General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBlack Lives Matter Activist Convicted of "Felony Lynching": "It's More Than Ironic, It's Disgusting"
http://www.democracynow.org/2016/6/2/black_lives_matter_activist_convicted_ofmercuryblues
(14,491 posts)was arrested for trying to de-arrest a peaceful protester. I would call that interfering with a police officer, not lynching.
I agree with this quote: "Her conviction is not only about punishing Jasmine Richards, but also is the lynching,"
It was to delegitimize her and BLM. People hear the term lynching and jump to hanging. Because that is what this law was for. Many people will not bother to read the article to see she was trying to protect a fellow protester.
the law was there to allow prosecution in a lynching case since it would be easier to ID the people who took the prisoner from the jail than to ID responsible members of the mob that did the hanging.
1939
(1,683 posts)They describe "mob justice" or "vigilante justice" administered prior to the arrest of a suspected criminal and to such violence committed after arrest and detainment by mob action to wrest the suspected criminal from legal custody.
from Wiki:
"In the United States, the origin of the terms lynching and lynch law is traditionally attributed to a Virginia Quaker named Charles Lynch. Charles Lynch (17361796) was a Virginia planter and American Revolutionary who headed a county court in Virginia which incarcerated Loyalist supporters of the British for up to one year during the war. While he lacked proper jurisdiction, he claimed this right by arguing wartime necessity. Subsequently, he prevailed upon his friends in the Congress of the Confederation to pass a law which specifically exonerated him and his associates from wrongdoing. He was concerned that he might face legal action from one or more of those so incarcerated, even though the American Colonies had won the war. This move by the Congress provoked controversy, and it was in connection with this that the term "Lynch law", meaning the assumption of extrajudicial authority, came into common parlance in the United States. Lynch was never accused of racist bias, and indeed acquitted blacks accused of murder on three separate occasions, as dictated by the facts brought before him."
A) She wasn't trying to take someone to lynch them.
B) The word "lynch" has strong associations with race in this country, and for good reason. Yes, people other than African Americans were lynched, but lynching was a big part of terrorism during Jim Crow days.
Igel
(35,197 posts)That spread later, to areas without those associations.
She wasn't trying to take somebody to lynch them. She was lynching them (using the word as defined in the statute) by trying to take them. You define your term, you use your term. It's fairly standard practice in some disciplines.
The American SW had lynching. They came to be called (thanks to Westerns) "necktie parties." Same thing. We confuse words for things or assume that strings of sounds are inherently meaningful, and are the poorer for it because it blocks communication and dialog as people bicker over what form a thought takes and think they're arguing over thoughts. Words can only mean, and must mean, what we think they mean; other communities of speakers need to only comply with us, not contest our definitions.
Getting students to accept that languages and subgroups within languages conventionally map meanings to phonetic forms and that those conventions are exactly that, those agreed upon by communities of speakers, is a tough row to hoe. But it's necessary in standard "Introduction to Language" classes.
http://www.eji.org/files/EJI%20Lynching%20in%20America%20SUMMARY.pdf
raging moderate
(4,281 posts)You are right to bring this historical information into the discussion. A perceptive reading of this information only deepens the understanding of the outrage that is being perpetrated against Jasmine of Black Lives Matter. Truly, we face a conspiracy of sadistic narcissistic white racists, who twist the law to entertain themselves and their fellow demonic spirits.
Nye Bevan
(25,406 posts)She was convicted of attempting to unlawfully remove a suspect from police officers.
http://www.coveragemail.com/news/jasmine-richards-felony-of-attempting-to-remove-suspect-from-custody/
The name of this offense was changed before she was even arrested. Weird how people are insisting on using the word "lynch" when that word does not appear in the law she was charged under.
AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)The name of the offense change was signed by the governor on July 02, 2015.
http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160SB629
The offense was allegedly committed on August 29, 2015.
The bill was not passed in 'urgency' mode. Even if it had been, the alleged crime would have been committed 32 days prior to the law change taking effect.
Please stop spreading misinformation on these highly contentious issues when race is involved. You are hurting everyone involved.
Nye Bevan
(25,406 posts)AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)Sorry about that. I wasn't actually yelling.