Why does the conversation start with the 'noose-like' ropes instead of the tree?
Isn't the tree given as the first bit of the story?
IS it racist to gather in the same spot with your friends every day? Isn't the tree a Territory thing?

There's a thread which consists of Musicians discussing the problem of shaky eggs. The gist seems to be that shaky eggs are perfectly fine...as long as they don't mingle with the Musicians. Consensus seems to be that egg shakers need to realize that they are not a viable part of the loosely defined group.
In other words, egg shakers should stay on their own side of the tracks?

Hate is hate, no matter how humorously it's presented.

When someone feels invaded, they get pissed. I don't think that's abnormal. Retaliation is generally stupid by nature and obnoxious teenage behavior is more likely to lean toward non-subtlety. What are they going to do? Nooses. If the problem was with girls invading 'their' space? Pads...and that would make it sexist instead of racist?

I fully agree that hatred and injustice are wrong...and shame on the generations that have taught/allowed this problem to have happened. Punishment does no good when the punished have not learned the concept of Consequences and/or Personal Responsibility.
Shame on all of us for not knowing how in the world to fix what is broken..I, for one, am beginning to dread the upcoming Civil War Sesquicentennial.

As a human being, I am ashamed of intolerance, irresponsible reactivism and bullying.
What's gained by arguing to save our own opinion when a little open minded acceptance might give us a chance of understanding something that was maybe a little bit hazy or unformed in our thoughts when the thread began? If we can't talk here without feeling threatened, how are we going to be part of the Solution?

Hanging noose-like items in a tree is decidedly creepy, but I believe the story started before that.
I don't think any of us know why, with that many peer witnesses, there was only one kid with injuries. It seems to me that if the whole story was racially oriented, his friends would have gotten riled and joined the mess.

I think we all agree that injustice is wrong and therefore must be stopped. However, I'm certain that the media spectacle is not going to provide enough information for any of us to figure out how to Save the World. The responsibility for figuring that out lies within our selves.

Cutting down the tree seems a lot like locking the barn after the horse was stolen and since it was apparently a popular tree, it seems like cutting it down would escalate tension instead of making it go away...but then again, a person who can't figure out why good folks would get bloodthirsty over Shaky Egg Intolerance could easily be mistaken about logical repercussions.

M