Comments by ImJustABill | San Diego Reader

ImJustABill

City will indemnify resigning Filner, with some hedges

A little perspective on the term "lynch mob". Many other examples in the link http://www.americanlynching.com/infamous-old.html or of course many other history references. It puzzles me that many of you think Filner's experience compares to the following. On May 25, 1912, Dan Davis, an Afro-American man charged with the attempted rape of a Euro-American woman was lynched by burning alive. There was some disappointment in the crowd and criticism of those who had bossed the arrangements, because the fire was so slow in reaching the Negro. It was really only ten minutes after the fire started that the smoking shoe soles and twitching of the Negro's feet indicated that his lower extremities were burning, but the time seemed much longer. The spectators had waited so long to see him tortured that they begrudged the ten minutes before his suffering really began. The Negro had uttered but few words. When he was led to where he was to be burned he said quite calmly, "I wish some of you gentlemen would be Christian enough to cut my throat," but nobody responded. When the fire started, he screamed, "Lord, have mercy on my soul," and that was the last word he spoke, though he was conscious for fully twenty minutes after that. His exhibition of nerve aroused the admiration even of his torturers. A slight hitch in the proceedings occurred when the Negro was about half burned. His clothing had been stripped off and burned to ashes by the flames and his black body hung nude in the gray dawn light. The flesh had been burned from his legs as high as the knees when it was seen that the wood supply was running short. None of the men or boys wanted to miss an incident of the torture. All feared something of more than usual interest might happen, and it would be embarrassing to admit later on of not having seen it on account of being absent after more wood. Something had to be done, however, and a few men by the edge of the crowd, ran after more dry-goods boxes, and by reason of this "public-service" gained standing room in the inner circle after having delivered the fuel. Meanwhile the crowd jeered the dying man and uttered shocking comments suggestive of a cannibalistic spirit. Some danced and sang to testify to their enjoyment of the occasion."
— August 25, 2013 6:16 p.m.