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I hope you didn't come here today looking for the laugh I sometimes provide, for today I am fresh out of laughs.
Today marks the 80th anniversary of the last lynching that occurred in the US. That lynching happened right here in this town on the Marion Courthouse Square. We are making the news today for the worst of reasons. (follow that link at your own risk, there is an actual lynching photo)
The trees that were used in the lynching have long since been removed so it can never happen again at that spot.
That is not nearly enough.
I grieve when I think of all the cruelty at the hands of a mob that has been a part of our human history. Lynchings are only one example of this cruelty. The Salem Witch Trials, The Holocaust, and genocides in various countries fall into this same nightmare category.
But have we learned?
Have we yet become civilized?
I believe when we allow ourselves to treat another human being with anything short of love and compassion we are only a tiny step away from the brink of such cruelty.
God please help us all.
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15 comments:
HORRIBLE! Absolutely HORRIBLE! Can't we all just get along? Be kind one to another! HUGS to all!
It is a deep sadness I feel over that time. I'm currently reading a book called The Help......when I realize that those things happened when I was a child, I understand how sheltered I was....it does make me ashamed.
This makes me sick to my stomach. I like to think we've improved just a bit since then..
What an incredible story. The boy who survived the lynching went on to be a forgiving person, wrote a book and served the community. There is something to be said of that as well.
Thanks Keetha for the sobering reflection.
Kristin _ The Goat
Sorry. I got you beat. I come from a town, Ada, OK, who is famous for FOUR hanging guys! Yes, they even sell post cards with the picture of them hanging there in the barn TODAY.
Go there, if you dare. Buy a post card.
Oh Lynn - - - I DON'T dare. That is so sad and makes me ashamed for being part of this race.
Oh I realize that every race has its nastiness in the closet and this is just ours - - - but I'm ashamed of it anyway.
My heart aches for the things that have happened that were beyond cruel.
Keetha this post comes at a time when I am annotating estate records from 1851 in South Carolina. I am marking the date and and the place and the name of the deceased. I am also listing the slaves that they owned, right along with the deceased's tea sets and toilets (which at the time was an asset). A child's value...50.00 . It is really a privilege to be able to mark their names so perhaps their decendants can find them.
What dark days those were, Keetha. I pray that mentality has changed, but sadly, I don't think it has. The cruelty just takes different forms. . . and it does so in all races and religions. Still, it is not a story you want your town to be connected to. . . .but since it is, you are doing a wonderful service by making us remember how awful a few members of the human race are capable of being. . . and also how wonderful the majority of the rest of the members really are.
L, dana
I speak from a slightly different standpoint, being in England. However, here too through all the ages we've had violence and fear inflicted on people as time after time all sorts of nations invaded us. Fortunately we managed to rebuff the Nazi invasion of the '40s, with a little help from our friends. Knowing what terror WW2 held for people here...well it makes my flesh crawl.
Sometimes we need to be serious and remember - otherwise history will repeat itself. In spite of the horror - thanks for sharing. It's always nice to know that people really care about things!
Every nation, every race has its evil side...and has had this since the beginning of time. This will continue until the end...
Growing up in the south, I witnessed hatred from both races...and ethnic groups, too. (The Help is an interesting book.) I also witnessed great respect and courage between individuals without any regard for race or ethnicity.
My grandparents faced ethnic hatred when they married...one Sicilian, one Spaniard. Their families and "the church" turned against them. At least we are seeing some ease in these types of tensions.
Jane
Living is Alabama all my life...I have seen racial hatred and bigotry for as long as I can remember. We had colored and white water fountains and waiting rooms. I remember when our schools were forced to integrate...and so much of the hatred started up again. It really is America at its worst. How dare we think that any group of people is better or smarter or more civilized than any other. It's so sad.
Sometimes these things are best forgotten, but when they are brought again to the surface, it can be a good thing - to remind humanity that it must never happen again.
Your horror and shame over what happened so long ago is the hope. It means that people are wise enough to prevent something so vile from happening again. At least, that's what I hope. May God change all of our hearts and make us truly kind to one another.
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