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Whether you're white or black, read on without regard to your race and what society has taught you about your identity based upon it.

Why? Just use your own personal inward voice, emotion, and typical response to adversity. To consider your experiences in adversity, just take your day to life, sum up all the things that tick you off, make you want to cry, vomit from sheer frustration, or scream and yell bloody mercy: "I JUST CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!"

These situations may include an unfair, misogynistic, prick of a boss who doesn't see you for your true qualities, attributes, and talent. They may also include a family member who takes ritual advantage of you, tests your patience, and/or is always thinking of themselves before your needs, or before even consider all you've done for them.

Consider some immodest guy or girl who rejects your sincere advances, only to throw a self-indulgent, self-absorbed, rude, inconsiderate now garishly ugly portrait of themselves. So now they don't see the heart on a golden platter you've tried to offer, but only them, them, them.

Consider an economic pain you may be experiencing, or a goal you just can't seem to reach because of no help or assistance any remotely caring soul could offer, but you just can't/don't seem to get.

Now forsaking all or any of this, consider yourself as an individual, your own personal pride, worth, and being.

Imagine the most horrific, inhumane, and cruel thing a person or entity can do to challenge your occupancy in this world, and the respect you deserve for waking up each day and breathing, taking another shot at the intense maze called life.

Now imagine waking up and getting ready to begin another of your intense, activity filled days. Before you can even step off your porch, you see/notice a bloody, muddy, tainted silver noose hanging from a tree in your front lawn.

No. Suppose you are approaching your work place, or your child's school, and this befuddling noose is hanging from a tree in that front yard. Perhaps it is hanging there signifying that you should or must die. Perhaps not. Maybe it's hanging there for some other unfortunate specimen.

What does this mean?

Moreover, how or why should you just ignore it? How can you?

Obviously it isn't there hanging trying to send off a positive message or leave an encouraging vibe.

It's there to say someone or some people are not welcome, accepted, or candidly, even human.

Why should you be a witness to such a notion? Why should you be asked to view and swallow such a morbid suggestion?

Do you, after all you stand for, go through, struggle against, live for, and are willing to possibly die for deserve such a statement?

NO. Does anyone?

Who should view such a disturbing message or idea? Not you, me, and especially the persons these spiteful, ridiculous messages are aimed at.

No one needs additional strife to digest, spit out, or try to muster the self resilience to ignore.

Nooses are hate crimes. Denying people, anyone their unspoken deserved respect is hateful.

Even the consideration of a noose hanging or otherwise being a hateful device or implying actions of hate is...pure hatred.

We must not hate humankind. We must not hate the unknown, the feared, or unacknowledged.

We must educate and be educated. The first lesson needing to be learned and taught: "Do unto others as you would want done to you and/or yours."

Learn more about this author, Carol Smith.
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