I'm not defending the Soviet Union, which was truly a horrible regime.
What I'm saying, is the proper response to a criticism of lynching, is to agree with the criticism, not argue that the crimes (no matter how horrid) of those who are making the criticism renders the criticism invalid.
Agreed. You're right, it is hypocritical. There was fierce fighting between two sides of the civil rights issue during that time though. We weren't doing enough, but many people were trying.