCTURE IS IN AN ACTIVE, BUT UNACKNOWLEDGED, PARTNERSHIP WITH THE LOCAL POWER BROKERS, AND THEY ALL GET PART OF THE PROFITS. SPEED TRAPS IN THOSE SMALL TOWNS ACROSS THE NATION ARE OFTEN LINKED IN WITH ORDERS TO OFFICERS TO STOP AND CHARGE AS MANY DRIVERS AS THEY CAN UNDER QUOTAS AS A BASIS OF PAY AND INCREASING RANK, COLLECT FINES FROM THE DRIVERS, GET A PART OF THAT FOR THEIR OWN NEEDS SUCH AS NEW POLICE CARS AND GIVING SOME TO THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE JUDGES. LIKE IT OR NOT, THAT CAN WARP THE PATH OF “JUSTICE.” FOR-PROFIT PRISONS ARE ALSO PART OF THE CHAIN, BECAUSE THE EXTRA POLICE ACTION CAUSES MONEY TO “TRICKLE DOWN” TO THEM AS WELL. SEE: https://www.inthepublicinterest.org/report-the-banks-that-finance-private-prison-companies/.

THAT IS WHY LOCAL POWERS DON’T WANT FEDERAL LAWS TO AFFECT THEIR WAY OF OPERATING. IT LIMITS THEIR PERSONAL INCOME AND IT MAKES THEM MORE LIKELY TO BE CAUGHT IN A WHITE-COLLAR CRIME AND IMPRISONED, THEMSELVES. UNDER A FEDERAL LAW, INSTEAD OF THE LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS, THE FBI WILL INVESTIGATE AND PERFORM ARRESTS, THEN THE CASE WILL BE TRIED IN A FEDERAL COURT. THOSE MORE POWERFUL LEGAL STRUCTURES ARE A PRIMARY REASON WHY CITIES UNDER OBAMA’S AG HOLDER HAVE MADE TURNAROUNDS IN THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS FROM FORMERLY HAVING TERRIBLY VIOLENT POLICING RECORDS, TO IMPLEMENTING A MORE BIAS-FREE WAY OF POLICING, AS OPPOSED TO PAST DECADES OF RELATIVE CORRUPTION. IT IS NO SURPRISE THAT PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS SEVERAL TIMES SPOKEN DISPARAGINGLY OF AG HOLDER. OF COURSE, HE AND OBAMA ARE BLACK AND DEMOCRATS, ALSO.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT, IN THE PAST, HAS USUALLY BEEN CONDUCTED BY WHITE PROTESTANT MEN, AND THEY WERE GIVEN A LARGE MEASURE OF PERSONAL DISCRETION. POLICE ARE NOT PUNISHED STRONGLY ENOUGH FOR SHOOTING TO KILL WITH LITTLE NEED. THAT IS “THEIR PREROGATIVE,” AND THEY EXERCISE IT WITH IMPUNITY, WHEN UNDER ANY OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES IT WOULD BE A SERIOUS CRIME. NON-WHITES TEND TOO OFTEN TO GET THE HARSHER PUNISHMENTS LEVELED AGAINST THEM, AFTER LESS THOROUGH INVESTIGATIONS. IT IS LIKE A HOUSE WHICH HAS A NEW COAT OF PAINT, BUT TERMITES IN THE FOUNDATIONS. IT IS IN THIS SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT THAT LYNCHING CONTINUES TO EXIST, AND NEEDS TO BE MADE SPECIFICALLY ILLEGAL AND VERY STRONGLY PUNISHED.

https://www.essence.com/news/senate-unanimously-passes-bill-to-make-lynching-a-federal-crime/
Senate Unanimously Passes Bill To Make Lynching A Federal Crime

PHOTOGRAPH – SENATOR KAMALA HARRIS NOAH BERGER / AFP

The bill, which was introduced by Sens. Kamala Harris (D-CA), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Tim Scott (R-SC), will now move to the House for consideration.

BREANNA EDWARDS Feb, 14, 2019

After hundreds of years of sordid history, the United States Senate has finally passed legislation that would make lynching a federal hate crime.

