The NY Times can spin any incident into racial bias or any liberal cause. It seems to me that the hangmans noose was symbolic of the old westerns. ie. "Hang em high" Clint Eastwood. " Lonesome Dove" Robert Duval. It maybe a sign of racial bias to you but for many it was a staple of the old westerns. NY Times never disappoints always consistent.
4
Strange to read responses here of people who think the noose left there by the white colleague of a black person could have been 'innocent' (of...what?) or representative of cowboy days. I wonder, on what planet of make -believe do they exist?
I suggest to these deniers of the noose's hateful symbolism: go to the African American museum. Start in the bottom, the slave history section that depicts and explains very clearly in fairly simple terms what occurred during slavery in this country. Then make your way to the middle floor, where Jim Crow life is displayed. They may want to linger here and pay special attention to KKK history and lynching history.
OK. If that's too hard for them. Simply Google 'images of lynching'. Here, they will see pictures of men, women and children hanging from noose's, surrounded by white audiences, being 'entertained' by the hangings.
If they still don't get it, why a white colleague placing a noose at a black coworker's work station is racist, and not an innocent gesture meant to evoke cowboy days, well then I give up on them. But I won't give up continuing the fight against racism.
I suggest to these deniers of the noose's hateful symbolism: go to the African American museum. Start in the bottom, the slave history section that depicts and explains very clearly in fairly simple terms what occurred during slavery in this country. Then make your way to the middle floor, where Jim Crow life is displayed. They may want to linger here and pay special attention to KKK history and lynching history.
OK. If that's too hard for them. Simply Google 'images of lynching'. Here, they will see pictures of men, women and children hanging from noose's, surrounded by white audiences, being 'entertained' by the hangings.
If they still don't get it, why a white colleague placing a noose at a black coworker's work station is racist, and not an innocent gesture meant to evoke cowboy days, well then I give up on them. But I won't give up continuing the fight against racism.
39
Certainly the verbal bombastics of the Trump campaign and tweets, often at the expense of a whole variety of what would be considered the "other", contribute significantly to the loosening of restraints on the bigots, racists, and perverts of the nation's citizenry.
12
Thanks Donald (and your evil helpers, like Steve) for creating a climate of hate in a country which--while hardly perfect--had been on a road towards better race relations.
13
Dear Darling Ms. Dumpson, don't let this get in your way. Keep moving forward, keep contributing to society, keep on thinking, keep on enjoying life, keep on exploring this marvelous world in which we all live. Living well is the best revenge, but I wonder, perhaps if not thinking in terms of black and white, either or, us versus them may actually be the best response. Be smart, don't put yourself in the line of fire, but don't get derailed or defined by some else's bad behavior. It's about them not you. Don't take it personally, but feel free to get mad and then take that angry energy and do something positive with it, which could be pottery, helping kids, running a mile, what ever you love to do. Don't stop now.
5
"Hateful"
Is that really a word ?
Isn't the person trying to terrify you ?
Is that really a word ?
Isn't the person trying to terrify you ?
4
These people full of hate are to be pitied as they have no peace in their hearts. We have a short journey on this planet and to live a life full of anger and resentment towards others is sorrowful indeed.
Now, that we have a President that does not speak out against these terrorists, makes me very angry. That I have anger in my heart toward this man who cares for no one except himself and his absurd family, shows that I have work to do on myself.
Now, that we have a President that does not speak out against these terrorists, makes me very angry. That I have anger in my heart toward this man who cares for no one except himself and his absurd family, shows that I have work to do on myself.
5
I see the Times wisely led this piece with an instance in which it is indisputable that a white person was responsible for the racist message. But the others? We are left to infer that, well, must be a white man to blame because isn't that the point of the piece? White people (especially those who voted for Trump) are racists. Except the good ones who live on the Upper West Side or in Park Slope who reliably vote Democratic.
But there is a problem with that narrative. Over the years there have been many documented instances in which the putative black victim of such white racism has proven to be the perpetrator, at which point liberal establishment media like the Times typically lose interest. This has happened at Columbia University (faculty!), among liberal college students, and in the workplace, and it has happened often enough that some of your readers really do wonder how much of this is real (like the story with which the piece begins) and how much of it is just more fake reporting of alternative facts. I don't have the answer to that one, but I'll bet a professional news gathering organization like the New York Times could easily find out and report the result if it wanted to.
But there is a problem with that narrative. Over the years there have been many documented instances in which the putative black victim of such white racism has proven to be the perpetrator, at which point liberal establishment media like the Times typically lose interest. This has happened at Columbia University (faculty!), among liberal college students, and in the workplace, and it has happened often enough that some of your readers really do wonder how much of this is real (like the story with which the piece begins) and how much of it is just more fake reporting of alternative facts. I don't have the answer to that one, but I'll bet a professional news gathering organization like the New York Times could easily find out and report the result if it wanted to.
4
Racism is alive and well in the United States. It always has been, and it's not going away.
11
This article provides close to zero facts on the particular incident in question. Unless the NYT knows more than is included in this story, I think it reflects terribly irresponsible journalism.
