Very interesting story appeared today in one of Arkansas's two statewide newspapers. A story about a tree lynching! How often have you seen this story?
Well, it was not all that unusual to read stories of full community lynchings in newspapers in states like AR, TX, AL, MS, GA, IN and half a score of other states back in the bad old years. Not even all that unusual still in places like rural TX and LA. But trees? When is the last time you read about a TREE being lynched?!!? And this so soon after EARTH DAY!!!
Read more beneath the fold:
On page B2 of today’s "if it bleeds it leads!" right wing rag, the Arkansas Democrat–Gazette, there is an AP story of two deaths caused by a 150 year oak tree in the northeast Arkansas city of Trumann.
(Apparently, the tree refused to give its name. I assume the tree was bisexual, though it could have been a male.)
The first death occurred in January when the Trumann police chief was struck by the suspect as the chief was attempting to assist residents recovering from an major ice storm. Though it is not known if others were struck, apparently no one else was injured in this unprovoked tree attack other than the afore mentioned victim.
Then, last week, a second seemingly innocent but unnamed Trumann resident was killed by the same nameless tree after he (the man, not the tree) "blacked out" and his car crashed into the tree. (The story doesn’t specify whether either the driver or the tree had been drinking though it may well have been in an act of drunken rage that the tree attacked this man after simply being struck by his car.) Although most of the counties in northeast Arkansas as dry as dust, except for alcohol served in the local Country Clubs, many old oaks in Trumann are known to be heavy imbibers of what is called locally, "the joy juice", an illegal moonshine said to be deadly, often causing those who drink it to become dead drunk. It is not known whether the tree was a country club member. There is not much entertainment outside the country club in Trumann for old oaks.
Apparently, a lynch mob formed, supposedly at the instigation of one of the local politicians, perhaps Trumann Mayor Sheila Walters, who is known to have remarked, "Maybe you can’t blame a tree, but maybe you can. And we had a second issue this week where a gentleman ran into the (same)tree."
While the Mayor did not say as much, it sounds as though she might have indicated that the tree was guilty of committing both crimes. Soon after this, a mob of "workers" cut down the tree on Monday in an obvious incident of mob violence even though the tree had not been formaly accused, arrested, indicted or convicted of any crime.
I suppose one can’t really blame a small town mob for killing someone, or something, who/that has killed two of their citizens. After all, little Trumann doesn’t have a whole lot of citizens to lose to malevolent and violent trees. And, as we all know since Bush v. Gore and Florida, every vote counts.
The new police chief, when asked about the slain perpetrator, said euphemistically that he is glad the tree has been "removed."
The Mayor says that the city is going to plant a tree in front of the police station in memory of the murdered police chief. Perhaps a weeping willow. I trust it won’t be allowed to grow into another crazy old oak!
William F Harrison