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Political and BLM signs burned in our yard last night--UPDATE in 1st post


Acadie
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To the OP...I am so sorry this happened to you. I'm horrified that this is happening anywhere. I was visiting with a friend today (outdoors, socially distanced lol). We are both conservatives, and we both agree that the current political climate has set back race relations at least 2 generations. But I and my friend believe (I will get flamed for this) that both left and right sides are responsible for this. We both feel desperately sad about it. 

I live in a relatively diverse neighborhood--more than half of my closest neighbors are minorities or immigrated here from another country. Very few people put signs in their yard--I believe it's out of respect for that fact that we do have such a diverse neighborhood. But I'll say that the reason that I don't put a sign in my yard---it's a secret ballot. And that's VERY important.

Interesting true story: A plumber gets called to a house downtown (urban, democratic majority southern city). The resident has Biden signs in his yard. Plumber goes inside to do work in the finished basement. The owner has some pro Trump stuff displayed. The plumber asks about the discrepancy. The owner says, "Oh the Biden signs are there to keep my house from getting burned down." We both chuckled at that, but it falls into the category of "if you don't laugh, you'll def cry".

Edited by popmom
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1 hour ago, popmom said:

To the OP...I am so sorry this happened to you. I'm horrified that this is happening anywhere. I was visiting with a friend today (outdoors, socially distanced lol). We are both conservatives, and we both agree that the current political climate has set back race relations at least 2 generations. But I and my friend believe (I will get flamed for this) that both left and right sides are responsible for this.

I won’t flame you, but I’m not sure what this could even mean. Two generations back to what? Segregation is a relatively recent memory for many Black people. It’s not theoretical.

I get quite impatient at the level of zealotry in some progressive groups, so it’s not that I’m uncritical of how the left chooses to fight its battles. But “race relations” is a misnomer. This country is built around the superior status of whites, and that structure hasn’t even fully dismantled. “Race relations” implies equality that doesn’t exist. 

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4 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

I won’t flame you, but I’m not sure what this could even mean. Two generations back to what? Segregation is a relatively recent memory for many Black people. It’s not theoretical.

I get quite impatient at the level of zealotry in some progressive groups, so it’s not that I’m uncritical of how the left chooses to fight its battles. But “race relations” is a misnomer. This country is built around the superior status of whites, and that structure hasn’t even fully dismantled. “Race relations” implies equality that doesn’t exist. 

You may assume that I mean that inequality doesn't exist when I say race relations, but you would be wrong. I live in the deep south. We were speaking of the attitudes and beliefs of our great grandparents, grandparents, parents, us, and our children. 

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1 minute ago, popmom said:

You may assume that I mean that inequality doesn't exist when I say race relations, but you would be wrong.

But the problem is that people in privileged positions are generally loathe to give up power. I actually think the protests have been quite powerful as a statement. 

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5 minutes ago, popmom said:

You may assume that I mean that inequality doesn't exist when I say race relations, but you would be wrong. I live in the deep south. We were speaking of the attitudes and beliefs of our great grandparents, grandparents, parents, us, and our children. 

What attitudes and beliefs do you mean? 🙂 

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1 hour ago, popmom said:

To the OP...I am so sorry this happened to you. I'm horrified that this is happening anywhere. I was visiting with a friend today (outdoors, socially distanced lol). We are both conservatives, and we both agree that the current political climate has set back race relations at least 2 generations. But I and my friend believe (I will get flamed for this) that both left and right sides are responsible for this. We both feel desperately sad about it. 

I live in a relatively diverse neighborhood--more than half of my closest neighbors are minorities or immigrated here from another country. Very few people put signs in their yard--I believe it's out of respect for that fact that we do have such a diverse neighborhood. But I'll say that the reason that I don't put a sign in my yard---it's a secret ballot. And that's VERY important.

Interesting true story: A plumber gets called to a house downtown (urban, democratic majority southern city). The resident has Biden signs in his yard. Plumber goes inside to do work in the finished basement. The owner has some pro Trump stuff displayed. The plumber asks about the discrepancy. The owner says, "Oh the Biden signs are there to keep my house from getting burned down." We both chuckled at that, but it falls into the category of "if you don't laugh, you'll def cry".

