A local man has drawn sharp criticism and even national attention due to what is being called a "Halloween display." The display, which has been bashed online, features two mannequins dressed up as ICE agents being hanged by a third mannequin dressed as a Mexican national.
Fifty-six-year-old Mark Rodriguez says his display is just meant to showcase the fear that the Mexican community supposedly feels due to President Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration, but many Houstonians say it goes way too far.
Gary Polland with the Texas Conservative Review blasted the display, saying, "This is something that should be condemned. Something that should be talked about as unacceptable or outside the pale because it does encourage violence."
Polland also called out local outlets like the Houston Chronicle, which have covered the display but haven't condemned it. He said, "What's worse about what has happened is the reaction of the mainstream media and how they've covered it. This is not constructive speech; this is not constructive discussion on any issue at all."
He compared this to a hypothetical display featuring Black Americans being hanged by white nationalists or even members of the KKK, asking how members of the community or even the media would respond to such a display.
Polland says no one should be doing anything like this and went on to add that there is a huge difference between throwing out buzzwords and calling for ICE officers to be hanged, which this display appears to do, despite the insistence from Rodriguez that it's not meant to incite violence against ICE or any other law enforcement.