Halloweeny, or Just Horrible?

There's a house in Atwater Village near the intersection of Glendale and Glenhurst that's all decked out for Halloween - dummies, sound effects, the works - and for the most part it looks delectably spooky. However, there's one particular feature of the decor turns our stomach. One of the dummies is hanging from a noose, literally "strung up" on a tree. Now, we know from last year's Sarah Palin effigy controversy that techinically we can hang whatever we want in our front yards. That said, what bothers us about this particular image is that this guy has not just been hanged, but lynched. Even though the dummy isn't black per se, (more of a ghost white) it alludes to a shameful aspect of American history and therefore has the potential to offend or upset some people.

Or are we just being oversensitive Halloween killjoys? Another dummy in this very same yard is being executed by guillotine, yet we don't find that nearly as offensive. Maybe because that type of beheading is tucked further back in time, and not historically American, so therefore not as raw. But something about the hangman just feels wrong. Though we celebrate guts, gore and even brutality this time of year, we can't help but feel that mock lynching is one step over the line of Halloween decency.