So houses with Trump signs have been burned down because of the sign? Unless that’s actually happening, I’m not sure of the point of your story. People can imagine all sorts of things, it doesn’t make them true.

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3 minutes ago, popmom said:

Would you invalidate the fear of an AA republican in a majority democratic city that has experienced civil unrest?

You said nothing about an AA Republican or about civil unrest in the city.

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Just now, popmom said:

I was referring to the change from racism being the accepted norm to being condemned by us, our parents and our children. 

But how are we being set back two generations? Do you feel like your children will be more racist than you? 

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1 minute ago, Not_a_Number said:

But how are we being set back two generations? Do you feel like your children will be more racist than you? 

no, but I understand what you are getting at. I don't feel like the status quo was okay and acceptable.

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1 hour ago, popmom said:

To the OP...I am so sorry this happened to you. I'm horrified that this is happening anywhere. I was visiting with a friend today (outdoors, socially distanced lol). We are both conservatives, and we both agree that the current political climate has set back race relations at least 2 generations. But I and my friend believe (I will get flamed for this) that both left and right sides are responsible for this. We both feel desperately sad about it. 

I live in a relatively diverse neighborhood--more than half of my closest neighbors are minorities or immigrated here from another country. Very few people put signs in their yard--I believe it's out of respect for that fact that we do have such a diverse neighborhood. But I'll say that the reason that I don't put a sign in my yard---it's a secret ballot. And that's VERY important.

Interesting true story: A plumber gets called to a house downtown (urban, democratic majority southern city). The resident has Biden signs in his yard. Plumber goes inside to do work in the finished basement. The owner has some pro Trump stuff displayed. The plumber asks about the discrepancy. The owner says, "Oh the Biden signs are there to keep my house from getting burned down." We both chuckled at that, but it falls into the category of "if you don't laugh, you'll def cry".

As a helpful point: when trying to point out issues about "both sides are responsible", you can totally omit the candidates names/parties in stories. For example:

Interesting true story: A plumber gets called to a house. The resident has pro-Square signs in his yard. Plumber goes inside to do work in the finished basement. The owner has some pro-Circle stuff displayed. The plumber asks about the discrepancy. The owner says, "Oh the Square signs are there to keep my house from getting burned down." We both chuckled at that, but it falls into the category of "if you don't laugh, you'll def cry".

This way, you don't seem to be blaming one side for a hostile environment in the real world, since you were earlier positing both sides are responsible. Which can also conveniently be one-upped with a pro-Circle sign by a pro-Square voter for the same reasons.

Or you can ignore this, it's just that this has been a relatively peaceful thread and I'd hate to see it derailed by, what some might consider, an obvious poke at one side of an equation.

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3 minutes ago, Moonhawk said:

As a helpful point: when trying to point out issues about "both sides are responsible", you can totally omit the candidates names/parties in stories. For example:

Interesting true story: A plumber gets called to a house. The resident has pro-Square signs in his yard. Plumber goes inside to do work in the finished basement. The owner has some pro-Circle stuff displayed. The plumber asks about the discrepancy. The owner says, "Oh the Square signs are there to keep my house from getting burned down." We both chuckled at that, but it falls into the category of "if you don't laugh, you'll def cry".

This way, you don't seem to be blaming one side for a hostile environment in the real world, since you were earlier positing both sides are responsible. Which can also conveniently be one-upped with a pro-Circle sign by a pro-Square voter for the same reasons.

Or you can ignore this, it's just that this has been a relatively peaceful thread and I'd hate to see it derailed by, what some might consider, an obvious poke at one side of an equation.

It's not a poke. It's an observation. It wouldn't have made any sense if I hadn't named the candidates.

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7 minutes ago, popmom said:

no

Then perhaps we aren’t so much setting race relations back as dealing with the realities of what they require.

It’s easy for me to be against racism, because it has no costs to me. I don’t have to spend time thinking about broken schools or dysfunctional neighborhoods or the many legacies or pervasive inequality. I can agree that I’ll judge people on nothing but their merits and not the color of their skin without thinking deeply about what it would take for someone from a dysfunctional neighborhood to appear to have equal merits. I don’t have to pay money for schools our society chooses not to fund. 