Of course, please do publish stories about increasing rates of hate crimes and intentional use of menacing and threatening hate-laden symbols and words; there is substantial evidence to support those statistics. But don't bootstrap the tiniest set of facts, without even a suggestion of any evidence of intent or other circumstantial facts, to set the scene for the bigger story you want to (and should) publish.
And to those decrying the fact that the employee was not fired and arrested on the spot--that's not the kind of justice or due process I hope any of us wants to see. Let's find out the facts before ruining someone's life. Let's provide due process until we ascertain those facts. Isn't that what we all want?
P.s. Obliteration of employee safeguards provided by strong unions is one of the underlying reasons we're in this mess with the "forgotten working class".
Of course, please do publish stories about increasing rates of hate crimes and intentional use of menacing and threatening hate-laden symbols and words; there is substantial evidence to support those statistics. But don't bootstrap the tiniest set of facts, without even a suggestion of any evidence of intent or other circumstantial facts, to set the scene for the bigger story you want to (and should) publish.
And to those decrying the fact that the employee was not fired and arrested on the spot--that's not the kind of justice or due process I hope any of us wants to see. Let's find out the facts before ruining someone's life. Let's provide due process until we ascertain those facts. Isn't that what we all want?
P.s. Obliteration of employee safeguards provided by strong unions is one of the underlying reasons we're in this mess with the "forgotten working class".
8
We're better than this. Thank you NYT's and journalists, for the courage you show displaying reality and hard cold truth.
12
The fact that this incident gets media coverage is the reason people continue to do irrational things. Then we stir up racially motivated conclusions and then off to the races again.
4
Why doesn't the NYT name the perpetrator of this incident in a US Government institution ?
AND
What was he not immediately fired?
AND
What was he not immediately fired?
37
Nothing new here, as disgusting as it is. A significant minority (I pray that it is a minority) of white Americans have always hated and feared African-Americans. The hatred becomes more visible in times of stress, and is more likely to be acted upon in permissive environments. Both of these conditions obtain in Trumpian America.
I continue to believe that we are getting better, though much too slowly.
I continue to believe that we are getting better, though much too slowly.
18
I am amazed at the cognative dissonance and pathetic special pleading displayed in these comments. Symbolic meaning varies by social and historical context, but certain meanings dominate at different moments in time. There is no doubt in this day and age that a noose evokes lynching, especially when targeting African American subjects. The noose, either a real object or an image, deliberately evokes a specific historical practice and is not ambiguous (only a hundred years ago lynching imagery was more mainstream, to the point that people collected lynching souvenir postcards). A quick visit to the relevant sub-reddits or 4chan will clear up any misconceptions that noose imagey is not part of a racist lexicon. If someone painted a swastika on a Jewish person's home, would you argue that the image be read as an ancient Buddhist symbol?
82
African-Americans was one of the topics in the first semester of German senior high English - a number of my pupils knew the connotations of the noose and reacted immediately when they found one in a collage on racial relations I handed out. Their reactions? Horror and disgust. At the time, there was an African-American teen in this course who gave the students additional details, not leaving out any of the nightmares of the time.
I should hope that those people who placed those nooses are punished accordingly. As Americans they should be conscious of what they are implying, what feelings they provoke in a group who has been subjected to the humiliations of Jim Crow and who has fought and is still fighting for equal rights even now.
I should hope that those people who placed those nooses are punished accordingly. As Americans they should be conscious of what they are implying, what feelings they provoke in a group who has been subjected to the humiliations of Jim Crow and who has fought and is still fighting for equal rights even now.
9
You left out the NY butcher who handed a noose to his UPS driver.
9
William Case,another Anglo living in fantasy land
10
You call a weapon that white use to murder blacks a "symbol?"
9
Sure Jay, in this case it's a symbol, because it's not being used against anyone. In truth, it's just rope, and we don't always conceive of rope as a weapon, even though it could always be used as such.
6
This article suggests that the symbol of the hangman's noose is racially motivated. It may very well be in many contexts, but sometimes it is used as a symbol of Freemasonry (which I am told is a symbol used in their initiation rights). I have seen it used in this way in 'all white' corporate environments where there was no suggestion of racial motivation.
1
Ah, so what exactly is your interpretation of context in these cases? Asking for someone who thinks you are grasping at straws, with an indescernable motive.
5
Isn't that wonderful?!!!!!!!!
Yeah, it was probably a congratulations from a white Mason to a black Mason, or an invite to join that hallowed group. Everyone knows that the way you get into the Masons is through your spiritual understanding that a noose is actually an invitation to descend into the ritual wells!
8
Why do we never hear any follow up when these incidents occur? I'm still waiting to hear who put black tape over the faces of African American professors at Harvard Law.
They get reported but we never hear about legal consequences.
They get reported but we never hear about legal consequences.
38
Until the culprit or culprits are identified and their motivations established, the supposition should be that the nooses are fake hate crimes. Too many of these types of “hate crimes” have turned out to be fake to think otherwise.
