"
And you are lynching Negroes" (
Russian: "А у вас негров линчуют",
A u vas negrov linchuyut, "And at your place, they are lynching Negroes") and the later "
And you are hanging blacks" (
Russian: "А у вас негров вешают") are anecdotal
counter-argument phrases, which epitomizes the
tu quoque arguments used by the
Soviet Union in response to allegations that it had violated
human rights.
[1] Use of the phrase refers to such attempts to deflect criticism, e.g. by referencing
racial discrimination and
lynching in the United States.
[2]
The
Soviet media frequently covered stories of
racial discrimination in the west, as well as reporting on the impacts of
unemployment and
financial crises, which were seen as inherent problems of the
capitalist system that had been erased by the strict
egalitarianism of the
Communist system. The history of
lynchings of
African Americans was thus seen as an embarrassing
skeleton in the closet for the US which the Soviets frequently used as a stock form of defensive rhetorical ammunition whenever they were reproached for the various failings of the Soviet system, such as their inferior industrial and agricultural production, their
human rights abuses and the relatively low standard of living for their workers.
I hate seeing this kind of talk...He don't have shyt to prove.
