Black People Hanging From Trees = Suicides?

[uair01]

My Twitter is full of these messages. I'm inclined to find it suspicious.

Black men being tree lynched countrywide - is this not bothersome to my Twitter family!?

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1273596561537347584

A queer black trans women Tete Gulley, was found hanging from a tree in Portland, Oregon on May 27. Police are will not investigate due to “lack of public interest” and have ruled her death as a suicide. We want justice and we want answers!

If these are modern day lynchings (I hope not) then there's a real conspiracy going on. So I hope it's just a tragic coincidence.

 

[Lb8535]

My Twitter is full of these messages. I'm inclined to find it suspicious.

Black men being tree lynched countrywide - is this not bothersome to my Twitter family!?

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1273596561537347584

A queer black trans women Tete Gulley, was found hanging from a tree in Portland, Oregon on May 27. Police are will not investigate due to “lack of public interest” and have ruled her death as a suicide. We want justice and we want answers!
#BlackTransLivesMatter #SayHerName https://t.co/bjjr2udM6N

If these are modern day lynchings (I hope not) then there's a real conspiracy going on. So I hope it's just a tragic coincidence.

Actually the police are investigating, after evidence was produced by her family and friends. Her name was Titi.

 

[EnolaGaia]

A queer black trans women Tete Gulley, was found hanging from a tree in Portland, Oregon on May 27 ...

... of last year (2019).

Yes, there have been multiple cases of men of color found hanged from 31 May until now. Within the last few days some social media items have alleged there were as many as 5 such deaths, with one occurring in Portland.

None of the recent hangings occurred in Portland, so it's suspected someone has either mistakenly or opportunistically inserted the Titi Gulley story into this more recent queue of hanging stories.

Snopes provides a summary overview of these recent deaths at:

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/four-black-men-hanging-deaths/

In what may or may not be a related or derivative storyline ...

Oakland (California) authorities launched a hate crime investigation yesterday (17 June) into the discovery of 5 "nooses" hanging from a tree in a park-ish area on 16 June. A local resident contacted the police to claim he'd hung the ropes to hold a swing and / or to use as exercise aids. Today (18 June) an effigy was found "hanged" from a tree in the same area.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/17/us/nooses-found-in-oakland-tree-investigation-trnd/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/18/us/effigy-nooses-found-in-oakland-trees-investigation-trnd/index.html

 

[uair01]

And more this morning:

Add another. There is now a second in Houston. Again, called a suicide.
And Trump’s @FBI apparently does nothing.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1273149625193693185

But also:

One was falsely identified as Black. Family identified him as suicidal and other one in Houston was recorded hanging himself on a surveillance camera and left a note. Both are tragedies only made larger & more painful for families by media exploitation for clicks. Be less gross.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1273590072357634048

I'm reading this book about civil rights in the US, and horrible lynchings were still happening in the 50s.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Years_of_Lyndon_Johnson

 

[EnolaGaia]

There's also this coincidental(?) story ... The half-brother of Robert Fuller (found hanged in Palmdale on the 10th) was killed in a shootout after opening fire on sheriff's deputies attempting a traffic stop in connection with an alleged kidnapping / domestic assault incident.

Brother of man found hanged dies in a deputy-involved shooting
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/18/us/palmdale-hanging-half-brother-deputy-involved-shooting/index.html

 

[McAvennie]

I have read the headlines too but this shows well the dangers of media with an agenda and social media retweets without context or analysis.

There could be something sinister in there, but it will be lost and ignored if cases from a year ago, cases where the victim was not even black or was actually caught on CCTV acting alone are bundled into the narrative to try and show a trend.

 

[AlchoPwn]

My Twitter is full of these messages. I'm inclined to find it suspicious.

Black men being tree lynched countrywide - is this not bothersome to my Twitter family!?

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1273596561537347584

A queer black trans women Tete Gulley, was found hanging from a tree in Portland, Oregon on May 27. Police are will not investigate due to “lack of public interest” and have ruled her death as a suicide. We want justice and we want answers!

If these are modern day lynchings (I hope not) then there's a real conspiracy going on. So I hope it's just a tragic coincidence.

There are a lot of good means by which a forensic team can identify a lynching. This doesn't seem to be a lynching, but more likely a secret suicide pact. It is all extremely sad and unfortunate. It seems as if the matter was taken very seriously indeed given the present tense situation in the USA.

