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Controversial lawn decoration ignites battle within neighborhood: ‘Why would you do this?’

Posted by $ nickursis 3 years ago to Culture
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This would be funny, if it wasn't such a metaphor for loss of freedom, and the deep state shift of moral compass to the individual who is not involved. This comment says it all in regards to where the reponsibility lay: "If you buy something, like a house, you should be able to do with it what you please and decorate it how you want,” another user wrote. “HOAs are an excuse for people with no lives to nitpick their neighbors and cause drama.” and "“Literally walk down a different street if you hate it that much. Or, alternately, take the opportunity to talk with you kid about how different people find different things beautiful, and that a cool thing about humanity!” one user said."
Yet consider that the whole new social order the deep state created is all about the victim culture, and making others liable for the snowflakes "feelings". This is going to lead to a nation of addicts, one characteristic of them is consistently "Its YOUR fault I (fill in the blank (drink, drug, whatever))".
SOURCE URL: https://www.yahoo.com/news/delightful-lawn-ornament-somehow-caused-195151396.html


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  • Posted by freedomforall 3 years ago
    Unfortunately, the world is filled with meddlers and the owner of the house in question signed a contract to follow the HOA rules however moronic they are.
    Another proof that all men are not created equal. Every person is different from every other person.
    One size does not fit all, and no matter how many laws are passed to the contrary, this will never change as a result.
    Just mind your own business, don't meddle with the business of others, and let people have the freedom to do as they wish on their own property - if people actually have any property that is their own anymore.
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  • Posted by $ BobCat 3 years ago
    I am fortunate to live between two different HOA’s so neither one has any control over my property. I constantly hear about the squabbles my neighbors have with their respective HOA’s. It is all about control and the HOA Karen’s are despised even though the various signed contracts are on their side. It’s just another sign of giving up liberty for ‘visual’ security.
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    • Posted by KevinSchwinkendorf 3 years ago
      I grew up in the 1960s on a 7-acre farm in rural America (30 miles southwest of Portland). At that time, our property was the smallest property in the area (now, with all the sell-offs and subdivisions, our 7 acres seems to be the largest property in the neighborhood). But, back in the 1970s-80s, it was just understood that someone's property is THEIR property to do with as they please. Back then, our neighbors to the north and to the east (across the road) raised chickens commercially (thousands in their chicken coops). During the summer months, all that chicken manure tended to breed flies, so there were always a dozen or more buzzing around in our living room, and we just believed that that was just the way it was. It never occurred to us that we should complain to our neighbors! We also enjoyed target shooting on our property, and the neighbors couldn't complain about the noise because they enjoyed target shooting too! If someone did something on THEIR property that anyone thought was weird or strange, well, we thought they were weird or strange, but complain? Are you kidding? Private property is private property! Now, if they were target shooting in our direction without a proper backstop, that would be different. But people out in the country "mind their own business!" - WOW! What a concept, so "out of vogue" today!
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    • Posted by rtpetrick 3 years ago
      By and large, HOAs tend to be fascist organizations.
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      • Posted by $ 3 years ago
        Yup. Lots of things are, demonrats project their fascism onto everyone else, then look innocent and blather about something racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. All of their statements are emotional, vice rational. Same thing here, property rights are anti state, so must be eliminated. "We WILL tell you what lawn decorations are allowed" BS.
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  • Posted by kddr22 3 years ago
    before they moved, I had a very bad back yard neighbor that I considered buying a life size velociraptor with it teeth showing back at their yard. I also had the opportunity to get a life size statue of of T rex and put it my back yard looking at them lol
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    • Posted by $ 3 years ago
      I'm ok with that, it's YOUR backyard. This is an excellent example of all the re-engineered social framework, that puts the blame on people for how others "feel". Maryland just self destructed by removing their Police Bill of Rights, because DEMONRAT idiots call it "racists".Wait till the Humongous is racing around raping 12 yo girls and they scream for the non existent "racist" police. So stupid...
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  • Posted by mccannon01 3 years ago
    This illustrates the problem of when a society genuflects to control freaks and busy bodies. The Neo Communist (D) Party is one of the symptoms of that genuflection.

