...I'm okay with being REALITY-based.




Wednesday, June 15, 2005
      ( 8:26 AM )
 
Lynching? Nah, it wasn't all that bad...

So the Senate voted on Monday to pass a resolution apologizing for not outlawing lynching until 1968. 1968. Nineteen Sixty Eight. There are about 5,000 known lynchings that took place between the 1880's and 1968 - how many actually occurred? We'll never know. One of the most fiendishly horrific crimes commited by entire communities upon black people in this country was allowed to continue without penalty for centuries. And we have no legacy of abuse we must pay for?

But the really funny part of this story is that though the Senate passed this resolution, it only passed 80-20. It was a voice vote. That's right. 20 Senators actually voted AGAINST apologizing for not outlawing lynching. In fact, the entire senatorial delegations of Texas, Mississippi and Utah voted against it. All of the objectors (those who have not signed on to the resolution) are republicans. Surprise, surprise.

Tell me, you republicans who are against this, what exactly is it that appeals to about lynching that the government should not apologize for not outlawing it long ago? Never mind. I probably would throw up if I had to hear your reasons anyway.

UPDATE: Atrios points us to a list of the pro-lynching senators on AmericaBlog. Now that's what I call a "culture of life."

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