I don’t have answers to any of these issues, but I know that for a lot of people, race relations are easier when they are more abstract. At least, they are to me. And the fact that people are angry and are trying to shove their lived inequalities in our faces... well, I don’t have solutions. But I get it. 

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1 minute ago, popmom said:

It's not a poke. It's an observation. It wouldn't have made any sense if I hadn't named the candidates.

Well, this makes sense as well:

Interesting true story: A plumber gets called to a house. The resident has pro-Trump signs in his yard. Plumber goes inside to do work in the finished basement. The owner has some pro-Biden stuff displayed. The plumber asks about the discrepancy. The owner says, "Oh the Trump signs are there to keep my house from getting burned down." We both chuckled at that, but it falls into the category of "if you don't laugh, you'll def cry".

So if both stories make sense, why is the party name necessary? The reader may fill in their bias, true, but this shouldn't bother you, since your observation (I'm assuming that the area one lives in can dictate what you "need" to display outside to feel safe) still stands. 

That was your point, wasn't it?

If that wasn't your point, I fail to see the relevancy of your interesting true story to the greater post you made.

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7 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

Then perhaps we aren’t so much setting race relations back as dealing with the realities of what they require.

It’s easy for me to be against racism, because it has no costs to me. I don’t have to spend time thinking about broken schools or dysfunctional neighborhoods or the many legacies or pervasive inequality. I can agree that I’ll judge people on nothing but their merits and not the color of their skin without thinking deeply about what it would take for someone from a dysfunctional neighborhood to appear to have equal merits. I don’t have to pay money for schools our society chooses not to fund. 

I don’t have answers to any of these issues, but I know that for a lot of people, race relations are easier when they are more abstract. At least, they are to me. And the fact that people are angry and are trying to shove their lives inequalities in our faces... well, I don’t have solutions. But I get it. 

That's interesting because I ABSOLUTELY DO spend time thinking about broken schools and dysfunctional neighborhoods and the legacies of pervasive inequality. I see it everyday. It is something that I am actively trying to correct in whatever way I can. I'm sensitive to how this should be accomplished--although I don't have time to elaborate on that here. Don't assume that I'm ignorant or drinking some conservative Kool Aid. This is in my face every day. I don't just think about it...I am doing something about it.

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44 minutes ago, popmom said:

You didn't answer my question.

Because I don’t know the whole story. You told a second hand (third, fourth?) story without all of the details. You said nothing about the location or the race of anyone involved, that matters.

Yes, if the story is actually that the homeowner is an AA Trump supporter and lives in an area where unrest has occurred, I could understand some concern, although I would assume he’s not necessarily afraid so much of his actual neighbors burning down his house. If he lives close to where unrest happened (most is not in residential neighborhoods from my understanding), I could understand anything possibly happening, as many people with no agenda except to cause destruction used the protests as an excuse to wreak havoc.

Edited to add, do you even know he was a Republican and not just a Trump supporter? I don’t think it really makes a difference, but the two are not necessarily equivalent.

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2 minutes ago, popmom said:

That's interesting because I ABSOLUTELY DO spend time thinking about broken schools and dysfunctional neighborhoods and the legacies of pervasive inequality. I see it everyday. It is something that I am actively trying to correct in whatever way I can. I'm sensitive to how this should be accomplished--although I don't have time to elaborate on that here. Don't assume that I'm ignorant or drinking some conservative Kool Aid. This is in my face every day.

Then you’re doing a better job than me 🙂 . I don’t personally have to deal with it.

But you still haven’t answered my question. How are we setting race relations back?

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6 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

Then you’re doing a better job than me 🙂 . I don’t personally have to deal with it.

But you still haven’t answered my question. How are we setting race relations back?

there is no "we". Further polarization is counterproductive to the goals of equality. 

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1 minute ago, popmom said:

there is no "we". Further polarization is counterproductive to the goals of equality. 