    A good counter punch would be to get more neighbors to put frog ornaments in their yards.
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    • Posted by $ 3 years ago
      Yes, although this whole HOA crap is also a symptom and is an out in front control system, designed to make you learn to obey and do what you are told, and be penalized if you don't. Homes sold in those sewers even come on the title docs and closing docs where you have to sign you willingness to obey. Therefore, once the HOA gets involved, you are screwed. I would NEVER live in an HOA.
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      • Posted by mccannon01 3 years ago
        I would never live in such a place, either. Bad enough you get overrun with government ordinances without adding an additional layer of busy body controllers. We had a guy in our neighborhood that turned in anyone that did anything that required a permit and didn't have one. Pissed off a lot of people that did a lot of very simple things on their own initiative that never should require a permit in the first place.
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  • Posted by $ Snezzy 3 years ago
    Nearly 30 years ago we were looking to buy a property where we could live and keep our horses. One very nice place, somewhat affordable, had 10 acres and the use of a very nice horse barn.

    It also had an HOA.

    We thought about it, and decided to go instead to a genuine farming community where other people would have little control over our property. Now additional houses are appearing in what was once just woods, but they are all inhabited by rednecks who understand property rights. A rancher down the street with about 60 head of cattle has not yet taken down his TRUMP 2020 sign that's on his front fence.

    HOA? Not here. At least not yet. And every evening you can hear people testing their 2nd-Amendment equipment.
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    • Posted by $ 3 years ago
      Yea, pretty much what I have, although I have 48 acres and everyone else is also large farms, so you don't bother each other.
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      • Posted by $ Snezzy 3 years ago
        We've got 100 acres, but much is swamp. But we have plenty of area to add more horse pasture if we feel like doing the work. (Oof!) Right now we maybe 12 acres supporting 20 ponies. An HOA would probably have restricted us to two or three horses. Also, we can put up buildings for agricultural purposes without having to blend in with anyone else's idea of style, shape, color, or even suitability for purpose.
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  • Posted by evlwhtguy 3 years ago
    You do enter in to a contract and accept the rules of the HOA when you purchase the property, that said, the complainant is a jackass. Fortunately the child in question will punish the compaintant vigorously till the day she dies due to the poor parenting given. If I was the homeowner I would do one of 2 things. 1. get on the board. 2. find the complainant and make a complaint every month. Make her life and that of the boards a living hell.
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    • Posted by $ gharkness 3 years ago
      I agree. My neighborhood had a similar but worse issue. People in the middle of the block just up and decided to paint their house black, without getting approval from the architecture committee.

      Now, I DO SEE the thing about "it's MY house" and "I'll paint it whatever color I want."...I really DO get that....but.

      These people signed a paper that said they would request approval before making changes (HOA covenant). They did not do what they said they would do. In addition, if they don't have to follow the rules (as I pointed out in my HOA FB group) NEITHER DO I!! And I reminded everyone in the group that if nothing was done about this, their copy of the covenant would be a good substitute for toilet paper, maybe someday.

      The people were eventually fined $2,000, as opposed to being required to sandblast. Really the only thing I care about it at this point is that my house just went up for sale, and I want to wring every single penny I can get out of it! If any prospective buyer sees that house (fortunately it's not too close) they likely will not buy. I want my house to sell quickly and for TONS of money. That is, in fact, why we bought in an HOA to start with.

