Halloween prank brings attention to Orangeville resident

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Last week in Orangeville a Halloween prank caused some attention. An effigy of President Obama being hanged by an effigy of Gov. Romney was on display in the yard. The secret service came to the county to interview the resident who put the display up. When they arrived the display had been taken down. They were warned about the seriousness of such a display against the President of the United States.
County residents were alarmed by the display. The Salt Lake papers and a television station reported about the episode. One Castle Dale resident said, “This is a serious event. I feel like our local newspaper the Progress should have something in about this incident. I don’t want it blown out of proportion and I am sure these are good people, but this is not something that we as a community should put up with. We have black families in our communities and neighborhoods, this is wrong. This is offensive. We do not condone this type of behavior here. This is racist, this is harmful. These might be good people, but this is wrong. These people have crossed the line. These types of incidents cause racial tension. The secret service was here. People need to acknowledge this act was offensive.”
Editor’s note: I do not know the rationale behind the actions of the Orangeville residents in question. I would hope they just had a very stupid moment when they decided to have this type of scene in their yard. Sometimes things become bigger than they really are when situations receive a lot of attention. This episode should be acknowledged that it happened but I would hope it is an isolated incident. I think our president deserves to be treated with respect, because he holds the highest office in our country. Our country was founded as a place where freedom could flourish. That is why there can be episodes like this here in America. Our people are not censored, for the most part we are able to speak and decorate our yards as we see fit. In this situation a line was crossed, it was in very poor taste to say the least, very offensive and illegal to threaten our president in any way. I have lived in Emery County for 40 years now and I have found the people for the most part to be very nice, tolerant and not racist. I am sure there are a few, just like there could be a few in every city or neighborhood across the nation. I would hope the people of the county will treat our president with the respect he deserves, whether or not you agree with his policies, and whether or not you are going to vote for him in the upcoming election.