But he has killed one million innocent people. And you just look the other way. But let one fictional Mexican kidnap one fictional woman and you want to lynch him. Hypocrite!!!

In California you can get 25 to life for stealing one slice of pizza if it’s you’re third strike (60 Minutes). But take one trillion from those that need it and give it to those who don’t and he’s your hero. Hypocrite!
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The one million figure is suspect. Don’t attribute those killed by insurgents to our country/president. I never said look the other way. I never said anyone should be lynched, in fact I said the opposite. I did say the feelings expressed in a song are understandable. It’s just a song wishing that criminals would pay for their crimes. I want any real person who kidnaps another to pay the price. I’m not sure why you think it’s ok for some races to kidnap people. I think all races should be held to the same standard.
Three strikes laws are there for a reason. If judges could be depended upon not to continually turn criminals loose, we wouldn’t have such foolish situations as the one you cited.

In California you can get 25 to life for stealing one slice of pizza if it’s you’re third strike (60 Minutes). But take one trillion from those that need it and give it to those who don’t and he’s your hero. Hypocrite!

July 29th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
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I oppose vigilante justice, grudgingly. As I said, the desire to see people pay for their crimes is understandable. Vigilante justice can seem more palatable when yet another crime is committed by someone who is out on parole. That is the feeling behind the song, not racism.
I oppose the Iraq war and a lot of what Bush has done, but his administration hasn’t killed one million people nor stolen a trillion dollars. He has misspent a lot of money, but that isn’t stealing.

The song advocates people paying for their crimes and points out the frustration of normal people when criminals are allowed to go free and to continue to victimize others.

Remember “Hang ‘em High?”

Clint Eastwood gets hung for a crime he didn’t commit? That happened more than you think, especially with property crimes, and few lawmen.

I have seen postcards of lynchings (1880-1930?) and they were family events with picnic baskets. Unfortuneately people haven’t changed enough–they have just changed parties and become more sophisticated.

I spent 40 years in Oklahoma, between 1994 and 2000 and, in general, I have never met, anywhere, a more narrow-minded, mean-spirited, xenophobic bunch of fundie Xian/rightard crackers in my LIFE…and I lived in Louisiana, 10 years, too…

I didn’t realize anyone was being forced to listen to Keith’s song. Oh wait that’s right, no one is. I think what’s happening here is that in typical TP fashion, anyone who openly claims to be proud of their country and who’s patriotic is vilified.

Rave on Catsh!t, somebody will cover you up.

Thank you sir! This topic has much ado about nothing since it hit the site, but the comments thread has been quite a fireworks show.

Max is pretty much all over the place, pointing to the video when it suits his theme, then failing to look any deeper at it.

The song was specifically written by Keith and his songwriting partner Scotty Emerick as a duet for Willie Nelson to sing with Keith. The lyric in question is Willie Nelson’s verse. Read the lyrics in the context of a Willie born in 30’s. His “Grandpappy” is already dead by the time he could have passed his tales of Texas Justice onto Willie – Willie’s father recounts his own father’s ideas of justice.

Watch the video during these lyrics. It’s very clear that Willie’s “Grandpappy” in the lyrics is an old Texas Rangers, which is born out by the chorus of the song that Willie’s verse leads right into:

“That Justice is the one thing you should always find
You got to saddle up your boys
You got to draw a hard line
When the gun smoke settles we’ll sing a victory tune
And we’ll all meet back at the local saloon
And we’ll raise up our glasses against evil forces singing
whiskey for my men, beer for my horses”

Law enforcement saddling up their horses, the image of a gun fight with the smoke, and an old west “saloon” rather than cop’s (or lynch mob’s) bar.

The video has a shot of Grandpappy, clear as day being Old West. They flash a badge that’s an old west “Arizona Rangers”. Someone else can figure out why AZ rather than TX as in the lyrics, perhaps IP issues.

As “wicked that he done” is sung, we have a shot of two old west law men standing next to a dead *white* man, in the clasic old west style of how they would pose bank robbers, bandits or gunslingers once they’re tracked down and dispatched.

As the “rope” part is sung, we have a old picture of a hanging, with a white man about to have the hangman’s rope put around his neck.

Then we move into the chorus.

Just how embarassing Max is comes at this part of the piece:

“Cue ahead to 3:00 and watch as Keith intones, “We got too many gangsters doin’ dirty deeds.” The singer’s words are not-so-subtly accompanied by the image of a swaggering black man sporting short dreads and baggy clothes. Thus the profile of Keith’s ideal lynching candidate is revealed.”

It’s as if Max hasn’t really watched the video. The “black man” in the video is one of a string of people that the “cops” in the video are flashing pictures to in hopes of getting a lead on the real criminal of the video – a serial killer. The black man happens to be a *homeless man*, who turns around and takes a leak on the wall while the Stooge Cop of the video is left holding the picture. Before that they flash pictures at two pairs of white people, the second pair clearly hookers. Ironically, the “too many gangsters” line comes while they’re talking to the hookers, while the “dirty deeds” line hits when they’re talking to the homeless man, ending as he turns to take the leak.

Max simply sees what he wants to see, rather than knowing much of what the song or video are about.

I find Keith to be a bit jingoistic for my liking. But this song isn’t about Lynching Justice. Willie’s verse is about Old West, tying into a chorus about the Old West. They act as contrasts to the 1st (Keith’s) and 3rd (shared) verses about modern crime, and give the song an undertone of longing for Old West Justice to solve today’s crime problems.

If one wants to argue or criticism Keith & Emerick’s message it would be that they seem to be saying that we should take Charlie Manson and Ted Bundy and hang them on the streets rather than Life Without Parole (Manson) or “human” execution by gas/electric/needle. No doubt a good deal of it is brought on from too much reading/watching Gus & Call hang horse thieves and murderers in Lonesome Dove.

I love the site. It’s my second visit when I log on after atrios. I hate racism, especially the wink & nudge, read-between-the-lines crap. But this is pretty embarassing.

John