And you are lynching Negroes
Encyclopedia
Lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
") is an anecdotal counter-argument phrase often used by the Soviet propaganda in response to allegations that Soviet Union had violated human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
. The phrase refers to the racial discrimination and lynching in the United States
Lynching in the United States
Lynching, the practice of killing people by extrajudicial mob action, occurred in the United States chiefly from the late 18th century through the 1960s. Lynchings took place most frequently in the South from 1890 to the 1920s, with a peak in the annual toll in 1892.It is associated with...
.
Soviet response to allegations
When questioned on issues of human rights, Russians often responded that the human rights record of the United States was not better because of its long history of slaverySlavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
, followed by racial discrimination and violence against ethnic minorities and Native Americans
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
.
Origin
The use of the phrase as a reference to demagoguery and hypocrisyHypocrisy
Hypocrisy is the state of pretending to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that one does not actually have. Hypocrisy involves the deception of others and is thus a kind of lie....
is traced to a Russian political joke from the times of Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
, about a dispute between an American and a Russian. There were numerous versions of the quip. In a 1962 version, an American and a Soviet car salesmen argue which country makes better cars. Finally, the American asks: "How many decades does it take from an average Soviet man to work, to gain enough to buy Soviet car?" After a thoughtful pause, the Soviet replies: "And you are lynching Negroes!"
Variants
Similar phrases are used in the languages of Eastern Europe, in different variants. (Literally, "And at your place, they beat up Negroes!") (Literally, "And you beat up blacks, on the contrary!") (Literally, "And in America, they beat up negroes")See also
- Human Rights Record of the United StatesHuman Rights Record of the United States.The Human Rights Record of the United States is a publication on the annual human rights record in the United States of America, published by the Information Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China...
, a document issued by the CommunistCommunist Party of ChinaThe Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
government of ChinaPeople's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
which links general conditions of social problems in the U.S. to its abuse of human rights.