Didn't know that!
Didn't know that!
Also, judging from modern crime statistics and the circumstances in which they occurred, almost every case where a Black Man was lynched seems to be one where the guy was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, same with the White Men that got lynched, of which there are far more, even after adjusting for the population sizes, White Men were far more likely to get strung up by a mob than Black ones.
Another important fact: Black Men participated in Lynch mobs, both those which lynched Blacks and those which lynched Whites, usually the victims were hanged by the whole community, not just those members of a particular race.
Imagine making an alternative re-writing of the "to kill a mockingbird" stageplay where the defendant is not only clearly guilty, but is not even remorseful of his actions, in fact, he goes so far as to boast about doing the rape of the victim to his lawyer, but his lawyer is making a fraudulent case by instructing the defendant to pretend his hand was paralyzed, when in reality it was perfectly functional, thus rendering the primary "evidence" that the defendant was not guilty a lie, only the audience and the people directly involved in the case (lawyer, defendant, accuser, co-accuser) knows this.
Everything else about the play is kept exactly the same
The Black Man still tries to escape then gets shot to death for his attempt.
The Black man's family still insists on the man's innocence even though they know the guy's right hand was perfectly healthy and even after the lawyer explains to them privately and in detail that the whole body of the evidence marks him as guilty as sin, and that he's defending him by lying his ass off (in order to get them to stay quiet about how the guy's hand is perfectly fine).
The rape victim and her "accomplice" are branded as outcasts because everyone believes they had falsely accused a Black Man of rape (her having forced herself on him due to finding him irresistibly attractive - she didn't, she was actually repulsed by his advances on her, prompting her rape - and the accomplice having beat her up in order to blame it on the Black Man - which he didn't do, either).
A lynch mob still shows up to hang the Black Man before the trial (as is before, they are chased away), and the accomplice of the woman who was raped still tried to kidnap the lawyer's kids (in order to lure the guy out, so as to kill him in retaliation for his life-destroying slander during the trial).
The judge believes that the defendant is guilty, but also that he should be found not guilty, purely because he's worried about Black people retaliating against Whites if the honest verdict is delivered, he explicitly instructs the lawyer to get the defendant off by any means, even by fraudulent ones.
The lawyer is still a devout Christian, idolized and seen as a source of wisdom and moral goodness by his community, still devoted to his children and still a skilled sharpshooter who puts rabid dogs out of their misery with a single bullet, and able to hold his own against even a mob made up of the whole town, the story of the crazy White albino who lives on the outskirts still holds true, and he still ends up saving the children from their abductor by killing him, and his heroics are still kept hidden from the people.
But we keep the parts of the recent "modernization" for additional effect, the lawyer is given a lesson on "equality" by his Black maid, which prompts him to commit fraud to get an unrepentant and violent rapist off, not because he's worried about retaliation by Blacks if he doesn't, but instead because he's worried about what would happen to the other Black people if he were found guilty (worried about White retaliation against Blacks).
The thing becomes a character study of the kind of person the lawyer actually would be like in the modern day, one who is lead by the hope of a "greater good" to do injustice on a personal and political basis in service of a greater "social justice" that he perceives as being just on the horizon, which justifies his actions.
Those of us living in the present will see the guilty being assumed innocent by everyone except those who know of his guilt, and see a manipulative psychopath being treated as if he were a saintly martyr, even by those who know the truth of him (the people in the know also go out of their way to make him present himself as a gentle, quiet, hard-working, and kind-hearted, but wrongly persecuted Black Man, mostly by instructing him to act in such a fashion and coaching him on how to play the role), outside of the scenes where the truth is on full display, the rest of the play will be as normal, meaning it will keep all the original tones of the rest of the scenes, as if the audience is still supposed to sympathize with the guy, even after we know he's a proud rapist and is building a defense based on a lie.
Also, judging from modern crime statistics and the circumstances in which they occurred, almost every case where a Black Man was lynched seems to be one where the guy was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, same with the White Men that got lynched, of which there are far more, even after adjusting for the population sizes, White Men were far more likely to get strung up by a mob than Black ones.
Another important fact: Black Men participated in Lynch mobs, both those which lynched Blacks and those which lynched Whites, usually the victims were hanged by the whole community, not just those members of a particular race.
Imagine making an alternative re-writing of the "to kill a mockingbird" stageplay where the defendant is not only clearly guilty, but is not even remorseful of his actions, in fact, he goes so far as to boast about doing the rape of the victim to his lawyer, but his lawyer is making a fraudulent case by instructing the defendant to pretend his hand was paralyzed, when in reality it was perfectly functional, thus rendering the primary "evidence" that the defendant was not guilty a lie, only the audience and the people directly involved in the case (lawyer, defendant, accuser, co-accuser) knows this.
Everything else about the play is kept exactly the same
- The Black Man still tries to escape then gets shot to death for his attempt.
- The Black man's family still insists on the man's innocence even though they know the guy's right hand was perfectly healthy and even after the lawyer explains to them privately and in detail that the whole body of the evidence marks him as guilty as sin, and that he's defending him by lying his ass off (in order to get them to stay quiet about how the guy's hand is perfectly fine).
- The rape victim and her "accomplice" are branded as outcasts because everyone believes they had falsely accused a Black Man of rape (her having forced herself on him due to finding him irresistibly attractive - she didn't, she was actually repulsed by his advances on her, prompting her rape - and the accomplice having beat her up in order to blame it on the Black Man - which he didn't do, either).
- A lynch mob still shows up to hang the Black Man before the trial (as is before, they are chased away), and the accomplice of the woman who was raped still tried to kidnap the lawyer's kids (in order to lure the guy out, so as to kill him in retaliation for his life-destroying slander during the trial).
- The judge believes that the defendant is guilty, but also that he should be found not guilty, purely because he's worried about Black people retaliating against Whites if the honest verdict is delivered, he explicitly instructs the lawyer to get the defendant off by any means, even by fraudulent ones.
- The lawyer is still a devout Christian, idolized and seen as a source of wisdom and moral goodness by his community, still devoted to his children and still a skilled sharpshooter who puts rabid dogs out of their misery with a single bullet, and able to hold his own against even a mob made up of the whole town, the story of the crazy White albino who lives on the outskirts still holds true, and he still ends up saving the children from their abductor by killing him, and his heroics are still kept hidden from the people.
But we keep the parts of the recent "modernization" for additional effect, the lawyer is given a lesson on "equality" by his Black maid, which prompts him to commit fraud to get an unrepentant and violent rapist off, not because he's worried about retaliation by Blacks if he doesn't, but instead because he's worried about what would happen to the other Black people if he were found guilty (worried about White retaliation against Blacks).
The thing becomes a character study of the kind of person the lawyer actually would be like in the modern day, one who is lead by the hope of a "greater good" to do injustice on a personal and political basis in service of a greater "social justice" that he perceives as being just on the horizon, which justifies his actions.
Those of us living in the present will see the guilty being assumed innocent by everyone except those who know of his guilt, and see a manipulative psychopath being treated as if he were a saintly martyr, even by those who know the truth of him (the people in the know also go out of their way to make him present himself as a gentle, quiet, hard-working, and kind-hearted, but wrongly persecuted Black Man, mostly by instructing him to act in such a fashion and coaching him on how to play the role), outside of the scenes where the truth is on full display, the rest of the play will be as normal, meaning it will keep all the original tones of the rest of the scenes, as if the audience is still supposed to sympathize with the guy, even after we know he's a proud rapist and is building a defense based on a lie.
(post is archived)