http://www.lagrangenews.com/articles/2007/10/24/news/news01.txt

The short version is this. A white couple put up a Halloween display that included an alien, a white man and a monster being hung buy a noose. The NAACP took offense and protested the display until it was taken down. Some civil rights leaders want the U.S. Justice Department to prosecute the hanging of a noose as a hate crime.


Items up for debate.

Was the Halloween display truly offensive or was the local chapter of the NAACP simply overreacting?

Should the hanging of a noose on someones own property by the property owner themselves be considered illegal?

Should the hanging of a noose anywhere be considered illegal?

Isn't pretty much every violent crime a hate crime?



(This is a debate from one of my friends, so I thought I would post it up to start some discussion)

To start off who ever made up the plans for thedecorations was an idiot. They do not go together at all. No sence to it at all.

Secondly what the hell is the NAACP's major malfunction. yes the Jenna 6 is really fucked up but for the love of Hayao Miyazaki get real.

Lastley I am not comfortable labeling all violent crimes as hate crimes. If you start prosecuting people for what is in their heads where does it stop? Honestly people. OK we can agree that the racists dragging a black person down a dirt road is really fucked up and the group of gay bashers literally bashing some ones skull in is bad but if you start putting people away for longer periods of time for what they were thinking soon some law maker will want to put people away for just the thoughts, no inclusion of an action. And if Jenni ever sees that catastrophy of a sentance she will kill me.

It is a slippery slope. No one could say they did not like some one because according to the law if you do not like some one you hate them ipso facto ergo you might cause a hate crime and should be put away.

I could make my arguments a little more cohearant but I have a really bad head cold and am all loopy from the meds.

Interesting, good points Sightful. I don’t think in this particular case, these people were being racist, but they could have chosen a more original hallowed display, you’re right, it makes no since. But no matter, bad taste should not be punishable by law. Maybe they should have waited ‘til next year to put up that particular Halloween display.

It reminds me of a Star Wars convention I went to when I was 18 in Denver. It was right after the Columbine tragedy. We booked our trip through the travel agency suggested by the convention organizers & promptly received a packet in the mail.

It wasn’t our tickets and reservation confirmation as we had hoped, but an illustrated guide to “proper behavior & dress”. It was outlined that people were NOT to wear trench coats, as that would be perceived as disrespectful, because of “The Trench Coat Mafia”. there was also a tidbit in there asking that people NOT dress up as Klingons, because they would be laughed at, Star WARS not Star TREK.

When we got there, we had a blast until the third day when it started raining & three men were escorted out of the Convention for wearing rain coats that were similar to trench coats. They didn’t mean to be disrespectful, they just wanted to stay dry, but because a few people there were offended, they had to go. I don’t think it was fair to the men in the coats.

At any other time, the men would have not attracted any attention for their choice of dress, but because of the tragedy in the surrounding area, it was a HUGE deal. People in the convention were even gossiping about it!

I think that America has become SOOO over sensitive to issues like this, that we overreact to anything that can be seen as offensive. It’s like we push everything under the rug, until it BLOWS up completely & that’s all you hear about from the media pigs. It doesn’t make any since, why can’t we (as a nation) deal with issues (in a logical manner)as they come, without making everything so sensational?

3 words

JERRY SPRINGER NATION