Until recently, the hangman’s noose was mostly closely identified with Old West vigilantes who strung up rustlers and outlaws in movies like the “Oxbow Incident or the “Get a Rope” Wolf Brand chili commercial than with the lynching of African Americans. Most African American “lynching” victims were shot, stabbed, or bludgeoned to death, not hanged. Any murder committed by three or more people qualifies as a lynching if the killing is done as extrajudicial punishment for an alleged criminal offense or violation of social custom. Nooses suddenly started appearing on progressive college campuses and at civil rights venues only after the news media proclaimed that the noose is regarded not as a symbol of frontier justice but as a symbol of racial hatred and intimidation.
Until recently, the hangman’s noose was mostly closely identified with Old West vigilantes who strung up rustlers and outlaws in movies like the “Oxbow Incident or the “Get a Rope” Wolf Brand chili commercial than with the lynching of African Americans. Most African American “lynching” victims were shot, stabbed, or bludgeoned to death, not hanged. Any murder committed by three or more people qualifies as a lynching if the killing is done as extrajudicial punishment for an alleged criminal offense or violation of social custom. Nooses suddenly started appearing on progressive college campuses and at civil rights venues only after the news media proclaimed that the noose is regarded not as a symbol of frontier justice but as a symbol of racial hatred and intimidation.
16
I'm actually sort of stunned that this is a suggestion meant to be taken seriously.
Because, yeah, *that's* the context that someone's most likely going to provide when they deliver a noose to their African-American colleague.
The fact that this is a Times "top pick" is even more unsettling.
Because, yeah, *that's* the context that someone's most likely going to provide when they deliver a noose to their African-American colleague.
The fact that this is a Times "top pick" is even more unsettling.
78
Gee, thanks for the information. I'm sure it was just a friendly goof and/or an invitation to a game of "Cowboys and Native Americans." Hey, while we're talking, there's a great summer read you should check out, Colson Whitehead's "Underground Railroad."
10
Really it's a terrible shame that the racist, mentally deficient guys (I'm sure it's only men), who are tossing these nooses around with extreme cowardice (always trying to vandalize in secret), aren't using the nooses for a purpose which would actually aid society. They could easily be hanging themselves instead, and I think most of us would prefer them doing so.
22
Dan: for heaven's sake, this comment is NOT helpful. More ugliness is not needed.
10
Dear MJB,
I think you're right to an extent. But I believe in meeting violence with violence, not pacifism. And I don't tolerate this nazi stuff, and these gestures are very close to violence.
For example, that guy who killed a Muslim girl because she was Muslim, he did it out of this same racist hatred. He should have been stopped, and violence would have been the only way to do so.
I think you're right to an extent. But I believe in meeting violence with violence, not pacifism. And I don't tolerate this nazi stuff, and these gestures are very close to violence.
For example, that guy who killed a Muslim girl because she was Muslim, he did it out of this same racist hatred. He should have been stopped, and violence would have been the only way to do so.
1
I wouldn't be surprised if many, if not most, of the nooses were placed by African Americans of the BLM ilk to keep their racial grievance machine purring along...
8
HBomb that's the most ridiculous thing I have heard today.
49
What kind of person reads a story in which the lead anecdote is about a white person making a threatening gesture to a black person on video at the U.S. Mint and responds by suggesting that incidents like this one are faked? I kid, it's obvious to all of us what kind of person you are.
32
So, in your view, blacks have received a fair deal since the Civil War, is that about right? The usual thinking behind comments like this. Know anything about the Jim Crow era that lasted for 100 years after the war? Know anything about the widely exposed institutional and social biases that have disfavored blacks and other minorities even since the Civil Rights Act? Perpetrated by the Federal government as well as state governments, companies, the real estate industry, school systems, law enforcement, judicial system, and banks to name a few. But sure, believe what you want. Those in the "BLM ilk" are some crafty folk, always trying to put one over on white people and then just laugh and laugh and laugh. That about it?
40
There is no excuse for the use a noose to intimidate and terrorize people in a public place or work environment. Indeed, there is probably no case where the display of a noose in a public building in America wouldn't justifiably be interpreted as a threat against black people.
However, that being said, the noose continues to be a symbol that is frequently used with no intended racial implication. For example, the editorial page of the NYT has used the image of a noose on January 16 and October 24 2016, as well as March 27, 2014. The Book Review featured the image of a noose on a review in the January 22, 2016 issue. And the magazine featured the image of a noose in a column on January 13 of this year. None of these uses had anything directly to do with race. The majority were used in editorials about the death penalty.
In addition, the noose has been used with used with humorous intent by Jon Stewart, Samantha Bee, SNL, Radiohead and on animated comedies such as the Simpsons, Family Guy and Bob's Burgers. In these contexts, the use is usually employed as a symbol of exasperation and an inability to go on.
None of this is intended to justify the use of a noose in the workplace or in a public setting. Such displays are cowardly and undoubtedly racist. But we do need to come to terms with the complex meanings given to this powerful image.
However, that being said, the noose continues to be a symbol that is frequently used with no intended racial implication. For example, the editorial page of the NYT has used the image of a noose on January 16 and October 24 2016, as well as March 27, 2014. The Book Review featured the image of a noose on a review in the January 22, 2016 issue. And the magazine featured the image of a noose in a column on January 13 of this year. None of these uses had anything directly to do with race. The majority were used in editorials about the death penalty.
