Posted on by Californiacontrarian

Lynchings

Who of you can tell me who Tom Robinson is? What about Atticus Finch? Are these two sounding more familiar? They should be as they are two of the primary characters in Harper Lee’s 1960 novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, later made into a moviethat I am sure most everyone has seen. From Wikipedia: To Kill a Mockingbird is probably the most widely read book dealing with race in America, and its main character, Atticus Finch, the most enduring fictional image of racial heroism.

Just to refresh everyone’s memory Tom Robinson is the young black man who is unjustly accused of raping a white woman, and Atticus Finch is the lawyer who defends him. Although the evidence is strongly in favor of acquittal, Robinson is found guilty by an “all white prejudiced jury.” This was in essence, a “courtroom lynching.”(At one point, Atticus tells his son, Jen, that courage is “when you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.”)
I just finished “My Grandfather’s Son.” It is the autobiography of Clarence Thomas. I never really knew much about Justice Thomas, but his life story is one of those, “Are you sh***ing me!” I can’t believe he ever made it as far as he did, considering the extreme poverty into which he was born. He is an outstanding example of what a person can do with hard work. Before I had reached the Anita Hill episode in the book, during his confirmation hearings, I had already a great deal of respect for this deeply religious and humble man. The entire Anita Hill fiasco just strengthened this feeling. Judge Thomas defended himself when the “all white prejudiced jury,” including Democrats, Sen. Howard  Metzenbaum, Sen. Patrick Leahy, and our old friend, Sen. Joe “I’ll Stab You in the Back, if I Have To” Biden grilled him with vague questions chock-full of innuendo. In his closing statement, Clarence Thomas referred to the Senate hearing as “a high tech lynching,” while he defended his character and his family.  (“He was licked before it began, but he began anyway and saw it through to the end.”)
Justice Thomas’ 1991 “high tech lynching” in Washington D.C. turned out better for the accused than Tom Robinson’s “courtroom lynching” in Harper Lee’s book. However, now in 2019 we have another post-confirmation attempt at a lynching. The difference here is that the accused is white, Justice Kavanaugh, but the “jump on the bandwagon without having any facts” accusers continue to be Democrats, mainly either running for office or already in office. The major difference this time is that the ultimate decision concerning this lynching attempt will be made, not by a prejudiced jury, but by the American people.

9/19/29

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