I don't think this law is "federal overreach" or "virtue signaling." During my lifetime, Freedom Riders came to my hometown so that African Americans could exercise their Constitutional right to vote (I read letters written by some of them, which said it was too dangerous to march openly), three civil rights workers were murdered not too far from where I lived (i.e., the "Mississippi Burning Case"), and Martin Luther King, Jr. was murdered. Despite our laws stating CLEARLY that US citizens are entitled to trial by jury, not to mention laws against torture and murder, hardly anyone was ever punished for participating in lynching and no one knows how many lychings actually occurred. (I recently read that the intial search for the bodies of the three civil rights workers was unsuccessful, but apparently they found several bodies of OTHER lyching victims that had never been reported.) Granted, that was years ago; but it WAS during my lifetime; and I'm not old enough for Social Security.
I've been commenting on online websites for many years, and from the beginning I've had to deal with anti-Christian rhetoric which can be intense, vile, and blasphemous. I don't LIKE it, but I feel that God is using me as a light in some very dark places. I've seen a corresponding increase in anti religious legal action in our nation.
More recently (maybe the past three years or so), I've seen a drastic uptick in openly racist remarks online; and, along with it, a spike in violence. Online comments may not represent the views of the majority, but they do seem to have an effect on people who are vulnerable and easily influenced by them.
Just THIS WEEK, I participated in an online discussion on a different website (conservative one) about inmates who were being murdered and committing suicide at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at an alarming rate. The vast majority of the commenters said that the inmates shouldn't complain because prison isn't a country club. I, an atheist, and one other Christian tried to point out that there was a huge gap between in a "country club" and being murdered or held in conditions that were more like a third world prison than the US; but commenters pushed back and said outright that they were fine with prisoners being tortured, abused, and murdered by other prisoners. Some even quoted Bible verses to justify these views. This wasn't overtly racist, but it did demonstrate that a lot of people were willing to say openly that they were okay with a certain goup of people being denied basic human rights (i.e., prisoners).
When a large group of people (or even a small group) openly admits that they are okay with a different group (whether it's prisoners, minorities, members of a religion, or even the unborn) being murdered and/or denied protection, I think protection is probably justified. Therefore, I don't see the harm in making penalties for lyching more severe-particularly since, historically, those who participated were rarely punished AT ALL. In addition to the obvious harm to the victims and their community, lyching is a direct attack on our justice system which, as we all know, is based on "innocent until proven guilty" and which is SUPPOSED to guarantee a fair trial for all. Aren't we, as Christians, supposed to look beyond own interests and bring justice to "the least of these"?
news2me
Voting against the bill probably means you are racist.
Big Jim
It's virtue signaling.
West Coast Gramma
I think you got it right Old Mike. Thanks for your clarity. Apparently Congress also thinks like you, since the bipartisan bill passed 410-4.
OldMike
Being the contrarian again [sigh]...
An anti-lynching bill is obviously more symbolic than substantive, also obviously rather redundant. But it’s a symbol that we reject past attitudes that black Americans could be treated unjustly with impunity, and I think such a bill is justified.
It means a lot to some of our fellow citizens, and the cost isn’t significant.
Big Jim
Sounds like a solution in search of a problem.
news2me
Again, our do-nothing people in DC are spending time on a waste of time and tax-payer monies?
Lynching is murder, plain and simple. Treat the murderers as such.
Janet B
Is there any state that allows lynching (i.e.murder)?
So Congress has done a wonderful job of posturing against lynching while taking another step into federal overreach.
I think this is how freedom ends, isn't it, with applause?
I don't think this law is "federal overreach" or "virtue signaling." During my lifetime, Freedom Riders came to my hometown so that African Americans could exercise their Constitutional right to vote (I read letters written by some of them, which said it was too dangerous to march openly), three civil rights workers were murdered not too far from where I lived (i.e., the "Mississippi Burning Case"), and Martin Luther King, Jr. was murdered. Despite our laws stating CLEARLY that US citizens are entitled to trial by jury, not to mention laws against torture and murder, hardly anyone was ever punished for participating in lynching and no one knows how many lychings actually occurred. (I recently read that the intial search for the bodies of the three civil rights workers was unsuccessful, but apparently they found several bodies of OTHER lyching victims that had never been reported.) Granted, that was years ago; but it WAS during my lifetime; and I'm not old enough for Social Security.
I've been commenting on online websites for many years, and from the beginning I've had to deal with anti-Christian rhetoric which can be intense, vile, and blasphemous. I don't LIKE it, but I feel that God is using me as a light in some very dark places. I've seen a corresponding increase in anti religious legal action in our nation.
More recently (maybe the past three years or so), I've seen a drastic uptick in openly racist remarks online; and, along with it, a spike in violence. Online comments may not represent the views of the majority, but they do seem to have an effect on people who are vulnerable and easily influenced by them.
Just THIS WEEK, I participated in an online discussion on a different website (conservative one) about inmates who were being murdered and committing suicide at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at an alarming rate. The vast majority of the commenters said that the inmates shouldn't complain because prison isn't a country club. I, an atheist, and one other Christian tried to point out that there was a huge gap between in a "country club" and being murdered or held in conditions that were more like a third world prison than the US; but commenters pushed back and said outright that they were fine with prisoners being tortured, abused, and murdered by other prisoners. Some even quoted Bible verses to justify these views. This wasn't overtly racist, but it did demonstrate that a lot of people were willing to say openly that they were okay with a certain goup of people being denied basic human rights (i.e., prisoners).
When a large group of people (or even a small group) openly admits that they are okay with a different group (whether it's prisoners, minorities, members of a religion, or even the unborn) being murdered and/or denied protection, I think protection is probably justified. Therefore, I don't see the harm in making penalties for lyching more severe-particularly since, historically, those who participated were rarely punished AT ALL. In addition to the obvious harm to the victims and their community, lyching is a direct attack on our justice system which, as we all know, is based on "innocent until proven guilty" and which is SUPPOSED to guarantee a fair trial for all. Aren't we, as Christians, supposed to look beyond own interests and bring justice to "the least of these"?
Voting against the bill probably means you are racist.
It's virtue signaling.
I think you got it right Old Mike. Thanks for your clarity. Apparently Congress also thinks like you, since the bipartisan bill passed 410-4.
Being the contrarian again [sigh]...
An anti-lynching bill is obviously more symbolic than substantive, also obviously rather redundant. But it’s a symbol that we reject past attitudes that black Americans could be treated unjustly with impunity, and I think such a bill is justified.
It means a lot to some of our fellow citizens, and the cost isn’t significant.
Sounds like a solution in search of a problem.
Again, our do-nothing people in DC are spending time on a waste of time and tax-payer monies?
Lynching is murder, plain and simple. Treat the murderers as such.
Is there any state that allows lynching (i.e.murder)?
So Congress has done a wonderful job of posturing against lynching while taking another step into federal overreach.
I think this is how freedom ends, isn't it, with applause?