Kentucky Woman Doesn't Find Display Of Black People Hanging From Her Tree Offensive
A Halloween display depicting what appears to be a black family hanging from a tree outside of a Kentucky residence has been taken down after people complained about it. The house is located on the military base in Fort Campbell.
Clarksville.com reports that one of its readers sent in a photo of four figures hanging in the home's front yard. The child has a knife in its back and one of the figures is holding a sign that is hard to read in the photo.
Brendalyn Carpenter with Fort Campbell Public Affairs said her department received a report of a Halloween display that was “offensive in nature” and asked that it be investigated. The woman who had put up the display agreed to take it down after learning of the concerns voiced by some in her community.
“Displays of an offensive nature are not reflective of Army values and the family-friendly environment provided for employees and residents of the Fort Campbell community,” Carpenter said.
The woman, who hasn’t been identified, said she didn’t mean to offend anyone and apologized. It's unclear how long the display was hanging before it was removed, but it is odd that someone could think such a display wouldn’t be perceived as being offensive.
As Halloween nears, people have put forth their best efforts to be racially ignorant. From dressing as a deceased Trayvon Martin to a costume of NFL star Ray Rice hovering over a badly beaten doll meant to represent his wife Janay, it seems that many white people have an unquenchable appetite for parodying black tragedy. (Check out this list of racist Halloween costumes over the years to see how real this is.)
As Grey’s Anatomy star Jesse Williams said on Twitter recently, “We don't reflexively celebrate random or routine white death, make memes of your bleeding corpses, etc. Tell us about this unique obsession.”
On that note, I'll gladly interview anyone willing to go on record to admit how dressing up in our pain is funny. I'm waiting.
