Glenden BrownActual Lynching Victims
For the edification of those convinced lynching is some term from the spaghetti westerns - it’s not all fun games kids.
 
Photos from “Without Sanctuary“. From 1882 to 1930 - 48 years - more than 1 African American was lynched each and every for a total of over 2500 murdered by mobs. In the same era, approx 300 non-African Americans were lynched. 96% of lynching victims were murdered in cold blood. In some communities, they sold tickets and for 5 cents you got to shoot the victim. Victims were whipped, stabbed, tortured, had their ears cut off. Crowds didn’t care if the victims had committed actual crimes or if they got the wrong person.  Â
That’s what an actual lynch mob does.
February 22nd, 2008 at 2:53 am
I can’t believe what I just heard!
Bill O’ Reilly said this word for word on his Goddamned freak show in reference to Michelle Obama saying that for the first time in her life, she was proud of her country:
“I don’t what to go on a lynching party against Michelle Obama, unless there’s evidence, hard facts, this is how the woman really feels.”
Is this going to be an election, or a fucking race war!
February 22nd, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Chris Buttars is the epitome of insensitivity and closet racism that I hoped would have been part of a bygone Utah era. I am embarrassed by my Church’s (LDS) historical actions and feelings toward blacks, and it is irritating and otherwise painful for me to have Sen. Buttars remind me that we haven’t completely overcome our blindnesses and weaknesses in that area.
Also, for the Utah Eagle Forum to stand by Senator Buttars bothers me as much as his actual statement, which was made contextually after the metaphor of a HUMAN BEING had already been clearly established by Senator Stephenson.
I don’t, however, join the calls for his resignation. It will be much healthier for the political (voting) process to take care of that, and I hope it does in short order.
February 23rd, 2008 at 2:15 am
I’ll tell you how O’ Reilly can get more attention. Arrest his sorry butt and put it in prison.
And now we hear stories about police in Texas being stunned that they were told to stop checking for weapons at the Obama debate by the federals. What is going on!
February 23rd, 2008 at 8:08 am
Larry and Frank,
I think we’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg in terms of nasty racist language and coded racist attacks. Rush Limbaugh apparently plays “Baracks the Magic Negro” on his show on a regular basis. And everytime someone points out all the racism that is flooding out of the right, we’re going to be told we’re being “too sensitive.”
Here’s the deal - people like O’Reilly and Limbaugh and their legions of AM radio imitators across the country are trying to figure out exactly how far the push racism into the national dialog before there’s some pushback. It’s not accidental and it is intended to send some very clear messages.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it - it’s going to be a bumpy ride. The US is the only western nation with a sizable and well organized and funded right wing movement. Sure, our conservatives aren’t right wing like the Peronistas, but they share a similar free mix of nationalism, corporatism, and xenophobia. They’ve learned you can’t be too overtly in public so they’ve had to get really good at dog whistle politics.
Now about Utah and racism - my grandfather was born in Utah in 1910, lived here his whole life, he was a union man, worked side by side with people of all races and thought it was funny to give his African American coworkers nicknames like “Midnight” and “Late Night.” They put up with it because they had no choice. They laughed along because they had no choice. Well today there’s a choice and it’s okay to say “Hell no.”
Just like sexism, there’s a lot of folks in Utah, who know its bad - but not because they think racism or sexism are actually bad things. They’re like thieves who are genuinely sorry they got caught, not becuause they stole something. Chris Buttars is in that category. He really doesn’t think he said anything wrong. We’re living in a State where people didn’t get the joke on All In the Family - they actually believed Archie Bunker was speaking the truth.