The Lynching of ACORN

[TOOLZ]

http://pubrecord.org/nation/5636/the-lynching-of-acorn/


In his confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas refuted Professor Anita Hill’s sexual harassment testimony against him with these famous words:

“This is a case in which this sleaze, this dirt, was searched for by staffers of members of this committee, was then leaked to the media, and this committee and this body validated it and displayed it at prime time over our entire nation.…This is a circus. It’s a national disgrace. And from my standpoint as a black American, as far as I’m concerned, it is a high-tech lynching for uppity blacks who in any way deign to think for themselves, to do for themselves, to have different ideas, and it is a message that unless you kowtow to an old order, this is what will happen to you. You will be lynched, destroyed, caricatured by a committee of the US Senate rather than hung from a tree.”

I cite this as precedent in three realms: An African-American defining a lynching beyond the traditional mob beating and hanging of black people; a Supreme Court Justice not known for opinions sympathetic to minorities here asserting racism as the cause in a line of inquiry; and the U.S. Congress’s acceptance of this definition as they hastily approved the minimally experienced Thomas following his scathing complaints.

The history of lynching in America is considerable. From 1882-1968, nearly 5000 lynchings occurred in the United States. Lynching is vigilantism and extrajudicial decision by a group of people, a violent act by a mob that does not believe their agenda will be met by law, aware they are acting out of the law, but in effect being the law. There is rarely accountability for those involved. In fact, the display of the victim hanging for all to see is meant to scare off others, violators of perceived segregation or threats to authority.

A perceived wrong to white women was often used as justification. Fueled by prejudice and untruths, urged by a perceived threat or need for immediate justice, lynchings often occurred for reasons other than the alleged crime, like a land or business dispute. Lynchings occurred primarily with blacks men dying at the hands of a white mob, but white people were also targeted, for activism or outspokenness.

This would seem to be the case in Kentucky, where a white census worker was murdered, left hanged, naked, hands taped together, gagged, his ID taped to him and “FED” scrawled across his chest. To dispute that this heinous crime qualifies as a lynching is a very dangerous road to go down, even from people who email White House watermelon pictures. Nonetheless, some are inhumanly quick to venture any number of defamatory theories, blaming a victim who can no longer speak for himself, rather than acknowledge what is plain as day.

The manner in which Bill Sparkman was left to be found makes it clear that this was meant as a message. His body didn’t have “Bill” scrawled on it, or “Guy Who Wronged Me Personally In Ways That The Legal Process Will Not Adjudicate Fairly.” No, it said simply, “FED,” as in, what else is there to say? He was a federal employee—how dare he? But why on earth would someone want to kill a federal employee (outside of postal-worker-on-postal-worker violence)? How could population counting of American citizens to allot them equitable representation and public resources make them want to kill you?

Fanatical fear mongers, such as wrist-slasher and Rep. Michelle Bachman, R-Minn., have sought to create fears of this census process that occurs every 10 years, alleging surveillance and plans to build government camps. She has been notably dodging the issue since Sparkman’s murder, but she had plenty of unfounded fears to share about the census just months ago...

CONTINUED AT http://pubrecord.org/nation/5636/the-lynching-of-acorn/

[zbdent]

1. and don't forget David Brock

revisiting the issue later, after he was assaulted for NOT pulling an "Anita Hill" on Hillary Clinton.

When he actually went back and did research on the topic, he found out exactly what a sleaze Clarence Thomas was (is) ...

From the book, "Blinded by the Right":

"Yet in the years since (writing The Real Anita Hill), I continued with tears welling up in my eyes, I learned things from the Thomas camp that shook my confidence, not only in the book's validity, but also in my association with the conservative movement. The things I learned about Thomas and his supporters I had hidden from everyone, even my new set of friends, I said, but I couldn't wish them away."