In addition, the noose has been used with used with humorous intent by Jon Stewart, Samantha Bee, SNL, Radiohead and on animated comedies such as the Simpsons, Family Guy and Bob's Burgers. In these contexts, the use is usually employed as a symbol of exasperation and an inability to go on.
None of this is intended to justify the use of a noose in the workplace or in a public setting. Such displays are cowardly and undoubtedly racist. But we do need to come to terms with the complex meanings given to this powerful image.
2
I think this response is going too far. We are now reacting to anything that a particular race sees as racist? The noose (a western vigilante symbol, not a racist one), re-writing the history books to inflate the achievements of some people, tearing down Confederate monuments (an integral part of our history), attempts to outlaw words such as "thugs" (which is a term from India). As a non-white and non-black, I find this verging on the ridiculous.
5
It's ridiculous to try and pretend that there is no racial component attached to these acts. By doing so you lend them your blessing and become part of the sickness.
18
The Noose has been used to terrorize black people since the end of the Civil War.
Tearing down CW monuments doesn't erase the history they represent, it merely ends the glorification of it. Trust me, nobody is going to forget or erase the civil war.
Tearing down CW monuments doesn't erase the history they represent, it merely ends the glorification of it. Trust me, nobody is going to forget or erase the civil war.
7
By the same token, people who scrawl swastikas on their Jewish co-workers' desks are really just conveying them an ancient Indian symbol of good luck and not expressing Nazi views. And people who wear hoods and burn crosses on the lawn of a black family are just commemorating Holy Week like the Spanish Red Penitents, or else showing their Scottish Highland heritage by burning crosses as way of communicating with fellow clan members across the distant moors, rather than expressing murderous white supremacist sentiments.
I'm going to look on the bright side and assume "Chris" is a 13-year old recent immigrant from a country where he has had absolutely no exposure to symbols or themes of American culture or society. Otherwise, he is simply a complete and utter troll and buffoon.
I'm going to look on the bright side and assume "Chris" is a 13-year old recent immigrant from a country where he has had absolutely no exposure to symbols or themes of American culture or society. Otherwise, he is simply a complete and utter troll and buffoon.
28
Administrative leave for the noose maker at the mint? Really, that is what is called 'zero tolerance' by the government? How about immediate termination, then arrest?
The subject of this article is very difficult for me to understand. How has society digressed so far so quickly? I (want to) believe that baby-boomers (like me) are far less likely to exhibit racially motivated hostility than those who are older and (most dangerously) younger. Boomers of all races have many common experiences that draw them historically together. Vietnam, the democratic convention in Chicago, Woodstock, sit-in's, peace marches, free love, the Moon, the Smothers Brothers and Laugh-In, Rodney King and Bobby Seale.
I believe Trump appeals to those who are hateful in their thinking, and now feel enabled to express themselves. Those who subscribe to racial division and hate in general have apparently been suppressed into political correctness so long that they have been bursting at the seams to express their hate. Along comes Trump, who sets them free, and we find ourselves in an America far different from what we want to believe it was.
We had the audacity to believe ourselves to have evolved from the racial disharmony that has haunted this country since it's beginnings. The nation is still roiled by the consequences of racial injustice and debating the persistent legacy of racism and poverty.
The subject of this article is very difficult for me to understand. How has society digressed so far so quickly? I (want to) believe that baby-boomers (like me) are far less likely to exhibit racially motivated hostility than those who are older and (most dangerously) younger. Boomers of all races have many common experiences that draw them historically together. Vietnam, the democratic convention in Chicago, Woodstock, sit-in's, peace marches, free love, the Moon, the Smothers Brothers and Laugh-In, Rodney King and Bobby Seale.
I believe Trump appeals to those who are hateful in their thinking, and now feel enabled to express themselves. Those who subscribe to racial division and hate in general have apparently been suppressed into political correctness so long that they have been bursting at the seams to express their hate. Along comes Trump, who sets them free, and we find ourselves in an America far different from what we want to believe it was.
We had the audacity to believe ourselves to have evolved from the racial disharmony that has haunted this country since it's beginnings. The nation is still roiled by the consequences of racial injustice and debating the persistent legacy of racism and poverty.
46
You are forgetting that boomers weren't all hippies and yippies. Lots of them were squares, straights, seriously uncool and uncomfortable with the upheaval of society occurring around them, and fully on board with the Vietnam war, and sexual repression, and the second class status of women and minorities.
I know this is true, because they are now Trumpites in my immediate family.
I know this is true, because they are now Trumpites in my immediate family.
40
You nailed it. Absolutely. Baby Boomers (of which I am one) are not monolithic by any stretch. A lot of them are very regressive and proud of it. Self-satisfied and filled with hubris. Great combination. My friends and I live in a bubble. What's out there is truly, truly ugly.
10
There is something ugly and cancerous again growing openly in our country and like any plant the bad must be pruned lest the entire plant die from disease. I am not abicating violence but behaviors and such as this are intolerable in civilized society. We are a multicultural and multiracial nation and better because of it. Hearts and minds are the key to change. In other words love your neighbor as yourself.
