A Rancho Cucamonga couple has removed a Halloween decoration after receiving a complaint that it was either racist, politically insensitive, or perhaps both.
The display featured a black skeleton hanging below the American flag on a flagpole in their front yard. A neighbor complained to KTLA 5 News that the skeleton appeared to be painted black and was hanging from “a noose by the neck” – a scene that he interpreted as a lynching.
That description, however, seemed to come as a surprise to the homeowner.
“Oh my gosh … No, I would never,” the homeowner told KTLA’s Rich Chambers on Thursday. “We will have that taken down right away.”
The couple did take it down while KTLA’s crew was there. The homeowner said the black plastic bones came from the store that way and the skeleton was zip-tied to the flagpole, not hanging from a noose.
She also shared photos of similar displays at their home in previous years, which, she said, were not been met with complaints.
Regardless of the explanation, the neighbor who complained, who did not want their identity revealed, said it was still disturbing.
“When you see it from afar, you see a black skeleton being hung underneath the American flag, what does that mean?” the resident questioned, adding he was glad to see it removed.