 

[blessmycottonsocks]

"given the present tense situation in the USA."

Indeed. The hyper-sensitivity has spread to NASCAR racing, where the "despicable" discovery of a noose hanging in the garage of mixed-race driver Bubba Wallace resulted in the police and FBI being called in to investigate the "hate crime".
..... Except it turned out to be the garage door-pull handle that had been in place since last year.

https://news.sky.com/story/bubba-wa...vers-garage-was-not-a-crime-fbi-says-12013623

 

[Naughty_Felid]

"given the present tense situation in the USA."

Indeed. The hyper-sensitivity has spread to NASCAR racing, where the "despicable" discovery of a noose hanging in the garage of mixed-race driver Bubba Wallace resulted in the police and FBI being called in to investigate the "hate crime".
..... Except it turned out to be the garage door-pull handle that had been in place since last year.

https://news.sky.com/story/bubba-wa...vers-garage-was-not-a-crime-fbi-says-12013623

And it was looked into, during a period of intense race-hate, so what's your point?

If you are feeling clever over finding this then you need to think about how you view people who are different from you.

"Hyper-sensitivity" - If you can't see what a noose means to people who are black or care about racism then screw you.

 

[McAvennie]

"given the present tense situation in the USA."

Indeed. The hyper-sensitivity has spread to NASCAR racing, where the "despicable" discovery of a noose hanging in the garage of mixed-race driver Bubba Wallace resulted in the police and FBI being called in to investigate the "hate crime".
..... Except it turned out to be the garage door-pull handle that had been in place since last year.

https://news.sky.com/story/bubba-wa...vers-garage-was-not-a-crime-fbi-says-12013623

Again, the danger of media with an agenda and retweets without context...

I saw numerous times over the weekend headlines about the Bubba Wallace noose, if I didn't come here and read follow ups right now I would be believing that black people were being actually lynched and that a prominent sports star was threatened with an ominous noose.

Furthermore, the climate of people desperate to see offence... Turns out the driver never actually saw the 'noose' but was alerted to it by someone offended on his behalf.

I would like to hope this is just poor reporting but I can't help but feel the media on both sides of the Atlantic are actively slinging petrol on this fire to sell papers/clicks, or for a more nefarious reason.

 

[blessmycottonsocks]

And it was looked into, during a period of intense race-hate, so what's your point?

If you are feeling clever over finding this then you need to think about how you view people who are different from you.

"Hyper-sensitivity" - If you can't see what a noose means to people who are black or care about racism then screw you.

What's my point?

Really?

That sometimes a simple garage door-pull is just that and not a "despicable hate crime".

Today's hyper-sensitivity is warping reality.

 

[AlchoPwn]

It occurs to me that this Forum Topic should really be called "Black People Hanged from Trees = Suicides?"
In this instance "hung" is not really grammatically correct.

Title subsequently changed to 'hanging' so as to remain agnostic as to whether they were 'hanged' or their bodies were left hanging there--Yith

 

[Yithian]

It occurs to me that this Forum Topic should really be called "Black People Hanged from Trees = Suicides?"
In this instance "hung" is not really grammatically correct.

We could just change the name of the whole forum to The Forteana Race & Culture Discussion Board, if that would help?

 

[AlchoPwn]

We could just change the name of the whole forum to The Forteana Race & Culture Discussion Board, if that would help?

As you are offering, sure, why not.

 

[EnolaGaia]

... The hyper-sensitivity has spread to NASCAR racing, where the "despicable" discovery of a noose hanging in the garage of mixed-race driver Bubba Wallace resulted in the police and FBI being called in to investigate the "hate crime".
..... Except it turned out to be the garage door-pull handle that had been in place since last year.

Again, the danger of media with an agenda and retweets without context...
I saw numerous times over the weekend headlines about the Bubba Wallace noose, if I didn't come here and read follow ups right now I would be believing that black people were being actually lynched and that a prominent sports star was threatened with an ominous noose.
... Turns out the driver never actually saw the 'noose' but was alerted to it by someone offended on his behalf.
I would like to hope this is just poor reporting but I can't help but feel the media on both sides of the Atlantic are actively slinging petrol on this fire ...

There was context, and the Bubba Wallace story was essentially inflated into a media event by NASCAR rather than the news media.

