LYNCH MOB MENTALITY

Lynch Mob Mentality

Let's look at the history of this type of behaviour before we can see within it. A "Lynching" is different than murder, killing, or assault; in that it is outside the boundaries of due process by a mob who enacts revenge for some type of offense. The name was derived by Col. Charles Lynch who was a landowner in Virginia in the 1790's. He had a habit of conducting illegal trials of lawbreakers in his front yard and upon conviction, they were tied to a tree and whipped ... or worse.

Early in it's history, in the southern states, it would have been mostly African Americans that were "lynched." To the west, it would've been mostly white men. Eventually, the practice morphed into a concept of vigilantism. Vigilante groups were under the belief that 19th century existing laws were not functioning properly and therefore took matters into their own hands.

The actual process of lynching was morbid and incredibly violent. It wasn't just a simple beating or handing. Lynching included torture, burning, dismemberment, and castration. Most times all in front of crowds who had gathered to watch. They would even pour coal tar on them and set the person on fire. Onlookers fired rifles and handguns into the corpse while people cheered and children played among the festivities. The sheer savagery was astonishing. The fact that people would do this to another human being, and present it as a festive party and celebration as a man would die a long, horrible, unimaginable, torturous death.

Most of the victims were black. And it was a propaganda campaign by white plantation owners who wanted to keep cheap slaves and no allow them any rights ... much less any humanity. No white man was ever punished for Lynching until 1915. In a statistical compilation dome in 1921, there had been an estimated 3,224 lynchings. Of those, 2,522 were black, 702 were white. Many times, lynchings were even advertised in the local newspapers to increase attendance and obviously not stopped by any type of Law Enforcement officials. Typically, ANY reason was considered valid to accuse a victim and have him lynched. It was the black man that was most frequently targeted. And history should be ashamed of itself ... for so many things that man has done to his own brother and sister, mother and father, neighbor and friend.

Lynching, eventually faded into the shadows of history. It was an era when men could be murdered on a whim. A remnant of a past when terror was in the hands of the people, and justice was merely illusory. So where does all of this leave us now? Does mankind learn it's lessons from history or merely change the label and repeat the practice? People everywhere transgress the law. Not just manmade law ... but Universal Law and Natural and Divine Law.

At this very moment in time, there is murder and mayhem being witnessed as commonplace all over the world. People still gather and cheer when someone is killed. People throw parties and celebrate when terrorists blow up buildings and drive car bombs into shopping malls. Beheadings are televised ... almost live. Missiles, smart-bombs, remote controlled aircraft with weaponry, grenades vests, suicide bombers, rapes, killing, maiming, beating, violence, home invasions, theft, shootings, stabbings, stranglings ... when is it ever going to stop?

Trust me, there will NOT be an intervention from God, Jesus, or any other Deity. This is a physical world of matter, not a spiritual realm. You can drive a boat on an interstate. You can't bowl in a lake. You can't fly an airplane underground. And SPIRIT, cannot operate in a physical world UNLESS ... that's UNLESS ... it operates though us. We are the Saviours of mankind. It is our responsibility. It is our job to bring order from chaos, light from darkness, and love from abuse.

Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock ... will we keep killing, and keep regressing back to the days of Lynch Mob tactics? Or will we raise our consciousness to a status of Divine love for all creatures and put an end to this madness? Only time will tell. And sadly, I'm afraid I'm too old to see the day when it comes. Just like thousands of civilizations who have come and gone ... so too will we. Unless we make that change. Unless we turn the tides. Unless we love one another.

Just a thought ...

~Justin Taylor, ORDM., OCP., DM.