According to the Hill, the Justice for Victims of Lynching Act, which was introduced by Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Tim Scott (R-SC), makes lynching punishable as a hate crime.

Play Video -- Angela Rye speaks out on Senator Kamala Harris's haters.
Angela Rye speaks with Essence at the MACRO Lodge about Senator Kamala Harris's haters.

This is not the first time that the Senate passed the bill. The bill cleared the Senate in December, but when it came to the floor of the then-Republican-controlled House, it was not passed before the end of the last Congress.

Speaking from the Senate floor, Harris, who recently tossed her hat into the 2020 Presidential race noted, “According to data from the Equal Justice Initiative, lynching was used as an instrument of terror and intimidation 4,084 times during the late 19th and 20th centuries.”


Zach Gibson

@kamalaharris

She’s already made history as the first woman elected as San Francisco’s district attorney and California’s attorney general. By winning a Senate seat last November, Harris is now the first Black woman to reach that milestone in nearly 20 years, and is using her platform to challenge the agenda of the Trump administration.

“From 1882 to 1986, the United States Congress failed to pass anti-lynching legislation when it had the opportunity more than 200 times,” she added. “We have an opportunity once again to right this wrong and face the ugly history of lynching in America.”

Booker, another presidential hopeful, also took the floor noting that “[Lynching’s] legacy does not just live in our history books,” recognizing the racist, homophobic attack on Empire actor Jussie Smollet in Chicago.

“Less than two weeks ago an actor and activist was brutally attacked in Chicago. Two men yelling racial and homophobic epithets,” he said. “Lynching is not a relic of the past…and we still have yet to confront this in this body.”

The bill will now go to the House, with Harris tweeting that she is “hopeful this measure will swiftly pass.”


Kamala Harris
✔
@KamalaHarris
BREAKING: Our anti-lynching bill, which would make lynching a federal crime, just unanimously passed the Senate. Lynching is a dark, despicable part of our nation's history and I'm hopeful this measure will swiftly pass the House.

52.1K
12:10 PM - Feb 14, 2019
Twitter Ads info and privacy
10.1K people are talking about this



DON’T STOP READING WITHOUT LOOKING AT THIS WEBSITE. IT TALKS OF THE AMERICAN UNWILLINGNESS TO MAKE A HATE CRIME LAW THAT INCLUDES LYNCHING. WHY IS THAT? READ ALSO THE READER COMMENTS ON THAT SUBJECT, FROM “IT’S ALREADY A CRIME TO LYNCH,” TO “THIS BILL IS A WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY.” IT’S A CRIME, BUT IT ISN’T A “HATE CRIME.” HATE CRIMES CARRY HEAVIER PENALTIES, AS THEY SHOULD. WHAT WE HAVE TODAY ALLOWS THE WORST OF OUR CITIZENS TO HAVE A GET OF JAIL FREE CARD. THAT ISN’T SUPERIORITY, IT’S SUBHUMAN.



SOME NORTHERNERS HAVE AN IRRITATING HABIT OF IMPLYING THAT SOUTHERNERS HAVE A LOW LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT, AND ARE THEREFORE BENEATH RESPECT. THIS EVENT DID NOT HAPPEN IN ALABAMA. IT HAPPENED IN INDIANA. EVIL IS UGLY WHEREVER IT HAPPENS.

https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/lynching-thomas-shipp-abram-smith-1930/

The lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, 1930
Lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, 1930
Lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, 1930.

On a hot August night in 1930 a crowd gathered in front of an Indiana jail — men, women, and children shouting and jeering, demanding that the sheriff release his three prisoners. Three African-American teenagers: Tom Shipp, Abe Smith, and James Cameron — huddled inside their cells, charged with the murder of a white man and the rape of white woman.

Some among the thousands of people in front of the jail formed a mob. They beat down the jail doors, pulled the three youths from their cells, brutally beat them, and dragged them to a tree on the courthouse square. At the last minute the mob spared Cameron, the youngest and most boyish of the trio. Smith and Shipp died, lynch ropes around their necks, their bodies hanging as the town photographer captured one of the most famous lynching photographs in American history. They weren’t even hung properly. They had a noose put around their neck and were then pulled up into the tree. And one of them tried to get free so they hauled him down, broke his arms and hauled him back up again.