40
I'd say this sort of racist hatred makes violence against it acceptable. If I catch a racist trying to put a noose on church doors or something, I'm probably going to be tempted to utilize violence to demonstrate the error of his ways. Pain is the best teacher.
2
So long as you keep publicizing such cases, they will go on, until boredom sets in.
I have never understood why the Times rewards racist and other bigots by lavishing attention on them when all my contributions to making society better get passed over in complete silence!
You are complicit in these stunts. Don't feed the animals.
I have never understood why the Times rewards racist and other bigots by lavishing attention on them when all my contributions to making society better get passed over in complete silence!
You are complicit in these stunts. Don't feed the animals.
4
If its not reported, people would say its not happening!
30
Oh yes. Let's ignore it and pretend it's not happening.
18
Easy to say if you're not the target of such threats. If I was African-American, I would want to know that this was happening and that tensions were on the increase, for safety and awareness reasons alone. It would be important news to me and I would be very angered if it was being swept under the rug.
I happen to be Caucasian. However, as a female, I closely follow all stories addressing restrictions to my personal freedom and access to equal pay and equal opportunity. I also follow stories on hate crimes and public threats against women. I consider it essential to my personal safety to understand the world I'm living in and the forces that are against me, however minor they might seem to be.
I happen to be Caucasian. However, as a female, I closely follow all stories addressing restrictions to my personal freedom and access to equal pay and equal opportunity. I also follow stories on hate crimes and public threats against women. I consider it essential to my personal safety to understand the world I'm living in and the forces that are against me, however minor they might seem to be.
12
Let's be frank and candidly address the elephant in the room. Mr. Trump's campaign and presidency have produced so many hateful acts including his rhetoric at campaign rallies, his Muslim ban, his disrespect to a federal judge (He is a "Mexican') to say nothing of his vicious name-calling of campaign adversaries and his continuing attack on women, the latest Mika Brzezinski.
He has set the tone and the tone is one of disrespect, hate and intolerance. His attack on our free press is especially distressing as it is a pillar of our democracy and its importance is enshrined in the First Amendment. There is little doubt that his pugnacious style and rhetoric have coarsened American discourse and, at a minimum, has been a contributing factor to the uptake in hateful displays across our nation.
He has set the tone and the tone is one of disrespect, hate and intolerance. His attack on our free press is especially distressing as it is a pillar of our democracy and its importance is enshrined in the First Amendment. There is little doubt that his pugnacious style and rhetoric have coarsened American discourse and, at a minimum, has been a contributing factor to the uptake in hateful displays across our nation.
76
" a 6.7 percent rise in reported hate crimes in 2015" ... Seriously? How is Trump responsible for this?
6
In one sense he's not, because everyone in America is an adult. But unfortunately, some of these adults feel inspired and liberated to reveal some darker thoughts.
3
Seems kinda childish to me. A noose can kill you, but hanging bananas? I dont get why people would ever do dumb stuff like this.
2
"I don't get why people would ever do dumb stuff like this."
Because they're racist, and racism is dumb?
Because they're racist, and racism is dumb?
18
The banana is a reference to a tropical climate, aka where African-Americans originated. Surely, it's intended as a double insult.
7
People do this to express disdain for others, and to inspire fear. It's emotional terrorism, and you'd understand that if it were directed toward you or someone you care about.
7
The increase in the number of hate crimes is a national emergency. As is the number of politicians who are willing to traffic in symbols of hate.
Once again, we will see the same small set of responses from those who seek to discredit the event or minimize its importance. For efficiency, here are some of them:
[Common Response A] Odd no security footage. Cameras everywhere. A government or other conspiracy is implied.
[Common Response B] If not an inside job, how did they get the rope past the cameras?
[Common Response C] Probably put there by a black person or a liberal. This has happened many times lately.
[Common Response D] For crying out loud it's just a harmless piece of rope. Snowflake liberal hysterical hand-wring. Shutting down free speech again.
[Common Response E] Nooses can mean lots of things.
[Common Response F] There has not been a rise in hate crimes over the past year. There is no prejudice against blacks in America.
[Common Response G] A whacko. News stories make them do it, for publicity. Look at all the liberal whackos.
Once again, we will see the same small set of responses from those who seek to discredit the event or minimize its importance. For efficiency, here are some of them:
[Common Response A] Odd no security footage. Cameras everywhere. A government or other conspiracy is implied.
[Common Response B] If not an inside job, how did they get the rope past the cameras?
[Common Response C] Probably put there by a black person or a liberal. This has happened many times lately.
[Common Response D] For crying out loud it's just a harmless piece of rope. Snowflake liberal hysterical hand-wring. Shutting down free speech again.
[Common Response E] Nooses can mean lots of things.
[Common Response F] There has not been a rise in hate crimes over the past year. There is no prejudice against blacks in America.
[Common Response G] A whacko. News stories make them do it, for publicity. Look at all the liberal whackos.
22
I find it odd that the most recent incidents have taken place on government property and nothing has been captured by security cameras.
20
The incident at the Mint was captured on security camera, which showed a white male coin maker committing the deed.
8
Russian hacking...
