Nooses being inextricably associated with lynchings is a fairly recent phenomenon, at least outside the South. When I learned how to tie them (around 1990?) it wasn’t uncommon to idly leave one up in an exaggerated expression of frustration — “kill me now please.” Absent any racist context, it never would have occurred to anyone to take it as a threat. It was like having a crucifix on the wall over your headboard, versus burning a cross on a black family’s lawn.