The corpses hung in the square for hours, attracting crowds of gawkers — including the photographer Lawrence Beitler who was able to snap this picture. The photo sold thousands of copies, which Beitler stayed up for 10 days and nights printing them.

The third person 16-year-old James Cameron, narrowly escaped lynching thanks to an unidentified participant who announced that he had nothing to do with the rape or murder. Cameron was moved out of town, convicted as an accessory to the murder and served four years in jail. After the lynching, Cameron became a very devout man and vividly describes this day in his autobiographical account “A Time of Terror”. He became an anti-lynching activist in Indiana and, later, Wisconsin — where he founded a Black Holocaust Museum. He believed that the voice that came from the crowd to save him was the voice of an angel. Cameron died on June 11, 2006, at the age of 92.

Were they guilty? James Cameron stated in interviews that Shipp and Smith had, in fact, shot and killed Claude Deeter, a white man. Cameron claimed that he fled when he realized what was going on. So the guys are guilty of murder. The rape allegation — although it, and not the homicide, seems to have been the thing that triggered the lynching — was subsequently withdrawn. Mary Ball later testified that she had not been raped, contrary to the accusations against the three men. Back then, white women being raped by black men was worse than murder in the eyes of many.

Why there’s always at least one person in the photo pointing? The pointing is basically a threat towards other black people to stay in their place, or they will meet the same fate. Pointers are a phenomenon that exists in tons of photos with the dead, not just limited to that time period.

The picture was the inspiration for the poem “Strange Fruit” which was later put to song and popularized by the incredible Billy Holiday and became an early anthem for the burgeoning civil rights movement. Teacher/poet Abel Meeropol ran across this photo of the Shipp-Smith lynching a few years later in a magazine, and it so “haunted” him — his word — that he penned the anti-lynching poem “Strange Fruit”.

Interesting facts:

The word lynch originated around mid 19th century. It comes from the Lynch Law which was the practice of killing an alleged criminal by lynching. The Lynch Law in turn, got its name from Captain Willian Lynch. He was a planter and was a self-constituted judicial tribunal in Virginia. Unofficial tribunals used to be set by him to try the suspects. This rough and ready method of giving judgment came to be known as Lynch Law. Lynch’s most favorite punishment was flogging the suspect. After being flogged or ‘lynched’ if the suspect continued to commit the same crime or violated the rules, they were hanged.
Someone getting lynched doesn’t necessarily mean race was a factor at all. It was just “meting out punishment (often execution) outside of the court system”. In other words, “trial” by mob. Here are some statistics about lynching by race and state, according to this records 30% of people lynched were white.
Photographs and postcards taken as souvenirs at lynchings throughout America. One surprising recent discovery that documents lynching in an incredibly impactful and disturbing way was a collection of lynching postcards. It turns out that professional photographers took photos of lynchings and sold them as postcard souvenirs to attendees; some of these postcards were then mailed with writing on the back, and eventually archivists collected them. The book Without Sanctuary, reprints both the photos and some of the text from the postcard backs; the text is just incredibly disturbing, with some writers describe the picnic or holiday atmosphere of the lynching and some just not even seeming to acknowledge that they’re sending a picture of an inhuman atrocity to their loved ones.


https://museumandmemorial.eji.org/

https://www.countable.us/bills/s3178-115-justice-for-victims-of-lynching-act-of-2018
Senate Bill S. 3178
Should Lynching be a Federal Hate Crime?

What is Senate Bill S. 3178?

Official Title
A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to specify lynching as a deprivation of civil rights, and for other purposes.

This bill — the Justice for Victims of Lynching Act of 2018 — would make lynching a federal crime automatically warranting an enhanced sentence under existing federal hate crime statutes. It would make lynching punishable by a sentence of up to life in prison. This bill wouldn’t preclude murder charges, which can already be brought under existing law.

