Context and Intent

Do people not understand context and intent, or do they pretend they don't?

I know how to tie a noose. I have since I was a kid. I've tied hundreds of them, not because it's a useful knot, because it's not (I know and have used many useful knots) but because it was an idle hands thing, like doodling.

The noose I tied, from a handy bit of string, rope or wire, was never a racist symbol, because I never intended it to be a racist symbol.


So now, let's talk about the noose in Bubba Wallace's garage. I see a lot of posts, defending it as just a useful knot. (it isn't)

So, imagine... I tie a noose in a bit of handy rope. Not a problem. But then I hang it at a black co-workers work station.

• Context: The long and aweful history of lynching blacks. 
• Intent: Knowing the context, I do it anyway.