In 1843 a black man named Frederick Douglass visited our town. When he attempted to speak on a public platform a mob of 60 men attacked him. When the mob thought he was dead — it disappeared.

Some time ago another mob visited our town. This time the mob lynched our police chief. This mob rode into town on the information superhighway — an Internet mob. And this mob is just as scary and dangerous as the mob throwing rocks 176 years ago — except it isn’t satisfied with just killing a man — it wants to destroy him.

Now that our town has capitulated to the demands of this mob — it, too, disappeared.

But historically, appeasing mobs has never worked out too well. Only when we have the courage to face a mob and refuse to be bullied will a mob truly turn tail and run.

Just as the good people of that day defended Mr. Douglass from the racist mob and carried him to safety at great personal risk, the people of today need to step up and defend our police chief.

But, we must do it in a way that does not tear down our leaders, since they are the ones who stepped up to make these difficult and impossible decisions.

We must support our leaders and tell them that we will back them no matter the outcome.

Perhaps it is our generation’s fatal flaw. Because we have grown up in a cocoon of security, we have missed two important lessons.

First, we have never developed the courage of our convictions. The courage to confront a mob.

Second, we have never had to deal with a mob. We don’t recognize it — so we think that the sacrifice of one member will save us.

But it won’t. Period. The mob will be back again. Ask the peasants in Russia, the Jews in Germany or the Catholic students in Covington.

Next the mob will come for you — and there will be no one left to object.

Ken McNamara

Pendleton