When the lynch mob confronts Jed, Alan Hale has him describe what Johanson looked like . Jed describes a totally different man. Now wouldn't that occur to the mob that if Jed really killed Johanson, he would know what he looked like?
They were probably thinking he just killed whoever and stole the cattle, and that he really didn't know who they were asking about.
shareDon't you mean the beginning?
shareIf he had bought the cattle & spoken to the guy he would have had a good look at him & judged his age better, especially the way he makes out when he produces teh bill of sale. If he had snuck in at night & just shot him & his wife he wouldn't have had such a good look at the victims. Just saying.
And to the guy picking on spelling mistakes, why bother posting unless you have something positive to add? Woopee-do he made a typo, get over it.
Yeah, it does seem quite stupid, actually.. why would a guy accused of murder, describe a completely different man than the one who actually got killed? They just call him "Liar!" and proceed with the hanging.. how come none of them think "Okay, maybe he bought the cattle from the guy who actually did the killing?" -
But then again, I guess people who partake in lynch-mobs aren't the sharpest tools in the shed.
Yea, precisely. It reminds me of the quote from the first "Men in Black" movie by Tommy Lee Jones:
" A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it."
From a psychologist's perspective, the whole "mob mentality" thing is actually quite fascinating and bizarre to study I imagine though I personally find it depressing how quickly common sense and empathy erode in such situations.