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Having lived in the south for 6 years, hanging a noose is definitely a hate crime, if not a terroristic crime. Just because the civil war was fought years ago, with the south losing, does not mean that the war is over. The KKK sells donuts on intersections in Georgia Saturday mornings in full grab. How much more blatant can you be about such matters? And hanging a noose in a city, I don't believe, qualifies for a horse ranch.

I left Georgia in December of 1987 and in the six months proceeding that, one of the delivery people for a friend's gas station had a cross burned in his front yard and in December, had his house torched. In my opinion, that is a hate crime in capital letters.

For those not living in the south, meaning from Maryland at the Mason/Dixon line down, these might seem like childish pranks. But for those living there, both black, white, or any other color, fear strikes your heart at the sight of a noose. And for those people that do not distinguish between races, they are open for the same treatment.

Being raised in the north and believing the civil war had been settled, I was shocked when I first lived in Maryland and was taunted and snubbed by the "friendly" hospitality handed out to a Yankee. When I later moved to Georgia, I managed a store, and if I said "Hi" instead of "Hey", people would turn around and walk out. And I am white!

The south is a very proud place and traditions don't die, they just try and cover them better. The south is very beautiful and has lovely homes and scenery but for many of the people, their heart is as black and cold as if the war still waged. A noose is still regarded as it was then, a sign of death to come.

Learn more about this author, Linda Steinbiser.
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