But I think the point of the protests is that our current society is pretty indifferent to the lack of equality. Few people claim to be racists, of course, but there are also few people who are aware how deep the issues are.

I don’t know if “polarization” tells us much about equality, because I’m not sure what the word means. Sometimes, it just means people feel like their privilege is being threatened and they respond with anger. But it’s doubtful they’d be more willing to make changes if they felt less threatened, either. 

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10 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

But I think the point of the protests is that our current society is pretty indifferent to the lack of equality. Few people claim to be racists, of course, but there are also few people who are aware how deep the issues are.

I don’t know if “polarization” tells us much about equality, because I’m not sure what the word means. Sometimes, it just means people feel like their privilege is being threatened and they respond with anger. But it’s doubtful they’d be more willing to make changes if they felt less threatened, either. 

I agree with you.

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1 hour ago, Not_a_Number said:

Then you’re doing a better job than me 🙂 . I don’t personally have to deal with it.

But you still haven’t answered my question. How are we setting race relations back?

Do you not live in the U.S.? Because I can't understand how any US citizen doesn't  have to "deal with it". Are you in a homogenous rural area maybe? I think it's interesting that you have such convictions about this subject when you say you don't have to deal with it. What does that mean-- That you don't have to deal with it? For me...I could say that I technically don't have to deal with it because I'm privileged. But that doesn't absolve me from the moral imperative that my faith demands of me--to not become weary of doing good, to seek justice for the oppressed, to seek the welfare of the city...

My original post was to extend my heartfelt sympathy to the OP while acknowledging that more than one demographic has reason to fear in the current climate. You can make a judgement about me personally if you choose. I'm okay with that. 

Also, the story was a first hand account. Said plumber is "on the fence" politically. He was doing work for my elder parents when I was with them. My parents and the plumber were eager to discuss politics. I was just an observer. 

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OP, I wish I could say I'm surprised, but I'm not.  I talked with a friend yesterday who had their signs vandalized in their city.  I am sorry you had this experience, and I'm thankful your home and your family are safe.  I appreciate your courage and your voice for change. 

I was driving home following a different route, and few streets away I noticed a political sign quite opposite of what is being displayed all over my town.  I was shocked, but so happy to see someone brave enough to display their sign.  I have driven by this house over the past 3 days to see if I can catch the homeowners outside to say, "Hello, and Thank You!"  Their sign is gone now, and I can only assume what happened.  No signs of fire damage, so that's good. 

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, popmom said:

Do you not live in the U.S.? Because I can't understand how any US citizen doesn't  have to "deal with it". Are you in a homogenous rural area maybe? I think it's interesting that you have such convictions about this subject when you say you don't have to deal with it. What does that mean-- That you don't have to deal with it? For me...I could say that I technically don't have to deal with it because I'm privileged. But that doesn't absolve me from the moral imperative that my faith demands of me--to not become weary of doing good, to seek justice for the oppressed, to seek the welfare of the city...

My original post was to extend my heartfelt sympathy to the OP while acknowledging that more than one demographic has reason to fear in the current climate. You can make a judgement about me personally if you choose. I'm okay with that. 

Also, the story was a first hand account. Said plumber is "on the fence" politically. He was doing work for my elder parents when I was with them. My parents and the plumber were eager to discuss politics. I was just an observer. 

Now I’m confused again. Your dad is the AA Trump supporter with Biden signs outside living in a majority Democratic city that has experienced civil unrest and you were there when the plumber came to their house to do work and overheard their conversation? Otherwise I don’t understand how it is a first hand account.

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25 minutes ago, Frances said:

Now I’m confused again. Your dad is the AA Trump supporter with Biden signs outside and you were there when the plumber came to do work and overheard their conversation? Otherwise I don’t understand how it is a first hand account.