      Editing to add: I hardly see anything wrong with that frog, though. That would NEVER be an issue in our HOA, and not only that, our board is made up of some really great people.
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      • Posted by evlwhtguy 3 years ago
        There are 2 rubs with HOA's 1. people don't follow the rules or even read the covenants [this included board members] and 2. The enforcement is spotty and capricious depending on who is on the board.
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        • Posted by $ gharkness 3 years ago
          Yes, when we first moved there, our HOA board were ghosts. NEVER available, NEVER answered questions - simply horrible. So, it took us three years but we finally got a quorum and voted the lot of them out. Now, they are available, and they explain the reasoning behind every decision. But I DO get what you mean.
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          • Posted by evlwhtguy 3 years ago
            It is amazing how much power a pissed off resident can have over a HO board by going and banginng on every door in the neighborhood and asking all the neighbors to join you in suing the board. Save the HOA presidents door for the end...when you get there he will answer with the phone in his hand with the 5th neighbor in a row calling him to tell him about it. You just then look him in the face and ask if he wants to join you in suing the board. Have your clipboard in hand. They will think twice about screwing with you again after you show you are willing to make their life hell.
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  • Posted by $ blarman 3 years ago
    HOA's are a disaster in most cases. They get used like in this case as a hammer for people who can't just mind their own business, have no sense of humor, or are just too bored for their own good. Just pathetic.

    I think it would be funny to send this woman a frog lawn ornament in the mail as karmic retribution.
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  • Posted by NilsAndersso 3 years ago
    When I was living in Ventura County, CA, I occasionally got letters from the city about upkeep., The things where reasonable I fixed. But some stuff was mystifying. How do you define an "overgrown" bush? Anyway, I started all communications - per snail mail - with versions like "Before proceeding, I reserve to myself all rights due to me under Anglo-Saxon Common Law, the Magna Carta, the US Constitution and the Universal Commercial Code"
    I think it worked, in the sense that the underlying intended message was "don't push too hard, I might push back".
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    • Posted by rhfinle 3 years ago
      They're afraid of anyone who knows the rules that they know but ~we~ aren't supposed to know. Using terms like 'whereas', 'ex post facto', 'habeas corpus' and 'plaintiff' usually scares them off.
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  • Posted by rhfinle 3 years ago
    I can inderstand the kid having a fear of unfamiliar things. My daughter was afraid to go to bed (around age 3) after seeing the 'Bug's Life' movie. I went in one night and she said "Listen! There they are!" "What?" "The baby owls! They're going to eat us!" I listened and realized what she was hearing. "Those are crickets. The little bugs we use for fishing."
    She thought about it for a minute, then "Oh. OK." and rolled over and went to sleep.
    Perhaps introducing the kid to a real frog and letting her know that they help us by eating mosquitos would be a better course of action. Although in this day and age, "AArrrgh! Frogs! Warts!" would probably be the reaction.
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    • Posted by CaptainKirk 3 years ago
      Odds are these parents had a BAD reaction to licking frogs in college.

      But agreed. this is what PARENTING is a bout!
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      • Posted by rhfinle 3 years ago
        Licking frogs: make sure they're turned the right way.
        Reminds me of a joke: The usual:
        Princess finds frog, Froh speaks, asks princess to kiss it to turn it into a Handsome Prince.
        Princess fails to kiss frog, puts it in her pocket.
        Frog" "Ribbett! What are you doing?"
        Princess: "I'm the most beautiful princess in the land. I don't need any more Handsome Princes; I have dozens. But ~nobody else~ has a Talking Frog!!"
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  • Posted by $ rainman0720 3 years ago
    I think I'd get about half dozen statues that I'd rotate on a daily or weekly basis. I'd have a vampire, a Frankenstein, definitely a bigfoot, a zombie, and to really screw with this nosy (insert pejorative term here), a headless Ichabod Crane. And maybe, just maybe, I'd get her likeness painted on a statue, and I'd put it out with a sign that says "If you REALLY want to get scared, look at this!"
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  • Posted by gerstj 3 years ago
    This sounds like a ready invitation for some form of reprisal and that is how deadly neighbor wars start. Does her child make too much noise. Does she do anything tht would subject her to a complaint, etc.
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  • Posted by CaptainKirk 3 years ago
    First, if my child was so offended by a Lawn Character... OMG... I would realize I FAILED as a parent, unless I helped the kid get through it.

