Oct 30, 2008 5:03 pm US/Pacific
Woman Removes Bloody Obama Effigy From Home
REDONDO BEACH (CBS) ―
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Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama hangs in effigy outside a Redondo Beach home. The effigy was removed Wednesday evening.
Scott Varley/Daily Breeze
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A Redondo Beach resident displayed a bloody effigy of Barack Obama.
Scott Varley/Daily Breeze
Lisa Castaneda of Redondo Beach is clearly not a Barack Obama fan. The McCain/Palin placard on her front lawn is the first clue. But perhaps, more telling, is the effigy of Obama, hanging by his necktie, with a giant butcher knife protruding from his neck. Call that a dead giveaway.
Castaneda insists she wasn't trying to be racist, or offensive, she just isn't a fan. The "Nobama" sign that accompanied the effigy brought the point completely home. "My intention is really a statement on how I am obviously for McCain."
She hung the effigy from her balcony Wednesday morning. By Wednesday evening, such a firestorm erupted in her usually quiet neighborhood, that she took the effigy down. A local McCain/Palin campaign official also asked that she remove it.
Castaneda, a mother of two, said she simply included the effigy in a larger Halloween display that also featured the killer from "Scream" and other horrifying images.
To hear Castaneda tell it, the most horrifying thing to her would be an Obama presidency.
"I disapprove of him, period," she said. "I am appalled by a man who is so close to being our president who won't put his hand on the Bible, who won't wear a flag pin." (For the record, Obama has sworn on the Bible and wears a flag pin.)
Another effigy, this one of Sarah Palin, was taken down Wednesday night in West Hollywood. A couple there featured Palin hanging from a noose in a decidely less bloody, but no less disturbing image.
Protests sprung up outside the West Hollywood home, almost immediately, and the couple got a visit from the Secret Service.
The residents agreed to take the effigy down Wednesday after meeting with WeHo Mayor Jeffrey Prang who said the couple had the right to freedom of expression but said there was no room for hate in this society.
Many neighbors expressed outrage over Castaneda's effigy.
"I absolutely think it's deplorable," said Joe Pollack, an Obama supporter. "She's welcome to her political beliefs. The signs are fine. Something like this is in poor, poor taste."
But fellow neighbor Lloyd Stuck, a McCain supporter, said he had no problem with Castaneda's effigy.
"I like it," he said. "She decorated the house. She didn't like Obama. That's her right."
Another neighbor, who didn't want to be identified, said "She probably thinks it's cute and funny. Hanging a black man is really distasteful. It's a free country, but your rights end where the next person's begin."
Even though they are too young to vote, Ben Fortun, 16, of Redondo Beach and his 13-year-old brother, Joe, heard about the effigy and stopped by Wednesday evening to protest. They both wore Obama T-shirts. They called the effigy racist and immoral.
"We decided to come up here and quietly protest," Ben said, carrying a large American flag. "That's not right."
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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