OMGoodness. What does this even have to do with the post you are quoting? Does it even matter? No my dad is not the Trump supporter with a Biden sign in his yard. For God's sake. Y'all are a trip for real. My parents hired the plumber. They discussed this and I was present-- I don't discuss politics with my own personal plumber, but my parents do and I'm cool with that. Just relaying a personal story. Peace. ETA: FWIW their plumber is NOT a republican. Good grief. There was enough discussion that I know that for a fact. Does that make the plumber's story any more valid?  Let's not lose sight of the common goal here. We all want justice. We want a better world for our children and grandchildren. 🙂

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8 minutes ago, rainbird2 said:

OP, I wish I could say I'm surprised, but I'm not.  I talked with a friend yesterday who had their signs vandalized in their city.  I am sorry you had this experience, and I'm thankful your home and your family are safe.  I appreciate your courage and your voice for change. 

I was driving home following a different route, and few streets away I noticed a political sign quite opposite of what is being displayed all over my town.  I was shocked, but so happy to see someone brave enough to display their sign.  I have driven by this house over the past 3 days to see if I can catch the homeowners outside to say, "Hello, and Thank You!"  Their sign is gone now, and I can only assume what happened.  No signs of fire damage, so that's good. 

 

 

 

Four years ago I was in my rural Midwest hometown for the election. There were some very elaborate disgusting racist, Halloween displays around town that also included lots of political signs for one candidate. Right across the street from the very worst one was a house with one of the “In this House...” type signs and a sign for the other candidate. When I saw the owner of that house outside one day I did go and introduce myself (they didn’t live there when I was growing up) and thank them. Sadly, on my daily walks, I saw many more people stop and thank or honk and give thumbs up to the owners of the large political Halloween display.

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5 hours ago, popmom said:

Do you not live in the U.S.? Because I can't understand how any US citizen doesn't  have to "deal with it". Are you in a homogenous rural area maybe? I think it's interesting that you have such convictions about this subject when you say you don't have to deal with it. What does that mean-- That you don't have to deal with it? For me...I could say that I technically don't have to deal with it because I'm privileged. But that doesn't absolve me from the moral imperative that my faith demands of me--to not become weary of doing good, to seek justice for the oppressed, to seek the welfare of the city...

I live in Manhattan. I hope that answers your question.

And I don’t have to deal with it because I don’t incur any personal costs dealing with it. I don’t work at one of those schools. I don’t have to send my kids to one, either. So, I guess all I’m saying is that the issues are much more theoretical to me than they are for other people.

5 hours ago, popmom said:

My original post was to extend my heartfelt sympathy to the OP while acknowledging that more than one demographic has reason to fear in the current climate. You can make a judgement about me personally if you choose. I'm okay with that. 

I don’t think I’ve expressed any judgment, actually 🙂 . I was just curious what you meant about setting race relations back. I personally don’t see that, obviously, but I was trying to understand where you were coming from. I’m not sure I do yet.

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20 hours ago, Quill said:

Gosh, I am sorry! That would frighten me for sure. If I could, I would get Ring or something like that to possibly help with surveillance. (I don’t think we can actually get Ring here because of lack of always-available broadband internet. But if you can, I would consider it for sure.) 

So sorry you had to experience such ugliness.  As to security monitoring, I ordered a handful of these Wyze security cameras for x-mas gifts.  The have online and off-line recording options. They are highly rated, but I have not recieved my orders yet so no personal opinion. https://wyze.com/wyze-cam-outdoor.html

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16 hours ago, Acadie said:

 

Agreed, politics is signs and slogans and ad campaigns and rallies.

But burning BLM signs and what skimomma describes above fall under the category of racial terror, which is a different beast. I first heard that term from a writer friend from Mississippi a few years ago, and I remember how much it struck me. No lack of examples in 2020, unfortunately.

Yes.  And somehow, many of these acts (NOT fires on private property or stealing of signs, obviously) are considered "freedom of speech."  I think the line between that and hate crime is just too fuzzy in many parts of the country.  I'm not sure that monkeys in nooses, hanging from confederate flags in a parade is legal.  Maybe it is?  I also think that even if it isn't, our tiny police force would have been no match.  The parade in question included locals but mostly consisted of people from out of the area.  Many of the plates were out of state even.  They know what they are doing.  The communities that the parade snaked through have very few non-white residents.  I can only imagine how chilling it must be for those few to witness this.....especially if they are under the impression that the all of the participants are local.