1
Yes, terroristic symbol on federal property. Doesn't seem to generate more than tut-tut! Is there even any investigation whatsoever? This angers me.
9
Add the Confederate flag to the symbols of terror and harm, but Americans are fine with it. Imagine swastika flags flying openly all across America? Who would tolerate such a thing? But when it's black people, any epithet or cruelty is fine.
66
in fact the opposite is true -- anything even remotely suggestive of antiblack bias is instantly a national catastrophe. I remember when niggardly was a word in good standing before thin skinned illiterates whined about...
11
What is going on with white people in America who do this? How can they not be ashamed of the horrible legacy of lynchings and terrorism against African-Americans in this country? I am not American but I am white and it makes me feel sick to read about lynchings that happened all the way into the 1960s here, mostly perpetrated by people with my skin color. It makes me wonder what was wrong with these people, who were presumably similar to me in their cultural background and religious traditions, to turn them into violent racist haters.
The only thing that I can relate it to is sectarianism in Northern Ireland, which still rears its ugly head from time to time. Educators and the police and community leaders all work together, however, to try and change the new generation coming through and educate them on religious / cultural tolerance. It takes careful vigilance from all parts of the community.
It seems to me that a similar community-wide effort to combat racial hatred is lacking in parts of the USA, particularly the former Confederate states. There is a deep legacy of hatred and brutality there but it seems many white people are more comfortable ignoring it and letting it fester instead of taking it out in the open and tackling it.
The only thing that I can relate it to is sectarianism in Northern Ireland, which still rears its ugly head from time to time. Educators and the police and community leaders all work together, however, to try and change the new generation coming through and educate them on religious / cultural tolerance. It takes careful vigilance from all parts of the community.
It seems to me that a similar community-wide effort to combat racial hatred is lacking in parts of the USA, particularly the former Confederate states. There is a deep legacy of hatred and brutality there but it seems many white people are more comfortable ignoring it and letting it fester instead of taking it out in the open and tackling it.
44
as one commentor here noted -- where are the security cameras? Is the security at the Mint such a non-existant item it can't find the person?
Why no criminal investigation?
Why no criminal investigation?
1
Yes, where are the good people who are willing to tackle this? Remaining silent on this issue amounts to tacit approval.
3
Its stated at beginning of article. Did you miss that?
1
Of course, the election of Trump has stimulated this hatred. Example: Members of the Storm Front, a disgusting neo-nazi, white supremacist on-line group were openly elated when Trump was elected. If you want to do something constructive about this hatred, support The Southern Poverty Law Center, a much respected and much needed non-profit that is dedicated to "teaching tolerance", fighting hate groups and protecting our civil rights. They do great work and need your support.
72
Yes. It's Trumps fault. And also those disgusting white people on Stormfront who have the nerve to prefer a candidate that your kind does not approve of.
The SPLC is a fraud, anyone who objectively looks at them can see it in five minutes of online research. As for the SPLC needing 'your support' go and look inquire online about their financial status. People like you Lori, are what got Trump elected, and I don't mind saying I am glad he is president.
The SPLC is a fraud, anyone who objectively looks at them can see it in five minutes of online research. As for the SPLC needing 'your support' go and look inquire online about their financial status. People like you Lori, are what got Trump elected, and I don't mind saying I am glad he is president.
6
What do you mean by " your kind"?
Aren't we all Americans?
Storm Front is the free press. You rail against the press you don't like, others against the press you do like.
That's the American way, and it made and keeps America great -- and free.
Why on erath should you mind saying your glad he's president?
You have nothing to fear: no one will deface your house with peace signs or burn effigies on your lawn, no one will shoot you, punch you in the face, or have you sent out on a stretcher.
No one will lynch you, no president ever called your favorite press the enemy of the people.
No one took away your guns -- many people have doubled the number of guns they have, so no fear.
Are you not just a little paranoid asnd defensive.
The world is not required to see things your way or do things your way -- but that doesn't mean you are a victim, just an American living in a democracy where all, like you, are free to gripe and protest.
Aren't we all Americans?
Storm Front is the free press. You rail against the press you don't like, others against the press you do like.
That's the American way, and it made and keeps America great -- and free.
Why on erath should you mind saying your glad he's president?
You have nothing to fear: no one will deface your house with peace signs or burn effigies on your lawn, no one will shoot you, punch you in the face, or have you sent out on a stretcher.
No one will lynch you, no president ever called your favorite press the enemy of the people.
No one took away your guns -- many people have doubled the number of guns they have, so no fear.
Are you not just a little paranoid asnd defensive.
The world is not required to see things your way or do things your way -- but that doesn't mean you are a victim, just an American living in a democracy where all, like you, are free to gripe and protest.
11
Disgusting. Climate change can't destroy us fast enough.
19
The person who created that noose in the Mint should be fired. And the union should support his firing.
94
You know why there are nooses re-appearingin America? For one thing, every time there's a column about something that affects black people, there is a dearth of comments. No one cares about black people except black people.
Racism is something we fight and most people don't talk about. It's lie the so called "good cops". White people see what's happening and they hear what their neighbors think, but they don't intervene. They're disapproving, perhaps, but passive.