More Information

In-Depth: Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), along with the two other African-American members of the Senate, Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Tim Scott (R-SC), introduced this bill to make lynching a federal crime warranting an enhanced sentence under existing federal hate crime statutes:

“Lynching is a dark, despicable part of our history, and we must acknowledge that, lest we repeat it. From 1882 to 1986 there have been 200 attempts that have failed to get Congress to pass federal anti-lynching legislation, it’s time for that to change.”

When recently asked about anti-lynching legislation, Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) expressed support and said that he believed an anti-lynching law was already on the books. In an interview on Sirius XM, Sen. McConnell said, “I thought we did that many years ago. I hadn’t thought about it, I thought that was done back during L.B.J. or some period like that. If we need [an anti-lynching law] at the federal level, I certainly will support it.”

Bryan Stevenson, Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative and the founder of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama, a national memorial acknowledging the victims of racial terror lynchings, argues:

“It is never too late for our nation to express our sorrow for the decades of racial terror that traumatized millions in this country. Passing an anti-lynching law is not just about who we were decades ago, it's a statement about who we are now that is relevant, important and timely."
In an NPR interview after the Senate passed a resolution apologizing to lynching victims for its failure to pass anti-lynching legislation, University of New Hampshire African-American History and American Studies professor Harvard Sitkoff argued that the need for federal anti-lynching legislation was negated by the Civil Rights Act of the 1960s:

“[L]ynching as such now has decreased very significantly. In part because of the threat of federal anti-lynching legislation, Southern states began to do much, much more to stop lynching from occurring and to themselves prosecute lynchers when a lynching did occur. To a very large extent, then, a federal anti-lynching law became superfluous.”

There are 29 cosponsors of this bill, including three Republicans, 24 Democrats, and two independents. The NAACP, Anti-Defamation League, and Equal Justice Initiative support this bill. There is a House version of this bill, introduced by Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) and 36 members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC).

Of Note: Lynching is the willful act of murder by a collection of people assembled with the intention of committing an act of violence upon any person. Historically, it’s been associated with racially-motivated crimes, especially in the South. From 1882 to 1968, nearly 5,000 people, over 70% of whom were African-American, were victims of lynching in the U.S. Despite the number of crimes, 99% of those responsible for lynchings escaped prosecution or punishment by state or local officials. While lynching no longer occurs with regularity in the U.S., it’s never been officially made a federal offense. According to a film produced by Ted Koppel, the last documented lynching in the U.S. was of Michael Donald in Mobile, AL in 1981 by two members of the KKK.

Congress has tried — and failed — to enact anti-lynching legislation at least 240 times. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, seven presidents called for an end to lynching, and the House of Representatives passed multiple anti-lynching measures between 1920 and 1940. The Senate, however, repeatedly failed to enact anti-lynching legislation despite repeated requests by civil rights groups, presidents, and the House of Representatives.

In 1918, Rep. Leonidas C. Dyer (R-MO) was the first to introduce an anti-lynching bill. His bill, intended to punish authorities that failed to prevent lynching, was designed to act as a deterrent that’d end the practice. Dyer’s bill ultimately died in the Senate after facing stiff opposition.

The last attempt to pass an anti-lynching bill was in 1965. In 2005, the Senate issued an apology for its past legislative failures. In a bipartisan resolution, 90 out of 100 Senators apologized to lynching victims for the Senate’s repeated failure to enact anti-lynching legislation, and expressed their deepest sympathies and most solemn regrets of the Senate to the descendants of victims of lynching, the ancestors of whom were deprived of life, human dignity, and the constitutional protections accorded to all U.S. citizens.


Media:

Sponsoring Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) Press Release
S.Res.39 - Senate Apology to Victims of Lynching and Their Descendants
The Columbus Dispatch (Op-Ed In Favor)
New York Times
Axios
Quartz (Context)
Summary by Lorelei Yang

(Photo Credit: iStockphoto.com / madsci)


Lynching is a horrific crime that historically has both hate- and race-based elements. Making it illegal at the federal level, and adding a hate crime enhancement, rights the historic wrong of the crime itself being allowed to continue for over a century, as well as the nearly 4,000 crimes of this nature that went largely unpunished.