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I am not shocked they did that.  It seems people have gone crazy lately.  Here we have had signs stolen, American flags stolen off houses and people just being so nasty to each other if they are not wearing that person’s political party they want.  This has been going on for years here but it has gotten much worse.  I am sorry it happened to you and the neighbors.  

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1 minute ago, kand said:

Thanks for that explanation. That makes sense to me. I guess I don’t tend to think of BLM statements as necessarily having anything to do with the actual organization by that name. Maybe it’s unfortunate that the organization goes by the same name as the statement, if it makes people think that statement is political. Most signs and stickers and such with that slogan are independently made. I live in an area where the BLM organization made the decision not to stage any in person protests back in the Spring, due to the Covid risk, but nonetheless, there were many, many Black Lives Matter rallies and protests held by all kinds of people purely to express that sentiment. I just think of my Black friends and family members hearing people say that a sign saying Black Lives Matter is a political statement and burning one is no different than burning a Clinton sign, and it makes me despair for them. I know it doesn’t feel the same to them. 

Hmmmmm. Yes, that makes sense. When someone says BLM sign, I do think of the political organization and not simply of the idea. And maybe that's too bad... on the other hand, people do need to organize around ideas if they want those ideas heard. 

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  • Acadie changed the title to Political and BLM signs burned in our yard last night--UPDATE in 1st post
15 hours ago, popmom said:

To the OP...I am so sorry this happened to you. I'm horrified that this is happening anywhere. I was visiting with a friend today (outdoors, socially distanced lol). We are both conservatives, and we both agree that the current political climate has set back race relations at least 2 generations. But I and my friend believe (I will get flamed for this) that both left and right sides are responsible for this. We both feel desperately sad about it. 

I live in a relatively diverse neighborhood--more than half of my closest neighbors are minorities or immigrated here from another country. Very few people put signs in their yard--I believe it's out of respect for that fact that we do have such a diverse neighborhood. But I'll say that the reason that I don't put a sign in my yard---it's a secret ballot. And that's VERY important.

Interesting true story: A plumber gets called to a house downtown (urban, democratic majority southern city). The resident has Biden signs in his yard. Plumber goes inside to do work in the finished basement. The owner has some pro Trump stuff displayed. The plumber asks about the discrepancy. The owner says, "Oh the Biden signs are there to keep my house from getting burned down." We both chuckled at that, but it falls into the category of "if you don't laugh, you'll def cry".

Yes, I don't see the point of stealing political signs. It's not like the people are going to change their vote! Burning signs is just ridiculous and I want to tell people to grow up. I live in a liberal city and my neighborhood is mostly full of Biden signs. Someone recently reported on a local Facebook page that their Trump signs keep getting stolen and the police officer said it's almost exclusively Trump signs being stolen and, yes, set on fire in our area, so I guess both sides have immature people. We don't put out political signs, but I don't care if my neighbors do even if they disagree with me. OP, I'm sorry that happened to you!

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On 10/7/2020 at 7:34 PM, SereneHome said:

I really really wish someone could explain to me the thought process behind stealing political signs...

Well, they do make a good tomato trellis!

12 hours ago, gstharr said:

So sorry you had to experience such ugliness.  As to security monitoring, I ordered a handful of these Wyze security cameras for x-mas gifts.  The have online and off-line recording options. They are highly rated, but I have not recieved my orders yet so no personal opinion. https://wyze.com/wyze-cam-outdoor.html

We have that brand, although I have no idea what model or whatever. We can see the feed on our phones, which is very handy for checking on pets. I like to use the talk option to make my sugar gliders go running up to the camera 😃

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On 10/8/2020 at 5:22 AM, skimomma said:

That is terrifying.  The haters have always been there but are now emboldened.  A car/truck parade "rally" in support of Trump happened last weekend.  It weaved through severals small communities, including mine.  The video footage that people have been posting has shown the flying of confederate flags, monkeys hanging from nooses, and passengers screaming, "Go away N-words" out the windows.  Until recently, this would have completely shocked me.  That next morning there were numerous reports of stolen and burned Biden and BLM signs.  I have friends who are afraid to replace their signs.

