PoppaGator:

No, I have never been an "American" (at least formally).
Been in the U.S. essentially all my life, tho. Jeg var
fodt i Norge.

If you'll note, the idea of lynchings as the stringing
up of rustlers and bandits is one propagated by the movies,
and more to the European ken (e.g., see McGrath's
comments). The _facts_ about lynchings is that lynchings
were part of a terror movement in the United States, and
despite the "romantic" notions of rough frontier justice,
the real lynchings were far from a pretty scene (and by no
means "Western", and not even exclusively southern).

I find the idea abhorrent of extolling lynchings of any
kind (and to be sure, even the "romanticised" lynchings of
the West probably had more than their share of people
caught on the wrong side of public opinion or even
on the wrong side of the money interests ... fer kicks,
go read "The Ox-Bow Incident as recommended above).

Maybe I'm one of those "professional leftist protester type[s]".
Well and fine, you got me there. Yes, I _do_ decry injustices,
and I don't think you're going to convince me that lynching
is OK by any attempted ad hominem there. Feel free to address
the _substance_ of my comments rather than any alleged motivations
I might have. You might start with the steadily dawning fact
that even people who have gone through the ringer of
judicial "due process" are being _proven_ innocent, and then
tell me that you think that a lynching revival is in order,
or that we should at least hearken back to the "good ol' days"
where "justice" was meted out swiftly to whatever boogiemen of
the day got in the way. . . .

Cheers,

                               -- Arne Langsetmo