The Power of Truth : Unmasking Lies and Upholding Integrity in History and Society
No one is rewarded for telling the truth but rather to tell lies
Authored by Anonymous Journalist via Interactive WTTW
One day in March 1892, a group of Black and white boys got into a fight over a game of marbles outside a store called People’s Grocery in a Memphis district called The Curve. A man named Thomas Moss owned the store. Moss and his wife, Betty, “were the best friends I had in town,” Wells wrote, and she was godmother to their child.
The dispute over the game marbles escalated when the boys’ fathers got involved and got in a fight. The white men vowed to ransack People’s Grocery in revenge. Moss prepared to defend himself along with Calvin McDowell and Will Stewart, who also worked at the store. Several white men, including a sheriff, surrounded and entered People’s Grocery. In the ensuing fight, some of the white men were shot.
Though details in Black newspapers said that Moss and his friends didn’t know law officers were present, the white newspapers called the battle an attack on law officers, calling the Black-owned grocery store “‘a low dive in which drinking and gambling were carried on: a resort of thieves and thugs,’” as Wells quotes it in her autobiography. “So ran the description in the leading white journals of Memphis of this successful effort of decent black men to carry on a legitimate business.”
Moss and the others were arrested, and eventually, a white mob broke into the jail to beat, torture, and lynch Moss, McDowell, and Stewart. Before the mob killed Moss, he had a final message.
Tell my people to go West. There is no justice for them here.
Thomas Moss
In the late 1800s, there was a mixed-race neighborhood called The Curve in Memphis, Tennessee where a man named Thomas Moss owned the People’s Grocery store. The store was a cooperative venture run along corporate lines and owned by 11 prominent African Americans, including Moss, who was a friend of Ida B. Wells. William Barrett, a white grocer who had a virtual monopoly prior to Moss’s venture, was losing business to People’s Grocery and conflicts ensued. Barrett’s grocery had a bad reputation as a “low-dive gambling den” and a location where liquor could be illegally purchased. On March 2, 1892, Moss was arrested and charged with shooting and wounding a white man named Lee Walker. Moss was jailed, and his bail was set at $3,000, which he was unable to pay. On March 9, 1892, a mob of 75 men in black masks surrounded the Shelby County Jail and dragged Moss, Will Stewart, and Calvin McDowell from their cells and brought them to a Chesapeake. The three men were shot and killed by the mob.
Prior to the lynching, there was a marble game played by the children in the neighborhood. The game was played by rolling marbles down a gutter and trying to knock other marbles out of the way.
The racial tensions in The Curve neighborhood were fueled by lies and misunderstandings, which led to the mass fight between the children playing marbles and the adults, but was just the spark that would have ignited the smoldering anger.
The racial tensions in the neighborhood were already high, and this incident added fuel to the fire. The lynching of Moss, Stewart, and McDowell was a tragic event that highlighted the racial tensions and violence that existed in the United States during that time.
The story of Thomas Moss and the lynching at The Curve in Memphis, Tennessee highlights a tragic event in history where lies were rewarded and truths were punished.
The lynching of Moss, Stewart, and McDowell was based on false accusations and lies. The white grocer William Barrett spread lies about Moss and his store, which led to conflicts and ultimately the lynching. The truth about the lynching was uncovered by investigative journalist Ida B. Wells, who worked to dispel the “thread-bare lie” that was used to justify the violence.
The hidden anger or frustration that is waiting to be unleashed, you know, and that a small event or action could trigger a larger reaction. Don’t you see this also in our epoch?
Some say that people are blind and deaf, but they know perfectly well that they are lying and that the truth would hurt and humiliate them deeply.
Individuals are not able to see or hear the truth, even when it is presented to them. This could be due to a variety of factors, such as cognitive biases, misinformation, or a lack of critical thinking skills.
Individuals are not actually blind or deaf, but are instead intentionally spreading falsehoods for their own benefit. This could be due to a desire for power, control, or personal gain.
Individuals are aware of the truth, but are afraid of the consequences that would come with admitting it. This could be due to a fear of losing face, damaging their reputation, or facing legal or social repercussions.
However, it is important to remember that the truth has the power to transform social consciousness and produce unpredictable consequences, as discussed by Vaclav Havel in “The Power of the Powerless”. Therefore, it is important to prioritize honesty and integrity in all aspects of life, even when it is difficult or uncomfortable.
Carlson Tucker’s recent claim that lies are rewarded and truths are punished is a controversial one, and it is important to critically evaluate the evidence and arguments presented. The story of Thomas Moss and the lynching at The Curve in Memphis, Tennessee serves as a reminder of the dangers of lies and falsehoods, and the importance of seeking and speaking the truth, as discussed in the sources cited above.
A regime built on lies can only be sustained as long as people are willing to live within the lie.
The truth has the power to transform social consciousness and produce unpredictable consequences, which is why regimes built on lies must work to suppress the truth. Similarly, Foucault’s work on power and truth highlights the fact that power is often disguised as science or liberation, and that the truth can be a powerful tool for unmasking these hidden power structures.
Clashes in our virtual and not society suggest that there is a deeper truth or frustration that is waiting to be revealed, and that this truth has the power to transform society in unpredictable ways.
The era of radio and before was a time when lies were observed to spread faster than the truth. And the era of the Internet?
None of our leaders are punished for lying. Instead, regular people are punished for telling the truth. That was part of our conversation with Hungarian leader Balázs Orbán. It happened immediately after our speech in Budapest. Watch. pic.twitter.com/HpWDBJFS6W
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) August 28, 2023
Tucker Carlson argued that the mainstream media is lying to the public and that those who speak the truth are being silenced.
This claim has been met with criticism and controversy, with the unfaithful sprawl arguing that Tucker himself is spreading misinformation but the story of Thomas Moss and the lynching at The Curve serves as a reminder of the dangers of lies and falsehoods, and the importance of seeking and speaking the truth.
Always.
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“Do Not Question The Nature of One’s Own Reality It’s A Sin Against God”
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