Shouldn't the police have put a stop to that?  And maybe the health authorities at the moment.  I know you guys are big on free speech but surely inciting a riot is against the law?

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Arcadie, I am so sorry.

 

re BLM as an "organization"

13 hours ago, Happymomof1 said:

Ok, how is it political?  I love and can get behind the slogan, "Black Lives Matter." They absolutely do. And yes, we need to say it because white lives have always mattered, black lives, unfortunately not so much.  So I SO get that.  I do.  However, if I look at the organization that is called Black Lives Matter there are things in there statement of beliefs that I cannot get behind. I don't want to support that political organization.  I DO want to support racial justice...so I feel stuck. 

OP, I am so, so sorry. Not acceptable and yes, probably a racist act.  Very, very, very wrong and extremely scary.  

I evidently live under a rock, because I've always understood BLM to be a pretty decentralized movement around an idea, not a formal organization.  Can you point me toward the kind of mission statement you're referring to? 

 

(In a cursory search for a formal institution with governance and non-profit status, I did find the Black Lives Matter Foundation, which appears to have put out a shingle for donations and is now being investigated by both the state of California and New York for claiming an affiliation with the movement that apparently is not documented up to 501(c)3 standards if it exists at all; current donations appear now to be running through ActBlue.)

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1 hour ago, Happymomof1 said:

Here is a podcast some of my new writing friends or their spouse do and they carefully went through each of the belief statement of the organization.  What is Black lives matter parts 1 and 2. I've only made it through part 1. They may well support the BLM. I'm not sure. They are both wonderful men. 

https://www.wearethreaded.org/podcast

What organization are they referring to? What belief statement?

As Pam in CT noted, there is no official organization, so I'm wondering what they are going through.

 

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BLM "belief statement"

6 hours ago, Happymomof1 said:

Here is a podcast some of my new writing friends or their spouse do and they carefully went through each of the belief statement of the organization.  What is Black lives matter parts 1 and 2. I've only made it through part 1. They may well support the BLM. I'm not sure. They are both wonderful men. 

https://www.wearethreaded.org/podcast

Thanks for that -- I just listened through, very interesting.

For the first hour I was convinced you'd accidentally posted the wrong link -- a long interview with Prof Mark Noll of Regent College, about the history of evangelism in American politics, hitting on familiar points (Lincoln was Republican, post-Civil War most blacks who could vote voted Republican and most Southern whites voted Democrat; there was a "party flip" right around the Civil Rights movement and particularly the 1964 Civil Rights Act). Interesting recap, but definitely NOT coming anywhere near BLM -- the thematic focus was "why is it that black Christians and white evangelicals now have such different voting patterns."  An interesting tour through US history (though there are differences between how he reads certain critical events, and how I do) -- but not at all on the subject of BLM or its "belief statement."

I nearly gave up, thinking you'd accidentally posted the wrong like, but then it moved directly into the second podcast, "Riots, Riots, Riots Everywhere * " which launched with the (white) professor posing the question to the (evidently black) hosts: what's up with BLM anyway?

And the first of the hosts answered very much along the lines of your earlier statement, that

On 10/8/2020 at 8:11 AM, Happymomof1 said:

.... I love and can get behind the slogan, "Black Lives Matter." They absolutely do. And yes, we need to say it because white lives have always mattered, black lives, unfortunately not so much.  So I SO get that.  I do.  However, if I look at the organization that is called Black Lives Matter there are things in there statement of beliefs that I cannot get behind. I don't want to support that political organization...

That is -- referencing the existence of an "organization" whose "principles" he had issue with although of course black lives matter. But not articulating in any way what those "principles" with which he had disagreements are... or getting me any closer to finding said "organization" so I can find out directly.  Like you, he spoke of the existence a "belief statement" with which he had trouble, but didn't get me any closer to figuring out where or what it was.

In your own searching, have you been able to yourself?

 

I may well be wrong.  I've always understood BLM to be a decentralized movement around an idea (like, for example, the pro-life movement) rather than an organization with governance and mission statement and tax filings (like, for example, Planned Parenthood).

 

 

 

 

 

* which title is -- as an evolving writer I'm sure you recognize-- what we call a frame

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