To use the word "disturbing" to describe the real-life image of a burnt mannequin head with a knife through it would be making light of a stomach-wrenching sight.
Although the three men, all minorities, who are responsible for burning the head along with other items outside the Village at Chandler Crossings apartment complex in Bath Township, might not have meant to ethnically intimidate anyone, their actions spoke louder than their intentions.
The image of the burnt head, which was displayed prominently on the front page of The State News on Monday and by television news agencies throughout the community Sunday, was a haunting reminder of a country's marred past and struggling present.
If the appearance of a burnt head with a knife through it in a tree doesn't offend everyone who views it, people are in serious need of having their emotions and attitudes examined.
Whether the intentions of Saturday's pyromaniacs were racially ill does not mute the fact that the outcome of their actions was nauseating and abominable.
Bath Township police say one of the three men who admitted to the mannequin burning had recently broken up with his girlfriend and the group set ablaze of her left-over possessions.
Given that explanation, it is somewhat of a relief that the responsible party's intentions weren't racially motivated. But the impact of their stupid and ignorant actions doesn't simply end with that clarification.
These men should have realized that leaving a burnt head in a tree with a knife through it was not a good idea in the least. In fact, they should have realized setting items ablaze outside an apartment complex wasn't a bright idea either.
But stupidity isn't illegal. Aside from being fined for burning without a permit, if they failed to obtain one for their unorthodox ex-girlfriend ritual, there is little authorities can do to punish the three male amateur pyrotechnicians.
Of course, that is not to say they shouldn't stand to receive repercussions from their community. Those men, along with any other people who fail to see the problem with Saturday's actions, are in need of society's most fruitful repercussion - an education.
The fact that an image, seemingly out of "The Birth of a Nation," was a reality on Saturday in Bath Township, Mich., circa 2003, and is proof that the efforts of civil rights activists like Martin Luther King Jr. are not complete.
The offended community needs to speak out in the effort to reconcile Saturday's horrible reminder of the nation's darkened past. It should increase its education efforts.
There are more people, besides those who blatantly commit racist acts, who need to be made aware of the nation's need to end hatred. We need to help those who do wrong without thinking to start thinking.
Despite the intentions, no one should have to come face-to-face with a burnt head in a tree again.
