The
Lynching Of Cynthia McKinney
By Lucinda Marshall
10 April, 2006
Countercurrents.org
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich once pointed
out that, “Well behaved women rarely make history.” Perhaps
she should have added that women who are deemed to have thrown what
Marianne Means characterized as a “hissy fit” will surely
become infamous.
While most of us would agree
that taking a swing at a police officer is not a well considered thing
to do, that does not invalidate McKinney’s charges of racism and
inappropriate touching. Nor does it justify the vicious and ignorant
political and media lynching that followed.
First of all, let’s
get some facts straight. McKinney was not wearing her optional lapel
pin, but according to WXIA-TV in Atlanta, she did show her Congressional
ID. It is also not the first time that the Capitol police have failed
to recognize McKinney, something that is documented in the new film
“American Blackout”. And as Representative Sheila Jackson
Lee of Texas told Amy Goodman on Democracy Now, the same thing has happened
to her and sometimes the manner in which she has been treated, “is
not necessarily accepting.”
Nor is this is not the only
time that charges of racial discrimination have been leveled against
the Capitol Police. In 2001, Black Capitol police officers filed a racial
discrimination suit against the department. Inappropriate behavior towards
Black legislators has also not been limited to the nation’s capitol.
At Coretta Scott King’s funeral, the Georgia Legislative Black
Caucus was not allowed to join the funeral procession because the Georgia
Capitol police did not recognize them as elected officials.
Astoundingly, the media lost
no time in broadcasting Tom DeLay’s pronouncement that ethics
charges should be brought against McKinney for her “outrageous”
behavior. Did they think that a man who spearheaded a redistricting
plan that the Justice Department has deemed to be in violation of the
Voting Rights Act and who is leaving office because of his own unethical
behavior was qualified to make such charges?
But most amazing was Neil
Boortz’ bizarre rant about McKinney’s hairstyle on his nationally
syndicated radio show. Boortz described her hair as “an explosion
at a brillo factory” that made her look like “a ghetto slut”
who “shows contempt for the position she holds” Sadly, Boortz’
“ghetto slut” characterization is probably not too far off
from how many view McKinney.
It is telling that the media
has not deemed it noteworthy to investigate her claims of inappropriate
touching. While most of us know that it isn’t a good idea to take
a stab at a cop with something so lethal as a cell phone, as a woman
(and a lifelong pacifist), I can easily concede that my gut reaction
to being touched in an uncomfortable way might well be to swing out
with whatever might be in my hand. It’s unfortunate that the Capitol
police will not release the video of the incident, one wonders what
it might reveal.
The media has also made much
about other Blacks and women in Congress not rushing to her aid. Of
course these would be the same folks who didn’t question Bush’s
claims of WMD’s, wouldn’t filibuster Alito (even though
his nomination posed a grave risk to women’s rights), wouldn’t
stand with Russ Feingold in his Censure of President Bush, etc. Spinal
strength has never been a strong point among elected officials and in
an election year, they tend to take on the persona of jellyfish.
It should be noted that McKinney
briefly lost her seat because of a well orchestrated effort to retaliate
for her outspoken views on such issues as the Iraq war and Palestinian
human rights. Two years later she regained her seat. Perhaps this should
be a cautionary note to her detractors. And certainly newspapers such
as the Louisville Courier-Journal should consider
doing some basic research before labeling McKinney’s actions as
“groundless” because the reality is, the Congresswoman has
a point.
Lucinda Marshall is a feminist artist, writer and activist. She is the
Founder of the Feminist Peace Network, www.feministpeacenetwork.org.
Her work has been published in numerous publications in the U.S. and
abroad.