(OPINION) ETH – Perhaps it was the American flag placed on a steel cable at a Central Connecticut State University construction site in honor of Memorial Day that attracted attention.
Because even though the loop at the end of the steel cable was clearly part of the site’s crane mechanism, it triggered a few folks. “Regardless of what someone else says about that, what I see, as a black man? That’s a noose. Period,” Ronald Davis, president of the New Britain NAACP, told WTIC-TV.
“No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Take it down.” Community organizer Mimi Gonzalez told the station, “We have to think about intention versus impact. If that’s not the intention, then think about the impact you’re having on the community.” Sal Cintorino, CCSU’s chief operating officer, added to WTIC that “their perception is mine as well, and it’s all of ours.
We want to be respectful and understand when we look at that from afar it’s concerning. You can certainly perceive that as looking like a noose, and so even though it’s a loop hook, and it’s a steel cable, we’re gonna lower it and we’re gonna remove it.”
The university said it contacted the construction company, and the cable would be taken down as soon as possible, the station reported. WTIC also noted recent discoveries of nooses at an Amazon construction site in Windsor — just 20 minutes northeast of New Britain — as adding to the tension surrounding the construction site’s cable loop. READ MORE