Prior to the race at Talladega last weekend NASCAR had banned Confederate symbology (i.e., rebel flags). Some folks (who may or may not have been race fans / attendees) had been flaunting rebel flags in the neighborhood during the run-up to the main race, presumably as a sort of protest.

It was a member of Wallace's racing team who discovered the "noose" and reported it. This led to a spontaneous "demonstration" involving NASCAR drivers and personnel accompanying Wallace's car to the starting line as a show of support and a public announcement of what (they thought) had happened. This demonstration response was the story that was first televised and reported. The discovery of the "noose" was the background explanation for the demonstration. All this unfolded in real time with the demonstration as the first clue something was afoot.

As a result, it was NASCAR that broke the story in real time and broke it in such a dramatic fashion as to make it an item of note. It remained the primary storyline from Sunday's activities because the race was suspended due to weather.

The whole rope = noose = racism bit originated with NASCAR, and it was NASCAR whose well-meaning if mistaken response turned it into a shrink-wrapped news item dispensed to the media covering the race.

 

[blessmycottonsocks]

There was context, and the Bubba Wallace story was essentially inflated into a media event by NASCAR rather than the news media.

Prior to the race at Talladega last weekend NASCAR had banned Confederate symbology (i.e., rebel flags). Some folks (who may or may not have been race fans / attendees) had been flaunting rebel flags in the neighborhood during the run-up to the main race, presumably as a sort of protest.

It was a member of Wallace's racing team who discovered the "noose" and reported it. This led to a spontaneous "demonstration" involving NASCAR drivers and personnel accompanying Wallace's car to the starting line as a show of support and a public announcement of what (they thought) had happened. This demonstration response was the story that was first televised and reported. The discovery of the "noose" was the background explanation for the demonstration. All this unfolded in real time with the demonstration as the first clue something was afoot.

As a result, it was NASCAR that broke the story in real time and broke it in such a dramatic fashion as to make it an item of note. It remained the primary storyline from Sunday's activities because the race was suspended due to weather.

The whole rope = noose = racism bit originated with NASCAR, and it was NASCAR whose well-meaning if mistaken response turned it into a shrink-wrapped news item dispensed to the media covering the race.

When reading abut this non-story, I had a flashback to the "satanic child abuse" paranoia in the Scottish islands some 30 years ago. A child's Batman outfit was discovered in a toy-box by social workers and was described as a devil's cloak!
Because of hyper-sensitivity, some people wanted to create a story to fit the zeitgeist.

 

[escargot]

When reading abut this non-story, I had a flashback to the "satanic child abuse" paranoia in the Scottish islands some 30 years ago. A child's Batman outfit was discovered in a toy-box by social workers and was described as a devil's cloak!
Because of hyper-sensitivity, some people wanted to create a story to fit the zeitgeist.

Someone I know went to a medical appointment when a teenager in a heavy metal band teeshirt.

She found out decades later that the doctor had written her up in the notes as being 'interested in Satanism'! All they'd actually talked about was her minor health problem. Very weird.

 

[James_H]

There are some parallels to Hong Kong last year. A large number of suicides were speculated to be police murders. I couldn't get a clear idea whether the suicide rate was any higher than usual.

 

[Victory]

Sometimes things get taken out of context.
Another example was on 9/11, there was a panicky media report of "Soldiers deployed on the streets of central London."

It turned out that a group of veterans had been off to a regimental dinner and were walking around Covent Garden in dress uniform.

But nonetheless, the suicides from trees has to be investigated.
I have no figures for methods of suicide, but it seems an unusual method in this day and age, especially in country where people have access to guns and medication, and where lynchings historically often involved hanging from trees.

 

[Frasier Buddolph]

That sometimes a simple garage door-pull is just that and not a "despicable hate crime".

Today's hyper-sensitivity is warping reality.

There have been no pictures posted of the offending item, so it's hard to place the incident in any kind of context.

A noose is a very specific kind of knot, and the racial connotations are about as hateful as it's possible to get. The noose is tied with a slip knot, which, to my mind, makes it a questionable choice for a garage door pull. If it is in fact a noose, it's hateful, full stop. If it's just a loop tied in the end of a rope, it's a garage door pull, and everybody needs to climb down.

Not every loop is a noose.

In the current climate, I'm not sure it matters.

