It’s been not quite a century since Minnesota’s last lynching, detailed here by Wikipedia. Though the lynch mob has lost the nooses, other details are similar- Black men accused of assault with no evidence provided. Just as in the 1920 lynchings the only witnesses are the accusers and accused, with no disinterested third party testimony. None the less in 1920 the dead tree media of the day fed the fires of hate, and today social media carries on that sick tradition.
The three black men lynched in 1920 never had a chance to defend themselves in court, and with no evidence nor impartial testimony to prove their guilt they would have likely been acquitted. Congress member Ellison’s accuser should have reported the alleged assault to the police, but she didn’t. She could have filed a civil suit for damages, and with the deep pockets of Ellison’s campaign treasury, Congress, and maybe the Sierra Club too with even the slightest thread of evidence she would have had no problem procuring legal representation. But instead she and her son make their charges via the cyber gossip fest of social media, and what passes today for media has amplified that gossip for all the ratings it’s worth.
It’s no surprise that the republicans and their right wing media are leading a lynch mob to all but hang Ellison- They’re the same party that has for decades used black men and now immigrants to terrify voters into supporting them. The question is, will the DFL party lower itself to joining that lynch mob by not giving Ellison a routine endorsement at it’s Central Committee meeting saturday?
Sassy Democrat 