Some Democratic politician from Oregon called having a second impeachment of Trump now to a lynching and people freaked out. He was attacked for not understanding that hanging blacks in the 60s was what a lynching was and he apologized for missing the historical context.
Now let me explain a few things. Firstly, lynching as a term is an US term. It was originally used for the hanging of white people without due process, it was done by vigilantes. Hanging a black slave was not a lynching because the owner was legally entitled to do as he wished with his slave. Lynching however was very common in the pre and post civil war western united states as there were few law enforcement personnel available.
So, why does this matter? It is not about how lynchings are not limited to blacks or even started with them, they didn't. It is about language and how people are redefining history to make you think everything is racial when it isn't.
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