 

[Naughty_Felid]

When reading abut this non-story, I had a flashback to the "satanic child abuse" paranoia in the Scottish islands some 30 years ago. A child's Batman outfit was discovered in a toy-box by social workers and was described as a devil's cloak!
Because of hyper-sensitivity, some people wanted to create a story to fit the zeitgeist.

Someone I know went to a medical appointment when a teenager in a heavy metal band teeshirt.

She found out decades later that the doctor had written her up in the notes as being 'interested in Satanism'! All they'd actually talked about was her minor health problem. Very weird.

I get it, social workers getting all in a tiz over the Satanic stuff - totally get it. There was zero evidence that it ever happened.

However finding a noose in a garage, (who hangs a noose in a garage unless you are going to kill yourself/someone else anyway?) is a bit different. Due to the current events in the US and it wasn't that long ago lynching was seen as ok by a lot of people, (that and genital mutilation, torture, etc, thrown in for good measure ). Which actually happened so you can't compare it to Satanic Abuse.

If I was the only black driver, in a "sport" watched by millions, (how fucked is that?), then I'd be tad concerned on hearing there was a noose in my team's garage.

 

[uair01]

Interesting. I can imagine that a noose and a random rope loop could lead to misunderstanding. Here is a loop I would make if I needed a quick rope handle. And a noose. They look similar but are very different knots.

 

[Naughty_Felid]

Interesting. I can imagine that a noose and a random rope loop could lead to misunderstanding. Here is a loop I would make if I needed a quick rope handle. And a noose. They look similar but are very different knots.

Why would you need to do that?

"I'm just going off to make some creepy nooses..."

 

[dream_decoder]

I get it, social workers getting all in a tiz over the Satanic stuff - totally get it. There was zero evidence that it ever happened.

However finding a noose in a garage, (who hangs a noose in a garage unless you are going to kill yourself/someone else anyway?) is a bit different. Due to the current events in the US and it wasn't that long ago lynching was seen as ok by a lot of people, (that and genital mutilation, torture, etc, thrown in for good measure ). Which actually happened so you can't compare it to Satanic Abuse.

If I was the only black driver, in a "sport" watched by millions, (how fucked is that?), then I'd be tad concerned on hearing there was a noose in my team's garage.

The point is, it almost certainly wasn't a noose, it was a garage door rope with a knot and loop in.
Rope has lots of uses, I have loads of it in my shed and I'm pretty sure there could be a 'noose' in there if you looked hard enough.
All of the hyper-outrage and trial by media isn't helping, it's obscuring the real issues.

 

[Xanatic*]

A loop works just fine if you need to pull on something, like a garage door.

 

[McAvennie]

There have been no pictures posted of the offending item, so it's hard to place the incident in any kind of context.

A noose is a very specific kind of knot, and the racial connotations are about as hateful as it's possible to get. The noose is tied with a slip knot, which, to my mind, makes it a questionable choice for a garage door pull. If it is in fact a noose, it's hateful, full stop. If it's just a loop tied in the end of a rope, it's a garage door pull, and everybody needs to climb down.

Not every loop is a noose.

In the current climate, I'm not sure it matters.

 

[Frasier Buddolph]

Yep, that's a noose, alright. <sigh>

The most charitable conclusion I can draw is that it was tied by some ignorant doofus who thought he was being funny, and didn't necessarily intend it as a racist attack.

I despair.

 

[EnolaGaia]

NOTE: Those photos of the "noose" date back to October 2019.

 

[McAvennie]

Yep, that's a noose, alright. <sigh>

The most charitable conclusion I can draw is that it was tied by some ignorant doofus who thought he was being funny, and didn't necessarily intend it as a racist attack.

I despair.

My point proven, by hearing the sensationalist headline and then seeing the picture you come to the assumption that causes most drama (for the media to feed on) or division (if there is some more sinister political game at play).

The important fact, this picture is from 2019, the rope is a pulley to close the garage door.

Without the benefit of critical thinking and fact checking you, and many thousands will, could go forward very angered by what you believe happened based on the shock headline and take that grievance to escalate into further conflict or emboldened to copy the perceived heinous act, and so on and so on...

All flamed by a media too lazy, wilfully or not, to check facts before slinging gasoline on the fire.

 

[blessmycottonsocks]

Fucking hell!

The Mountain Warehouse hiking shorts I'm wearing this minute have "nooses" attached to every zipper!

Who can I sell the story of this hate crime to?