by G E Barr

Created on: December 29, 2008

SIGNS OF INTIMIDATION

Drive through any city in America and you are likely to see all forms of hate. Usually spray painted on overpasses or old buildings. A noose, certainly offers a different perspective, a texture of history which is, for some, not easily forgotten. Less alive than a middle finger, but certainly something that would elicit reaction.

A noose, where I am from would be particularly bothersome due to the history. Four men, who may or may not have been guilty of shooting and killing a federal marshall, were dragged from jail and hanged. Without a trial. Without a judgement. Witnesses never spoke up. The people who hung the four men got away with murder. All of the victims were white men. None were upstanding citizens. There was a history here. This was the place where outlaws came to hide out. They still do, but they are tamed and used. Or they repent. Or they become cops. Or they end up in prison. Or they become better citizens than any church lady could ever hope to be. Something like that.

So, if I walked out my door and saw a noose, more than likely, I wouldn't be thinking in terms of race. No, but I'd have a myriad of possibilities to consider. It would, in no uncertain terms, piss me off.

The noose is old. Older than America and slavery. It did not originate in America. And it is, to be sure, intimidating. When I think of hangings, I think of large groups of people in attendance, watching. Kind of like cattle or pigs. Sickening. The lowest of the low. I do not see it as some romantic notion of justice. I see it as the most cowardly form of anti-human, anti-democracy that man ever construed.

Some folks thrive on the memories of the old west when justice was, many times, dispensed without a trace of logic or any consideration of law. Here's the problem I have with it, any one can be hung. Any one can find themselves dangling from a rope.

Displaying a noose in public is more a form of intimidation. A reminder. As long as it is not used, it is not a crime though.

Just as it is not a crime to voice one's opinion. Certainly, displaying a noose is less dangerous than shooting a bullet into the air. But I'd rather paint a meadow on the side of a building.

I'd rather not be involved with intimidation tactics. Defending oneself is a requirement of survival. Leaving a noose is kind of like leaving a gun.

I'm glad the United States military doesn't donate tanks to the Taliban.

There is this way that humans have of attempting to persuade others to remain within the invisible boundaries.

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