đź“ś The Historical Lesson
In 1865, Mary Surratt became the first woman executed by the United States government. She was accused of conspiring in Lincoln’s assassination – not because her guilt was proven, but because she owned the boarding house where Booth and others had once gathered. Proximity was enough to condemn her.
⚡ A Trial Without Balance
Her trial was rushed. Emotions ran higher than evidence. Even President Andrew Johnson dismissed pleas for clemency with the phrase: “She kept the nest that hatched the egg.” The public wanted someone to blame, and the tribunal delivered.
🎯 The Scapegoat Pattern
This is the pattern history teaches: when institutions are under fire, they offer up a scapegoat. It calms the mob, protects those in power, and creates the illusion of justice – even when the facts don’t support the verdict.
đź‘Ą The Crowd Then and Now
The crowd in 1865 was driven by grief and fury. They wanted a sacrifice more than they wanted truth. And Mary Surratt paid the price.
Today, our crowd plays a quieter but no less dangerous role:
- Owners who nod along at meetings but never challenge inconsistencies.
- Neighbours who whisper sympathy in private but stay silent when it matters.
- A community that tells itself “better them than me,” allowing the board’s narrative to stand untested.
Silence is not neutrality – it’s consent. The board counts on the crowd’s passivity just as the tribunal counted on the mob’s outrage.
🔥 The Warning
Our circumstances are not the same as Surratt’s, but the script is familiar: those in power deflect blame, the crowd accepts the easy story, and the truth gets buried.
Justice fails when people stay quiet. If we don’t ask hard questions, demand proof, and challenge the narrative, then history will repeat itself here – just on a smaller stage.
The choice is ours: break the silence or let the board write the ending for all of us.
