The hanged effigy of Sarah Palin was offensive, but the effigy hanging from Linda Castaneda’s balcony was Redondo Beach is downright disgusting.
I’m not sure how well-versed Castaneda is in American history, but until not that long ago, lynching black men was a socially acceptable, though morally reprehensible, action. In fact, you don’t need to know much about history: The ATF announced this week that it had arrested to young skinheads who planned to decapitate 14 African Americans and assassinate Barack Obama.
But there an effigy of Obama was, hanging from Castaneda’s home with a meat clever through his neck, a jacket covered in blood and a sign on his chest that read “Nobama.”
Not surprisingly, a bloody UCLA sweatshirt hung next to the effigy and a McCain-Palin sign was posted in the yard.
The display, which Castaneda took down after inflaming tension and being visiting by Redondo authorities, was a few miles from my place, though I didn’t see it. I’m not making any assumptions about Castaneda’s beliefs—other than that she’s probably a Trojan fan. But her Halloween display was at best shockingly ignorant.
