A racist chair

A metal folding chair with an American flag, tied with a rope and hanging from a tree in a Northwest Austin neighborhood has ignited a 24-hour controversy which has spread city-wide.

"I would suppose it's something political, but I don't know what it means," said one passerby.

Actor Clint Eastwood used an empty chair to stage a hypothetical conversation with President Barack Obama at the Republican National Convention in August. Since then, the empty chair has been used by many to refer symbolically to the president.

"To me, it's racist," said Robert Stephenson, an activist living nearby who stopped by to take pictures of the chair.

"It reminds me of when somebody's hanging something from a tree, and it reminds me of a noose hanging with a chair and I think it's very scary," said neighbor Grace Shemain.

She's easily scared  -- JR

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