Photo by Muffy Aldrich
Muffy Aldrich's SALT WATER NEW ENGLAND

Monday, July 29, 2024

A Reader Question: Will you put up political signs on your property?

 A reader letter:

Dear Editor,

I was wondering how people feel about political signs?  I do not want this turning into a political post so do not respond mentioning a candidate, issue or party affiliation.

I hope the moderator deletes all responses which make this volatile.  

62 comments:

  1. Good question. I am slightly acquainted with the lieutenant governor of my state and would like to support her with a yard sign when she runs for governor, which she almost certainly will do, but people have become so uncivil even in small towns that I don't wish to make myself vulnerable to vandalism.

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  2. I love this question and the way it is framed. Thank you. My spouse and I are somewhat involved in electoral politics; we research carefully, and each election cycle we host fundraisers for our preferred local and state candidates. But we don't put up yard signs. To me, they are slightly tacky. It's like when you go to a non-political cocktail party and someone is wearing an "I'm for [X candidate]" button. It just seems rude and off-putting to me, even if I support the same candidate. Giving your opinion without being asked is not very classy.

    But there are nuances and exceptions. If someone is a leader in their political party, for example, it may be appropriate for them to display signs and wear pins. And a discrete driveway sign is preferable to the billboards that some people put in their yards.

    There is a roadside barn near me on which the owner has painted the name of their preferred presidential candidate in twenty-foot letters. To me, that's just rude. And given the bizarre way we run our Electoral College, that candidate is guaranteed to get zero electoral votes from our state anyway. It seems like a misuse of paint. Thank you again!

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  3. So, no yard signs because they are too gaudy and tacky, but red pants with Christmas trees embroidered on them are fine? Got it.

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    1. Giving an opinion when it wasn't asked for is rude. Wearing pants embroidered with Christmas tress is eccentric. Rudeness is always wrong. Eccentricity must be judged on a case-by-case-basis.

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    2. Thank you for your opinion

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    3. Anon 4:56—LOL Well said.

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  4. No endorsement of any national candidate or issue currently on the ballot at our place.

    However, I enjoy seeing vintage signs around the neighborhood, especially from losing candidates. "Reelect Carter '80" or "Dole '96" always make me smile.

    We also have some neighbors transplanted from the other side of the country that put out campaign signs for candidates in old hometown, but don't wade into local issues. They get a pass.

    Our general guidelines are to only put out signs for candidates we know personally, and very local issues. People and policies I wouldn't mind talking with a curious neighbor about.

    Our #1 rule though is that we don't disturb the peace.

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    Replies
    1. I, too, love campaign memorabilia, although I do not put out signs. My favorite campaign slogan ever is "Keep Cool and Keep Coolidge."

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  5. Yes. I have a yard sign in the yard, and a bumper sticker on my car. It's my right as an American to express support my candidate. As I live in an area where most people are members of the opposing party, I am worried that someone will vandalize my car. But I'm not going to take off the bumper sticker.

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  6. I’m putting out the sign I made for my dog Moby for 2024. “Stop the squirrel!”

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  7. Yard signs? Yes, once upon a time they were a great source of pride for living in a democracy.

    Sadly, that isn't the case today. Far from it.

    And definitely not in these days of Orwellian tyranny, and flagrant intolerance. (And it's not just the local sanctimonious social justice thugs who will go after you and your property, but also branches of the United States Government.) Best to keep your head down, and your mouth shut. Yes, America in 2024.

    But what about free speech, free expession and the First Amendment? Well, today that only applies to the historic 1960s movement at the University of California - Berkeley. No, putting the wrong yard sign on your lawn now is dangerous, and an invitation to violence. (see Riots, Mostly Peaceful 2020 - where dozens were killed, and cities burned $$$$.)

    Now, imagine Winston Smith placing an Anti-Big Brother political sign on his lawn. Of course, before you finished reading that sentence he would have already disappeared.

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  8. I won't unless my wife does. She and I tend to differ politically.

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    Replies
    1. Our home as well. Our marriage has withstood several elections. The “yard truce” lives on.

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    2. After voting, my father would come home and say. "well, canceled out your mother's vote."

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  9. Which is more inappropriate, a political yard sign or a pink flamingo ornament ?

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    1. It is funny you mention pink flamingos I have a book about how to irritate preppys and one of the things is to move to Greenwich CT and put a pink flamingo ornament in your yard.

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    2. If you really want to get a rise out of preppies move to places like Manchester-by-the-Sea, Madison, Locust Valley, or Lenox, and put a pink flamingo ornament on your lawn.

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    3. Real flamingos sighted in Little Compton, RI this summer!

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    4. Anon 7:17 might agree Greenwich is too cosmopolitan to be annoyed by a harmless pink flamingo.

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    5. In my western US area, the pink flamingo has become the swinger symbol. My spouse had to tactfully share this with a new neighbor who promptly swapped out the flamingos for a Bigfoot.

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    6. Ha! A pink flamingo is a “swinger symbol!” In our Southern New England neck of the woods they are more like a Sicilian symbol. Beware those Latin lovers!

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  10. Participating in an election is civic responsibility, not a breach of "preppy" decorum.

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  11. I would put them out but I live in a different country than my passport country and I don't live in a neighborhood full of American expats so it would be pointless.

    Anyway even without yard signs I find myself having many conversations about politics in my home country whether I want to or not as my accent easily gives away where I am from, and even before past decade people worldwide have definitely had their various opinions about American politics.

    I do vote, and enjoy getting my 'I Voted' sticker when I drop off my absentee ballot at the American consulate!

    -EM

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    Replies
    1. I do wear the ‘I voted’ sticker every election with pride.

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  12. Muffy - Why did you post this reader question? PLEASE keep politics off this site. I implore you.

