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This is clearly way over the line, but I can kind of see how they got there. Carnival is supposed to be irreverent -- to laugh rather than cry in the face of horror.

Members of the Zulus, the oldest black krewe in NOLA, paint themselves in blackface despite being black to begin with -- they faced racism by mocking it. Mexico's Dia de los Muertos has rituals that seem macabre to folks who weren't raised in that tradition. Even our own Hallowe'en has its roots in spitting in the face of the devil and his demons on the eve of All Saints' Day. Gallows humor on Shrove/Fat Tuesday -- there will be plenty of time for contemplation during Lent.

The first post-Katrina Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans and Mobile were filled with floats depicting shattered homes with blue tarps on the roof. It is the last wild revel before the solemn, contemplative Lenten season. But the New Orleans floats didn't depict bloated bodies in the streets. To repeat myself, this is way over the line.