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Hanging a noose in public should not, a priori, constitute a hate crime. It depends on the circumstances and the locale. A noose in my front yard on Halloween as part of a specific Halloween decoration is clearly not a hate crime. In the old West, criminals were hung as a matter of course. A noose in a public location as part of a historical event recognition is not a hate crime. If too many actions are called hate crimes, we will become desensitized to the term and it will have lost its impact. A noose in front of a black family's house or apartment could be a hate crime. It could also be an act of vandalism or mischief. The event most probably creates a trauma for the victims. Yet there are many events that create a much greater trauma. A drive-by shooting that leaves a friend or family member injured or dead in one's front yard. It would be helpful if the aggrieved victim and the authorities took broader views of the event. No police force has the manpower to chase after an action (hanging the noose) that may have resulted in nothing more than a damaged sense of self-worth. The real world is filled with dangerous events and dangerous characters. It is true that some of the later may be "noose hangers." So some adult judgment is required. Is this the first noose? Have there been other "threatening" events, e.g., letters, phone calls, obscene writings? Common sense should prevail, not a knee-jerk proclamation that "This Is A Hate Crime."

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