Lynching - The Rule of the MobLynching pertains to violence and murder used by perpetrators to pass extrajudicial judgment for their perceived offenders as well as terrorists to enforce social domination. Lynching can also be defined as the illegal execution of an accused person by a mob rather than by legitimate means.The word lynching likely originated from the name Charles Lynch (1936-96), a justice in Virginia known to administer rough justice to his constituents. Some acts of lynching include stoning, hanging, arson, and outright killing of the victims. Historically, victims of lynching are usually members of marginalized or vilified groups. As such, lynching can be categorized as a hate crime that targets a specific race, religion, or any group of people as its victim. The
crime of lynching is usually justified by the perpetrators in a
socio-moral
context as the immediate execution of justice without delay although it
is not
inherent to the legal system. Societies
with weak governments or historic periods that are threatened by
anarchy are
prone to be under the “Lynch Law”, a society
characterized by the prevalence of
lynch mobs. Lynching
in America - A Dirty Secret
Lynching
is a crime committed in many parts of the world including Europe.
However,
history is witness to a significantly greater number of lynching
incidents in
the United States. African
American slaves were the first victims of lynching in America as a form
of
punishment. Lynching became more prevalent in the United States during
mid-19th
to 20th century particularly in the Southern
regions. One
of
the most well-known proponents of lynching is the Ku Klux Klan (KKK),
established in 1867, which comprised of men in white gowns with
concealed faces
and riding horses. The KKK, whose main objective is to retain white
supremacy
in the South after the civil war, dramatically increased the number of
lynching
cases against African Americans. The
Jim
Crow Era was another phase when racially-motivated lynching became
prevalent.
The objective of lynching during this period however is preventing
economic
competition. Journalist
and editors who wrote and criticized the practice and prevalence of
lynching and
advocated the abolition of slavery were also killed by the mobs. To
aggravate
things, many people tolerated and justified lynching as the lesser evil
when
compared with anarchy and lawlessness. Nevertheless,
lynching in US history mainly targeted only the blacks and can
therefore be
described as a racist crime rather than civil justice. Thousands of
black men
and women were lynched for minor offenses such as shoplifting or public
drunkenness, while the white victims of lynching mainly consisted of
people who
protested lynching and supported equality. Up
to
the present day, the practice of lynching continues although not as
extensive
as it used to be. Also, lynching cases in the US are now tried and many
perpetrators are and can already be brought to justice for their crimes. Lynching
to a certain degree has become a taboo topic in many textbooks and is
rarely
discussed in American history classes. Although many Americans are
aware of the
crime, many do not grasp the scope of hate, horror, and reign of terror
it
brought its African American victims. === |
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