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    1. I am the one who asked this question. I DID NOT WANT this to become political. All i was asking was about signs. I specifically said to delete all messages that got political. All responses have been polite and have not got controversially. Muffy has handled this topic well. I thank all that responded and how they handled themselves.

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    2. Hi Anon 6:25. This reader question was excellent, and it's not a political post. Your reactions to it are your own business. Please don't make them ours. Control yourself please.

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    3. Anon 10:53 - I don't think there was anything wrong with Anon 6:35 questioning the wisdom of including a question like this on a supposedly non-political site such as this. It's a sad state of affairs that everything today seems to become political, and as someone who frequents this site often, I do so precisely to get away from politics. So, there is no need to denigrate or castigate Anon 6:35 for expressing his/her concern, or to respond with comments like "control yourself please."

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    4. you all are showing your color, for some people the personal is always political

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  13. No signs in the yard. I live down a country road and no one is going to see it anyway. I doubt anyone would see a sign in my yard and suddenly say, Oh! Yes now I know for whom to vote!

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  14. The last six weeks of SWNE have made for riveting reading. Are we basically talking about two groups?

    1) No socks, unironed shirts, bracelets, and yard signs.
    2) Socks, ironed shirts, no bracelets, and no yard signs.

    Or, do people mix and match?

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    Replies
    1. No signs, no bracelets, no tattoo, and socks, but also no ironed shirts

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  15. No signs for us. My father never allowed any sort of display like that, or bumper stickers. Much of our local voting is town meeting style so everyone already thinks they know what your vote will be. Small town stuff. Most people don't bother with the signs, except one fellow has a political sign that's the size of a billboard! New Hampshirites seem to go in for the signs in a big way.

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  16. Not in today’s world. Never. 30 years ago, yes. A small tasteful sign was always placed in support of whatever family member was running for office. Now, it could be my own son and I would not place a sign publicly for fear of reprisals.

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  17. To each their own, but this day and age the practice feels more gratuitous than anything else. Has anyone's vote been influenced by seeing a yard sign in the last 30 years?

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    1. The nationalization of politics over the past few decades has been unfortunate, especially since local politics still matter a great deal.

      I suspect that many votes have been changed after a conversation with a neighbor about a sign for or against a local levy or property development plan. Funding for the local school or whether to allow some developer to have permits to put up some monstrosity really matter for our day-to-day lives, and individual action can make a difference on them.

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  18. What about something humorous, and non-political? I’m thinking Abbot and Costello ‘24, Seinfeld and Costanza ‘24. A sign that makes most folks chuckle.

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  19. I live in a condo community that has a Board. Our bi-laws state "no signs in the common ground" and that is it. We are allowed to have an American flag any time on our units and can display a For Sale sign in a window. Since this is Ohio State-Michigan as well a Browns-Steelers footbal area, an athletic flag for a few days before and after "the game" is permissable. I have been on the Board in past years and have never heard a resident complain about this rule. We get along just fine in our complex of 24 units in 12 buildings.

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  20. While we still faithfully vote, elections used to be fun. We lived in an area where voting occurred in someone's garage. It became a social event where there was tea, coffee and baked goods. There was a child's ballot and they could vote for Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson or Teddy Roosevelt. Unfortunately politics has become uncivilized. Miss the old days when the country was not so divided.

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  21. We have never put up political yard signs but if someone feels strongly about supporting a candidate that is their choice and I support that. I just think they are ugly and unfortunately people believe the divide and conquer propaganda that their team is superior to the other team I don’t want to play in to that.

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  22. On a nearby street, someone posted an extremely large (like a miniature billboard, 6 feet by 9 feet, roughly) sign in favor of a certain politician...the functional equivalent of posting on social media in all capital letters, I suppose. One morning, I noticed the large sign had been shattered into pieces, with large tire tracks running through where the sign had been. Subsequently, the homeowner limited their freedom of expression regarding said politician to bumper stickers displayed from the safety of a window of their home.

    I think all very large political yard signs deserve a similar fate. I can recall one or two occasions where we had a fairly small sign on our yard. So far, no tire tracks.

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  23. What an entertaining post! No signs for me, but I somewhat appreciate when neighbors self-identify - I know to walk the dog on the other side of the street.

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  24. We fly the Rebellious Stripes from an ancient live oak. Subtle, effective and, in my opinion, kind of preppy.

    Will

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  25. Good fences make good neighbors. Frost

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  26. For what it's worth, we're independents and appreciate Angus King , our state's (I) US Senator, notable for his support of greater bipartisan consideration and respectful relationships among legislators, administrators and the Executive. We don't post yard signs for him but I do have a "More Angus, Less Bull" bumper sticker that onlookers have laughed about while asking where I got it. (It's from an old campaign and is o.o.p.)

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    Replies
    1. follow the rules

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    2. you did not follow, what was a simple rule, but it slipped through regardless

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    3. "The Code is more of a guideline than a rule...." - Jack Sparrow

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  27. Our HOA allows no signs of any sort in resident's yards

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  28. No, and no college decals on my car showing where I or my children went to college. Far too ostentatious and braggartly.

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    1. Supporting a candidate is different from advertising a college

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    2. We ended up with a college decal on one of our cars because our daughter asked that it be put there. She spent her her K-12 years at one school and always showed school spirit. She worked very hard to get into her chosen university. Why would I tell her she can’t put the decal on the car? Is it really that big of a deal?

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    3. I will have small political signs in the yard, especially for candidates in local elections. We are a close neighborhood and while walking our dogs will use those signs to query each other about candidates who are not well known. Being informed on the people who most directly impact our lives does not get enough attention.

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  29. Only if we personally know the person. Otherwise, a big fat no, my husband's job could potentially be negatively affected by showing bias one way or the other, so we keep our support to ourselves the majority of the time.

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