Racism is something we fight and most people don't talk about. It's lie the so called "good cops". White people see what's happening and they hear what their neighbors think, but they don't intervene. They're disapproving, perhaps, but passive.
34
I agree Brian. I am a white man and I am ashamed that I do not speak out more often on this and more to the point, do not become more active. It is incumbent on us to do more. Thank you for your insight.
13
Brian, you are just incorrect. No one cares about black people except black people? That statement is a large part of the problem--you are generalizing, and it is simply not true. The only way we are going to get ourselves out of this racialized profiling is to not do it. And to listen and observe all the instances where cross-racial friendships, friendliness, neighborliness, and yes, marriages, are happening, very successfully, with love.
Do you think this is naive. I assure you, it is not. Be the difference you wish to see.
Do you think this is naive. I assure you, it is not. Be the difference you wish to see.
8
Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) is a white anti-racist activist group dedicated to organizing and mobilizing white Americans to fight racism. Also, Tim Wise is a brilliant and very vocal white anti racist activist. One can read his essays on his website and he has published several books. He sometimes appears on CNN and MSNBC. He is brilliant.
2
There is a flip side. At my university, a car in one of our parking lots was spotted with a hangman's noose dangling from the rearview mirror. Campus police were called and the parking decal ID used to track down the owner. When he showed up, the angry police and student life staff were confronted by a tall very dark African-American male who thought the noose on his mirror was cool.
I reminded our Dean of Students that for 25 years, when driving past the university into downtown that she had been confronted by a 20 ft high painting of a hangman's noose on the side of a popular nightclub named "The Attic"--their symbol being a noose attached to a rafter in the attic (you would have to know Tom Haines to understand his humor, but he was as liberal as you could get). Haines must have sold many thousands of Attic T-shirts with the noose prominently on the front side.
Context is everything. If the noose is meant to intimidate, that is clearly wrong. As a prank on the rodeo club, as was the case in Jenna, LA, not smart. As a bauble on a black man's mirror, that's his choice and not a problem. As a tribute to suicide, that was Mr. Haines' joke. Great club, my college-aged son was sad to see him leave and his club morph into something less..
I reminded our Dean of Students that for 25 years, when driving past the university into downtown that she had been confronted by a 20 ft high painting of a hangman's noose on the side of a popular nightclub named "The Attic"--their symbol being a noose attached to a rafter in the attic (you would have to know Tom Haines to understand his humor, but he was as liberal as you could get). Haines must have sold many thousands of Attic T-shirts with the noose prominently on the front side.
Context is everything. If the noose is meant to intimidate, that is clearly wrong. As a prank on the rodeo club, as was the case in Jenna, LA, not smart. As a bauble on a black man's mirror, that's his choice and not a problem. As a tribute to suicide, that was Mr. Haines' joke. Great club, my college-aged son was sad to see him leave and his club morph into something less..
11
"symbol of racial animus" is way too mild to describe this. When directed at people of color, this is a symbol of murder by mob, of terror, and of white power. I am outraged, ashamed, and deeply sad all at the same time.
112
Racial hatred can be expressed through promoting the birther movement or by converted a piece of rope into a noose. Both are abhorrent - one gets you elected and the other gets you arrested but they both come from the same ignorance.
75
There is a change here in symbolism. The noose has long been a symbol of vigilantism and the Wild West. Hatred toward blacks has been symbolized most directly by a burning cross. But vigilante crime is on the rise. And if nooses are the new symbol of racism, it is less about our collective history and more about the heightened and murderous hatred toward blacks.
7
"The Noose, Symbol of Racial Animus, Keeps Appearing"
And every time a news organization prints a story on the finding of one, some other nut case gets the idea that he can do one and have a story in the paper about it. That makes their action a bragging right with the nut cases friends and relatives.
And every time a news organization prints a story on the finding of one, some other nut case gets the idea that he can do one and have a story in the paper about it. That makes their action a bragging right with the nut cases friends and relatives.
13
Nonsense. People are not hanging nooses because it's being reported about. If it wasn't, you'd say that blacks are making it up. Nooses are appearing for the same reasons they always have: to intimidate black people.
49
This statement I agree with, Brian. A tiny minority of people are hanging nooses to intimidate black people right now. And we should have no tolerance for this symbol at all. We must identify individuals doing these acts. The person who fashioned it should be sent to a hatred management group, then an anger management group, and then made to do community service. And then the NYTimes should report on the results of this set of responses--did his mental health improve? Did he apologize? Did he agree to work on being a better co-worker and neighbor to all?
Everyone, we have to come up with better solutions than what we are saying in our commentaries. Concrete attempts to find a better path to the future. We absolutely must quit this racially inflammatory behavior, and learn to overcome our fears and anger toward each other, and our lack of identification with "others." We are all human beings of very thick identities--we are not just a color, or an ethnic background, or a religion, or a sexual orientation, or a gender, or a class. We are each people with parents, friends, talents, good ideas, bad ideas, history of mistakes, history of self-less acts, interests, abilities.
Spend the time to find these out among those who you see regularly. It will be interesting, and you will find some hidden gems within individuals, which you had no idea were there. These treasures are worth the hunt.
