"Ken Lay was neither black nor poor, as James Byrd was, but I'm angry because Ken was the victim of a lynching," said Lawson, who predicted that history will vindicate Lay.
First off, how dare anyone compare Ken Lay to an African-American who was a victim of the worst degree...being dragged to his death for the simple "offense" of being African-American. For anyone to say Ken Lay was lynched in the same way as James Byrd goes beyond the pale.
http://www.houstonchronicle.com
James Byrd was lynched by a couple of thug bigots who forgot that lynching was no longer a sport, and that it was no longer 1964, but 1999. Ken Lay ran a corporation, got extraordinarily rich at the expense of his employees, many who no longer can depend on that fat pension he promised them in exchange for buying worthless stocks, and overinflating the worth of the country.
Ken Lay was never water-hosed by racist sheriffs for marching for Civil Rights. He was never denied entry into any establishment for service. He was never told to use the "Colored" water fountain as opposed to the one set aside for Whites. He had all the virtues of privilage - privilages that took him to the Highest office in the land. When the scandal of Enron surfaced, George Bush devalued him from "Kenny Boy" to "Ken Who?"
James Byrd was tied to the back of a pickup truck and dragged on asphalt until his skin was torn from his body, and his head decapitated. He was left in a field to die a dog's death. He never swindled anyone out of their life savings; never lied to them about their profit margins; never profitted at the expense of others who couldn't fight back.
While his killers are now sitting on death row in Huntsville (and given it's Texas, will in all likelihood, get that needle and a much more peaceful death than they afforded Byrd), I will say this, a la, former Senator Lloyd Bentsen:
"We knew James Byrd. And you, Ken Lay, are no James Byrd..."
