Effigies of black men found hanging by nooses at UC Berkeley campus

[inanna]

Source: Associated Press

Three cardboard cutouts of black men were found hanging by nooses on Saturday on the Berkeley campus of the University of California.

A school spokeswoman, Amy Hamaoui, said police were trying to determine who hanged the effigies, which were found at two prominent campus locations on Saturday morning.

Hamaoui said the effigies appeared to be connected to a noontime demonstration nearby planned to coincide with a national protest against police brutality dubbed “#blacklivesmatters”. The effigies appeared to be life-size photos of lynching victims.

The effigies had names of lynching victims and the dates of their death. At least one effigy had “I Can’t Breathe” printed on the front. Hamaoui said it was unclear who hanged the effigies.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/dec/13/effigies-black-men-hanging-nooses-berkeley-campus

[Bjorn Against]

1. I bet someone will be around shortly to demand we provide proof that this is racism

I am seeing more racism now than I have at any other time in my life, and I am also seeing more people denying racism exists than ever before. Racism is not limited to the south, it is a problem even in progressive Berkley and on DU as well.

[whereisjustice]

19. yep - and, of course, we should wait until the investigation is complete...

so that they have time to fabricate a story.

[Dr. Strange]

20. And here's the story:

http://www.berkeleyside.com/2014/12/14/anonymous-artist-collective-claims-responsibility-for-lynching-effigies-erected-at-cal/

[Laurian]

2. That's some real sick shit.....

WTH?

[pinto]

3. This may have been a statement in support of the demonstrations? Linking lynching to recent events.

Hard to tell from the account, but

[inanna]

4. You may be right. n/t

[Yo_Mama]

7. I think at U of Wisconsin there was some sort of display

which was meant to be in support of the protests but that got torn down because people took it another way.

I think the odds are high that this incident is similar.

[pinto]

8. Easy to misread in the current climate. One way or the other.

[Yo_Mama]

16. I don't think these sorts of things are a valid protest.

I remember reading about the U of Wisconsin one, and thinking that if I were a student on the campus I too would have misinterpreted it. It was promptly torn down.

[TorchTheWitch]

10. It appears that was the intent

The photos were of lynching victims with their names and dates of their murders. One of them also had a sign attached that read "I Can't Breathe".

Dumb idea though.

[NaturalHigh]

15. That's what I thought too.

I'm pretty sure that's what the "I can't breathe" was all about.

[sulphurdunn]

5. No one knows who did that or why.

If getting a lot of folks jumping to conclusions was the idea, it worked. Do not get worked up over the sophomoric acts of faceless assholes. That's what they want.

[FraDon]

6. Basic Incitement & Escalation 101

at UnderCover School.

"… it was unclear who hanged the effigies."

[pinto]

9. Oh come on. Not everything is a conspiracy. This may have been a statement of support.

[LisaL]

11. So you know who did it?

Considering the figure had "I can't breathe" on it sounds like it was done by somebody supporting the protesters.

[snooper2]

21. actually, a candle loses a little wax usually when lighting another candle

that shit hurts too!

[branford]

12. There have been a few incidents were anti-racism activists have engaged in similar

vile activities in order to "raise awareness" or "start a discussion."

I hope that is not the case here, as it harms the credibility of legitimate protests and distracts from real incidents of racims

[ellenrr]

13. I think it *was* done by supporters, but it will make people recoil in horror,

as I did. Esp. since police and fire and other institutions that want to say "No Blacks need apply" use the noose as a symbol.

[Bluenorthwest]

17. That's awful, can you offer examples?

That should be exposed. Never heard of it.

[ellenrr]

18. oh my gosh, I don't have the examples at hand.

it happens. maybe if you do a search - "african Americans and racial hate"

it does get exposed, that's how I heard about it - an item in the newspaper.

if I can remember any specific examples, I'll post them.

[Recursion]

14. If I had to guess I'd say poorly-thought-out attempt at support