President Obama Tombstone Halloween decoration offends neighbor

Quote:

An Oklahoma man doesn't think he'll remove a mock-bloody gravestone for President Obama from his Halloween lawn exhibit despite an offended neighbor and online anger. The uproar over Dwayne Dockens' Obama tombstone went public after Jamilla Phillips, a neighbor who moved to Edmond, Oklahoma, less than a year ago, complained to a local TV station, ABC News affiliate KOCO in Oklahoma City. "Regardless of your political views, Democrat or Republican, he is the president of the United States," Phillips told ABC News, while declining to provide her political affiliation. "I just think it was disrespectful not just to me, but [Obama]." "It's disrespectful and completely unpatriotic in a time of worldwide conflict," Dana Orwig, vice-chairwoman of the Oklahoma Democratic Party, said in a prepared statement. "We need to stand behind our country and president. But it's also typical of the intolerant and the hypocrisy that we see so often." Dockens told ABC News that he apologizes if anyone was upset, but that he now is less inclined to take down the front-lawn exhibit because Phillips did not confront him directly about it. He said he learned about the complaint when KOCO News asked to interview him. "This could have been settled over an afternoon talk," Dockens said. "It's ridiculous what this has evolved into." Dockens said he set out his tombstone decorations, featuring silly phrases such as "Ima Gonner," on his front lawn as he has for the past three years without receiving any complaints. The Obama stone features Obama's name with lines of painted blood dripping over it and a question mark where his birth date should be, referencing a past controversy surrounding the president's date and origin of birth. Dockens said the signs were meant as a joke, not to disrespect anyone. "Just kind of something we thought was humorous for the time," he said.

http://ift.tt/1vkBnyh (a short video is inside the link)



A picture of the tombstone:

Click for Spoiler:

Obviously, the tombstone was supposed to be a joke, and you get the sense Dwayne Dockens is not someone, who's malicious or racist, but Jamilla Phillips doesn't feel the same way. According to Phillips, it's about "respect" for a man, who's still alive. On top of that, Phillips refuses to reveal her political affiliation, but she's a black woman, and from watching the interview, you can sense she's bothered by perceived racial undertones.



At the same time, real or fake, you can't put a tombstone with the current President's name on it in your front yard and expect it to go unnoticed, especially when you throw in the jab about the birth certificate controversy.



Dockens brings up an interesting point about the afternoon talk. Maybe if Jamilla Phillips chose to talk to Dockens directly, without involving the media, he would've been more open to a discussion about removing the tombstone. Now, you get the feeling Dockens is taking a hardline and defiant stance for removing the tombstone, because he refuses to crack under the pressure. You can easily see why others would take offense to Dockens and his Halloween decorations, but if he wanted to take things further, Dockens could've put "?-2014" on the tombstone.



Although, Dockens backstory for the tombstone raises some curious questions. Dockens admits his family created the tombstone, when the birth certificate story was a hot topic, so why wait until now to use the tombstone? Is there a chance he waited for all the heat to die down before using the tombstone as a decoration? When you look at the big picture, the timing for unveiling the tombstone feels suspicious.



The big question is, should Dockens remove the tombstone? Yes, you could say the joke is in poor taste, the timing is suspicious, and you could say Dockens deserves criticism, but he shouldn't remove the tombstone. When it's all said and done, I'm of the belief the tombstone is a Halloween gag and nothing more. As I said before, if Dockens wanted to send some kind of message or make a subliminal threat, he could've taken things further with this year's date for the death part of the tombstone.



Any thoughts on this? Did Dockens cross the line? Should he remove the tombstone?