Is this a bad idea?
Asked by
raum (
13578
)
4 hours ago
from iPhone
So I haven’t had the heart to take down the Kamala Harris sign in our yard.
This morning I noticed that it was gone. So I scrolled through our video footage. Planning on putting out another sign, sticking their picture on it and dedicating it to them.
But turns out it’s our neighbor around the corner. We know him. Ex-cop.
So now I’m thinking I may paint a sign with “generic” community people. But one of them will be a stylized version of him. No one else would know he’s being called out for stealing stuff off of people’s lawns. But he would.
Good idea? Enough to discretely call him out? Or don’t fuck around with a trump-loving ex-cop? Bad idea?
Putting this in general because although this idea is making me laugh, I do need some serious feedback.
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32 Answers
I would be afraid to mess with an ex-cop. I would let it go.
I agree with @chyna.
I think it’s one of those things you think of something you think as funny, you ponder it and laugh to yourself, and then you let it go.
Literally admitting to forgetting about someone entering your property to steal, because they’re an ex-cop…...
Doesn’t make cops look good….it’s almost like everyone’s avoiding the fact that they’re unhinged sociopaths.
What was their body language like when they were doing it?
Do you know much about them?
I’d be curious to know more about what they were thinking (I can imagine a few different possibilities) but also wary of creating a worse relationship with a neighbor.
Call the cops on him. If they don’t press charges, report the police to Internal Affairs.
I’d just be the adult and let it go.
Aw, damn. Well, a public declaration calling him out would likely escalate things beyond redemption. If he is one of your neighbors, maybe quietly ask him to return your property, letting him know you have the footage. Neighborhood feuds can get really awful.
This sucks for you, I am so sorry.
Validate the laws related to taking political signs down.
Not cool that a neighbor (ex-cop or not) took it down.
Id ask him and let him know you happened to see it in camera and wondered if you could have it back. If hes known to be a jerk, id let it go but neighbors should be able to speak freely when one trespasses and steals. He’s the one it should make nervous not you ya know?
We aren’t super close. But we know him and his wife. We also know his kid, DIL and granddaughter (who live next door to them.) We’ve been in each other’s houses and invited them to our neighborhood gatherings.
He walks his dog every day by our house and we say hello.
His body language was super nonchalant.
I don’t want to create an even more awkward situation. I like where I live and don’t want to move. But also like wtf?
Maybe you could say something to the effect that you understood he took it down because Biden is out and trump is in, but you’d still like the sign back. It really sucks that you were put in this position.
add on – The more I think about it the more it pisses me off. I hate that you’re even in this situation. The threat of him being a cop (ex or not) is just wrong. He should not have done that and knows it.
@Blackberry That is what bothers me. If he wasn’t ex-LEO, I probably wouldn’t think twice. And it’s upsetting to admit that I am.
On principal, I should call him out. But I also don’t want to ruin our neighborhood on principal. I know how quickly these things snowball.
And I don’t want his kid, DIL and granddaughter to have to deal with the negative feedback. I wouldn’t want to be judged on my parents political views or actions.
“something to the effect that you understood he took it down because Biden is out and trump is in”
– Please don’t do this! This would normalize their abnormal and illegal act, and it even invents a weird reasoning for him doing it! Egad! An election is NOT a reason to remove someone else’s signs from their property!
– Also, telling someone else that “you understand” why they did something, that you don’t actually, is really messy in general, even for ordinary behavior.
@Blackberry Not just ex-LEO. But I also know that they have multiple guns in their house.
You’re right @Zaku, and I retract that. I suppose I was thinking from a woman’s point of view and that sucks…that in your position I would try to give him an ‘out’.
You have to do what makes you feel ok – whatever you decide. There are a couple of reality shows that have to do with neighbors gone rabid.
If you ask you know it is a BAD idea, just like taking the plug off the waffle iron and sticking it in your mouth.
Buy a can of spray paint. Spray “THIEF” in huge letters on his front wall.
LOL
Okay, definitely not doing that.
Lurve for making me laugh though.
Send him an invoice for the cost of the sign plus fees (adminstrative fee, post delivery fee, him being an asshole fee, ex-cop fee)
Yeah. Don’t do it…unless you’re ready on tbattle it out in court. And you’d still have an excop as an enemy.
This is a fuck around and find out kind of situation.
@raum I wish I was there, I love making bullies uncomfy.
Just put up another sign. A bigger one. Closer to your house.
Kamala for President 2029 or something. That will make him lose sleep. Justice served.
@mazingerz88 Yeah, that’s what I’m currently leaning towards. Bigger sign, but no drawing of him on my sign. I probably shouldn’t directly engage him about this. Can’t see it going well. :/
@all Thanks for all of your feedback. Any reason to not put out a new sign at all?
Two part question!
What should my new sign say?
(This is in General. Yes, I’m talking to you, @loli. :P)
Long-term, a bigger sign with motion-activated lights and sprinkler? But first, maybe a very tempting sign that’s covered in something unpleasant and/or difficult to remove. Treesap? Glue and pink glitter? Skunk scent? It’ll be fun for him to explain that to his family.
Later, maybe switch to a more general sign. Perhaps something passive-aggressive about granting others the freedom to make up their own minds? Or some right-wing person with a quote: “They’ll take away your guns signs.”
No one else would know he’s being called out for stealing stuff off of people’s lawns. But he would.
Sounds like the worst of both worlds. The one person who’d know is the one who already doesn’t care. There would be no neighbourhood shaming, and you’d still risk making him angry. Still, I totally get the urge to do something.
The mature way to go is reporting the guy. I think I’d do that. But I also don’t see anything wrong with making life a little difficult for someone happily bullying his neighbours.
It sucks that he did it. It’s disrespectful.
I would send him or show him the video.
I had my Clinton signs stolen from my yard in 2016. Don’t think a democrat did it.
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