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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsProfane anti-Biden flag causing controversy in Connecticut, around the nation
HARTFORD, Conn. Flags flying outside two homes in Plymouth, Connecticut, proclaim in stark and some have complained, vulgar and inappropriate language the residents rejection of the November election results and President Joe Biden.
About a half mile apart in the towns Terryville section, both banners hang below American flags and state in bold, white letters on blue background, F---- BIDEN, and below that, in smaller type, And ... you for voting for him!
Plymouth police Capt. Edward Benecchi said residents have complained, saying neighborhood kids and students passing on school buses should not have to see such profanity.
But Benecchi said police consulted with the states attorneys office in New Britain and found we are unable to intercede as it would violate (the residents) First Amendment right to free speech.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/profane-anti-biden-flag-causing-controversy-in-connecticut-around-the-nation/ar-BB1dPHwV?li=BBorjTa&ocid=DELLDHP
If I was a neighbor I'd put a sign up that said, "Move to Russia asshole". They like Trump and Trump loves their leader.
NoMoreRepugs
(9,435 posts)riversedge
(70,242 posts)Joinfortmill
(14,429 posts)Hortensis
(58,785 posts)BeerBarrelPolka
(1,202 posts)Sadly, it's not. There's crazies of every persuasion.
meadowlander
(4,397 posts)niyad
(113,336 posts)ignorant boor you are. It is always helpful to know where the undesirables in one's neighborhood are, so that they can be avoided, like the slime they are. Unlike sexual predators, for whom we must look on a registry, you fly your ignorance and hatred boldly and proudly.
May you receive everything you deserve.
niyad
(113,336 posts)Last edited Fri Feb 19, 2021, 04:04 PM - Edit history (1)
seed sprinkled on the offenders' lawns, come spring.
Leith
(7,809 posts)So... I don't get it.
Mossfern
(2,513 posts)It's nearly impossible to get rid of.
niyad
(113,336 posts)(and I thank other DU'ers for the oregano info!) will net you a lovely crop. And, the more you cut it, the faster it grows, and the more it spreads. It smells wonderful when cut.
Now, some people prefer an herbal lawn. . .clover, creeping thyme, Corsican mint, all the low-growing herbs. Less water, less mowing, great for birds and bees, smells wonderful.
However, if one is a grass nut. . . Ohhh dear. . .
Bettie
(16,110 posts)because they are assholes.
KY_EnviroGuy
(14,492 posts)get some of your churches and public school groups to sign off on it?
Free speech is not the freedom to do harm to our youth.
Jedi Guy
(3,193 posts)The First Amendment generally protects vulgar speech. And "our youth" have heard (and probably said) far worse than that.
Would you have objected to someone flying a flag that said "Fuck Trump" during his time in office? Or did you object to the thousands of protesters who carried signs saying exactly that, in addition to chanting it as they marched?
KY_EnviroGuy
(14,492 posts)It might be found legal but that doesn't make it morally acceptable. We all have different boundaries.
And no, I'm not a religious person.
KY
moonscape
(4,673 posts)barely tolerate the real one when it flies as a permanent fixture in a neighborhood. My last house on one side was an American flag that flew and flew and was looking tired and tattered. On the other side was a wiccan who flew a skull and crossbones. This was in the SF Bay Area in a redwood forest. I sold and moved.
If I had a neighbor whod fly a f biden flag, I sure thered be others issues that would have me seeking a different neighborhood.
Maru Kitteh
(28,341 posts)If I had a window or wall facing his house: "Biden won. By a lot. Fuck your feelings."
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)Proudly on its own, principles it stands for unsullied by competitive hatemongering and vulgarity?
theneworiginal
(302 posts)Yup. I'm holding Biden responsible.
Bring back the good ole days when no one had healthcare or decent paying jobs or retirement to look forward to, when we could get disease freely without interference from the government. That's what I voted for...
Qutzupalotl
(14,317 posts)Their right to say Fuck Biden is also my right to say Fuck Trump.
The best response to objectionable speech is more speech, and the suggestions above are all fine. Tell them to get bent, or tell them why they're wrong, or just live with it.
What we can't do (or at least the government can't do) is make anyone take down their signs based on the content ... apart from ordinances on vulgarity, I suppose.
DavidDvorkin
(19,479 posts)Journeyman
(15,036 posts)"if you take away the right to say 'fuck', you take away the right to say 'fuck the government'."
Mossfern
(2,513 posts)New Britain is near where my son and his family live.
His in-laws are Trumsters. Family gatherings tend to be a bit tense at times.
PatSeg
(47,501 posts)who can read pretty much anything, I would find a sign like that in the neighborhood highly offensive. I swear these fools can't express themselves without profanity. The F-word used to have a punch to it, but now it is so overused, it is relatively meaningless, coming from people who can't even find ten or fifteen words to insult someone.
FloridaBlues
(4,008 posts)I also saw a car decal with a closed fist with middle finger up with f...Biden on the decal. Of course I had to respond with the bird flip back.