READER COMMENTS


Ben's Opinion In Favor
···
12/02/2018
Absolutely, how is this even reasonably argued against?
Like
(10)
Follow
Share


Andrea's Opinion In Favor
···
10/10/2018
I have seen racist graffiti greet other black families including mine in the 1970s. I have heard other black families greeted with effigies. K father shared stories of lynchings in the South. It's a great idea! I hope this passes in the House and the Senate with veto proof votes!


Lonesomelight's Opinion In Favor
···
12/02/2018
The fact that lynching is not already considered a federal hate crime is extremely telling. This needs to be signed into law as soon as possible given the heightened violent and hateful cultural climate currently.


··· Dawn 'S Opinion
12/02/2018
Lynching is already a crime of hate and it should have been a hate crime years ago. We are behind the times with making it a federal crime.


Argument opposed

There hasn't been a documented lynching in the U.S. in nearly four decades, and the Civil Rights Act has long-since negated the need for a federal anti-lynching law. The Senate’s 2005 apology to lynching victims and their descendants suffices to right the wrong of the federal government failing to enact an anti-lynching law.


Mark's Opinion
···
12/02/2018
Countable, by your own admission there hasn't been a documented lynching in the U.S. in nearly four decades. For those emotional types that can’t do math that’s 40 years. Also known as two generations. And the Civil Rights Act (drafted and introduced by Republicans I might add) has long-since negated the need for a federal anti-lynching law. Moreover, lynching aka hanging (when performed by others against someone’s will) generally results in what’s known as murder by death. And murder in most states carries with it what is known as the death penalty. And since civil society cannot kill the perpetrator more than once, I don’t see how escalating something into a so-called hate crime helps matters? Unless of course you’re looking to politically stir the pot and further divide our nation, which clearly you are.


Wes's Opinion
···
12/02/2018
This is dumb. Lynching is already illegal. The fact that this is a question shows that the left is trying to revive racism. Sorry guys but we stand against hate.


Liz's Opinion In Favor
···
12/02/2018
Why isn't it already on the books?
Like
(20)
Follow
Share


19
burrkitty's Opinion In Favor
···
12/02/2018
Obviously, The very definition of lynching involves hatred. It should be subject to extra sentencing for heinous violence.


ManfromNebraska's Opinion Against
···
12/02/2018
This is already a crime. Waste of time and money.


OlderNWiser's Opinion In Favor
···
12/03/2018
I know of two lynchings In the Bay Area of CA, one of which was identified, and one of which was called suicide. Having witnessed the violence of prison guards against inmates, I am suspicious of the many “suicides” by hanging in jails and prisons as lynchings. A young black man was hanged and his family, my clients at that time, were 100% certain he would never commit suicide. I join them in suspecting lynching. Yes, lynching should be a federal hate crime. It is an appalling and terrifying threat with its long onerous history and experience tells me it isn’t in the past yet.


Bernie's Opinion Against
···
12/02/2018
When was the last time anyone was lynched? This is a smoke screen. There hasn’t been a lynching in the United States since 1981 by Democrats in the KKK. Who haven’t been this pissed off since they were told they couldn’t own people. Burning witches should also be a federal crime. As should execution with a guillotine.


13
Christopher's Opinion In Favor
···
12/02/2018
This isn’t a federal hate crime already? One more bit of America’s racist past that has to go in the 21st century.


operaman's Opinion Against
···
12/02/2018
Lynching should be used for Federal treasonous crimes. i.e. Hillary, FBI, Holder, and Rice. Lynching became famous in the wild west. It was cheap, fast and effective.


11
Marge's Opinion In Favor
···
12/02/2018
The very fact that this is even a question is disturbing. Lately I am so embarrassed to be a US citizen. I travel to many countries. I tell people that I'm Canadian, to avoid reproach


11
Robert's Opinion In Favor
···
12/02/2018
It’s about time


10
Ben's Opinion In Favor
···
12/02/2018
Absolutely, how is this even reasonably argued against?


PLEASE ASK YOURSELF ONE QUESTION NOW. WHO AND WHAT ARE WE? WHAT CAN WE BECOME? WE NEED TO WALK IN ANOTHER DIRECTION.