"Mob law is the most forcible expression of an abnormal public opinion; it shows that society is rotten to the core"
About this Quote
The key word is “abnormal.” Fortune isn’t describing disagreement; he’s describing a civic pathology. Public opinion can be wrong in ordinary ways, but “abnormal” suggests deformation - an electorate warped by racism, fear, and the appetite for spectacle. It’s also a rebuke to the era’s respectable language about “custom” and “local sentiment.” Fortune calls it what it is: a perversion wearing the mask of community.
When he lands on “rotten to the core,” he’s indicting institutions as much as individuals. Rot is internal; it spreads through the whole body. This is Reconstruction’s broken promise and the rise of Jim Crow rendered as moral anatomy. Fortune, a Black journalist and editor who fought lynching with print and organizing, uses absolutist language to make a strategic point: if a society tolerates mob law, it cannot claim rule of law. It’s not merely failing its ideals; it’s exposing that those ideals have been hollowed out.
Quote Details
| Topic | Justice |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Fortune, Timothy Thomas. (2026, January 15). Mob law is the most forcible expression of an abnormal public opinion; it shows that society is rotten to the core. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/mob-law-is-the-most-forcible-expression-of-an-151521/
Chicago Style
Fortune, Timothy Thomas. "Mob law is the most forcible expression of an abnormal public opinion; it shows that society is rotten to the core." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/mob-law-is-the-most-forcible-expression-of-an-151521/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Mob law is the most forcible expression of an abnormal public opinion; it shows that society is rotten to the core." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/mob-law-is-the-most-forcible-expression-of-an-151521/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