I thought about all the kids in cars with parents and discussions about what that decal meant.
Vinca
(50,278 posts)If King Donald had been around he would have skipped Michigan today and headed straight to the links. By the way, how many hours of television does Biden watch a day? LOL. I do kind of miss what a spectacle it would have been to watch Trump throw paper towels at Texans, though.
mahatmakanejeeves
(57,489 posts)Mon Oct 5, 2020: UVA Lawn student is speaking out after making a sign that's causing a stir
Sign on UVA Lawn Room Causing a stir
By Daniel Grimes | September 16, 2020 at 9:35 PM EDT - Updated September 16 at 9:35 PM
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - A sign on a University of Virginia lawn room is causing a major uproar and now the student behind it is speaking out. ... Lawn residents have posted various signs on their doors for years with little fanfare, but now one sign on the UVA Lawn is making waves.
The sign lists various concerns the student has with the university saying it was built off enslaved labor and stolen land. ... She decided to post the sign after an injury to her right ankle illustrated the limited ADA accessibility to the lawn and what she felt was a general lack of response from the university.
The solution was not to make the lawn more accessible, the solution was to find me alternative housing for up to a month, which in itself is a problem, like if there is, where Im supposed to stay, and this is the room that Ive earned and I essentially have to be kicked out of this room because its not accessible to me," UVA Lawn resident Hira Azher said.
She says she hopes the sign will push the university to listen to student groups like the Black Student Alliance or community efforts to defund the police department.
Copyright 2020 WVIR. All rights reserved.
Posted on September 18, 2020 by James A. Bacon | 94 Comments
Scene on the Lawn at the University of Virginia.
A message addressed to Friends of UVA by Bert Ellis, class of 1975, is passing around virally by email. Reed Fawell posted the message in the comments on a previous post but did not mention Ellis by name. Given the fact that Ellis is a prominent and wealthy alumnus he is CEO of Ellis Capital his opinions matter. I am republishing his open letter on the blog because everyone needs to see what has become of Mr. Jeffersons University. JAB
This is a sign posted on a Lawn Room door right now. It has been up like this for about 2 weeks. I sent the picture to President Ryan a week ago and asked if the University was going to permit such a sign to stay up on such a public place as the Lawn. I told President Ryan that I absolutely support this students right to his/her political opinions and hir/her right to express them on his/her Lawn Room door but not the profanity. Ryan responded immediately and told me Were working on it.
{snip}
Posted on October 5, 2020 by James A. Bacon | 5 comments
The F UVa sign on the door of a University of Virginia resident of the Lawn violates no university policy and is protected by the First Amendment, concluded University Counsel Timothy J. Heaphy. However, a new policy banning all signs on lawn room doors could pass constitutional muster if applied prospectively instead of retrospectively.
A new policy banning signs would also maintain the historic character of the Lawn, consistent with its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Heaphy opined in a letter addressed to university Rector James B. Murray Jr. on Sept. 29. Students would have ample other opportunities to exercise free speech even if they could not post signs on their doors.
However, he warned, a blanket rule against all posters would be overinclusive, as it would remove the ability of any lawn resident to use his or her prominent residence as a forum to promote events, highlight activities, or show support for particular perspectives or ideas. Read the full letter here.
{The link from the site does not work. This one does.}
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President Ryan addresses controversy over Lawn room signs, contextualization of Jefferson statue
Ryan said that the University will consider implementing additional regulations on Lawn residents signage before the next academic year
By Eva Surovell
October 2, 2020
University President Jim Ryan addressed controversy over critical signs posted on Lawn room doors and criticism of the Board of Visitors recent vote to contextualize the Thomas Jefferson statue in written remarks issued Friday. The University will consider imposing regulations on Lawn room residents as early as next year, according to Ryan.
The signs, which contain profanity such as fk UVA and criticism of the Universitys history of enslavement and inaccessibility, have generated calls for removal from some alumni and community members. ... Personally, I find the signs deeply disappointing, not simply because of their language and location, but because they fail to acknowledge any of the progress that this University has made to become more diverse, equitable, and inclusive, Ryan said. I believe those efforts deserve our gratitude and respect and are a source of inspiration to continue the work ahead.
University Counsel Timothy Heaphy who said he has received feedback from various alumni about possible legal remedies the University could use to restrict this type of speech confirmed that the signs are protected under the First Amendment and do not violate University policy or any provision of the housing contract signed by Lawn residents.
The Lawn is a public place and those who view these signs are not involuntarily submitted to their offensive character, Heaphy said in a letter to University Rector James Murray. While the speech may clash with the beauty of the Lawn and violate an objective sense of decorum, its regulation would be content-based and unconstitutional.
Heaphy said that the University could institute a blanket ban on all signs, including those that advertise upcoming events or activities, as well as those that critique the University. ... In his remarks, Ryan said that the University will consider implementing additional regulations on Lawn residents before the next academic year and before the next class of students moves onto the Lawn.
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