Everyone, we have to come up with better solutions than what we are saying in our commentaries. Concrete attempts to find a better path to the future. We absolutely must quit this racially inflammatory behavior, and learn to overcome our fears and anger toward each other, and our lack of identification with "others." We are all human beings of very thick identities--we are not just a color, or an ethnic background, or a religion, or a sexual orientation, or a gender, or a class. We are each people with parents, friends, talents, good ideas, bad ideas, history of mistakes, history of self-less acts, interests, abilities.
Spend the time to find these out among those who you see regularly. It will be interesting, and you will find some hidden gems within individuals, which you had no idea were there. These treasures are worth the hunt.
4
says you anyway ...
It is no coincidence that these incidents coincide with the election of Donald Trump, whose Justice Department under AG Sessions, is cutting back on civil rights enforcement. So called white nationalist groups have come out of hiding to support first Trump's candidacy then his presidency. During the campaign he vilified Mexicans, retweeted false statistics from a white supremacist grossly exaggerating black crime, spent years falsely claiming President Obama was not born in the US, and hesitated before being forced to disavow David Duke's endorsement. A white nationalist group financed robocalls supporting Trump in the Iowa primary. Richard Spencer has consistently supported Trump, even leading a group in the Nazi salute to Trump after the election, as he chanted "Hail Trump, hail our people, hail victory." . At the same event Spencer stated, “America was until this past generation a white country designed for ourselves and our posterity ... it belongs to us.” Surely the article should evaluate the effect of Trump's election in the growth of the use of these nooses.
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"After a daylong investigation, during which the creator of the noose was kept off the factory floor to protect him from physical retaliation, Ms. Sapp said he was placed on administrative leave on Thursday and escorted out of the building."
Notice that once again it was a "he" who did this --- not a "she."
Also -- why wasn't he fired on the spot and at the same time arrested and jailed for a hate crime instead of place on "administrative leave?"
Notice that once again it was a "he" who did this --- not a "she."
Also -- why wasn't he fired on the spot and at the same time arrested and jailed for a hate crime instead of place on "administrative leave?"
101
Ever heard of the National Treasury Employees Union? Even if he was sent to jail, he couldn't be fired under the terms of the contract.
1
Would it not likely violate some employee code of conduct?
6
He was a white guy so he was protected from retaliation.
Does that sound harsh?
How could Dylan Roof be taken in alive, and then to Burger King while Philandro Castile was shot dead?
Does that sound harsh?
How could Dylan Roof be taken in alive, and then to Burger King while Philandro Castile was shot dead?
41
Seems we will never rid ourselves of generations of low IQ hate mongering, as parents teach their children to despise what they despise, the "reasons" forgotten with time.
36
With this kind of publicity, you're going to see more of this unpleasantness for sure.
12
Without reporting, the victims of these hate crimes experience the terror alone, and without acknowledgment of what they have suffered at the hands of another. While the people who, by luck their demographic, get to live free of this sort of casual terrorism, remain ignorant of what other Americans, their neighbors and co-workers, who may be from a different background, are enduring.
Let it all come to light. Truth, then Reconciliation. But first, TRUTH.
Let it all come to light. Truth, then Reconciliation. But first, TRUTH.
36
Because ignoring problems works so well.
11
Pathetic. In so many ways the underlying dislike of "others" is manifest more obviously and oftener. Can never forget to call out each and every instance and never stop fighting it.
2
As to why nooses are appearing with increasing frequency today, Mr. Shuler said: “That’s the $64,000 question. I think we’re in a historical moment where people feel like they have permission to be hateful.”
Why are nooses (and other hate-based ofenses such as desecratung cemetaries) happening in such large numbers now? Because we have a national figure who has espoused hate against people who do not look the way you look, against people who pray differently from how you pray, and against people who were born in a different country. That national figure takes no responsibility for using material prepared by racists in his communications, and claims he has no idea what it means. He makes it seem that if he can do it, so can you. That is why.
Why are nooses (and other hate-based ofenses such as desecratung cemetaries) happening in such large numbers now? Because we have a national figure who has espoused hate against people who do not look the way you look, against people who pray differently from how you pray, and against people who were born in a different country. That national figure takes no responsibility for using material prepared by racists in his communications, and claims he has no idea what it means. He makes it seem that if he can do it, so can you. That is why.
159
If you think that humans are not by nature hateful and tribalist creatures, you are truly naive. And I would say that racism in the US pales in comparison to other parts of the world, say, Asia. The difference there is that they don't have a industry that makes money out of feeling victimized.
1
What a sad shame that ignorance and prejudice exist in this country. We are all people...black, white, yellow and even orange like our President (had to inject some humor here!) A person should be judged by their heart and character. I find this prejudice and hatred so upsetting and distressing and simply do not understand the ignorance of some people and why a person would do these horrible things to cause others distress. It is a sad world indeed
11
It is worse than a "sad shame." It is a terrifying act of hatred. It is an indication of the rising tide of hatred, brutality and empowerment of bullies.
23
This is exactly what the republicans have pursued since 1968 with Nixon's "southern strategy". My hope is that they choke on it.
106