    Second, we live in an HOA. And there are a LOT OF REASONS to hate them.
    But my friend bought a decent house in FL, outside of an HOA. Within 2yrs, he had 4 houses around him that looked like red neck garage sales. Cars on cement blocks in the front lawn. This was just before I bought my house, so I took it to heart. It made it easy that 90% of the homes around here are in associations...

    Third, I've not had a big problem with them, other than their complaining that I had too many Trump Signs, and a 30 foot flag pole for trump (12 foot, put up at 18 foot, LOL) was beyond allowed.

    But I had a neighbor who did not keep their house up, and they were fined to death, but since they owned the house outright, there was no ability to force a lien sale on them. It was like I did NOT get the protection I thought I did.

    And then the association rulers changed, and the new people want the POWER. So now you have to own the house for 1+ years before you can rent it (which I believe Violates property rights).

    But I still see both sides. And finally, it's always your choice. Which is the whole point of the system. Find out what works best through experimentation...

    Then their is the "neighborhood/nextdoor" site... OMG... Free Speech Prevented. We have moderators who reminded us DAILY the death count... Until some time around January 20th :-)

    Finally, this lady is just wrong. I feel the association was wrong if it did not violate any pre-existing guidelines.

    PS: I chose Pink with Grey trim for my house. Both colors were acceptable colors, but there was no listing of unacceptable combintations. Someone tried to make me repaint the trim after I had written approval. I laughed!
    Later I switched to White trim, and a Coral Color... Always coloring inside the lines...
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    • Posted by $ 3 years ago
      Best to just have no neighbors, which I finally found. I have no one in sight, next door is 100-150 yds away and over a hill, other is across the road and down.
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      • Posted by CaptainKirk 3 years ago
        Yeah, that will be the next step.
        Love my neighbors here, and don't have much of a problem, as I've said.

        The bad ones were forced to move by external forces, and now I have a Fireman living next door! Great guy!
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        • Posted by $ gharkness 3 years ago
          We bought in a neighborhood where we noticed a lot of police vehicles parked in driveways. Although they don't work any longer than anyone else (they don't "police" the neighborhood at all and I don't blame them for not doing that.... it would be awkward at best), we hoped it would reduce any temptation of property crimes in the area. I do think it actually helped. We never had any problems with crime, but a few of the police did!

          And in my FB group I asked for help with my smoke alarms and a fireman in the 'hood offered to replace them ALL for me (way up high on a ladder) if I would buy them and have them ready for him (this was while my husband was working out of town). Would take no pay, so I donated $100 in his name to Fallen Firefighters.

          Many if not all public servants DO tend to make good neighbors.
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  • Posted by rtpetrick 3 years ago
    Some people simply have too much time on their hands because that do nothing of real importance. This woman should volunteer at the Food Shelf...then she wouldn't have time to be offended by frog statues. Her attitude bans her from living in the Gulch.
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  • Posted by Joseph23006 3 years ago
    This is exactly the type of behavior that has led to idea behind 'wokeness' in today's world. Everyone seems to have the power to exert their own influence on others, to be the arbitors of taste, good or bad, and of behavior. Conformity and unity are good hallmarks of socialism and the radicals. It used to be 'live and let live' or 'ther's no accounting for taste' but now it subject to the concensus of the mob as to what is allowed. The idea of a HOA should be anathema unless the association owns the property outright it should have no say in what is done to the property within legal limits. There is no Constitutional RIGHT not to be offended, you have to live with it because what you do may offend others just as much!
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  • Posted by lrshultis 3 years ago
    It is bad enough to have to rent your property from the government (property tax) and then do the idiotic thing of signing a contract with your neighbors that lets them legally tell you how to use your property. Only busybodies do that. Also, besides the taxes, another tax, the association fee, is added on.
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  • Posted by $ Stormi 3 years ago
    I remember Neil Boortz used to speak about the horrors of HOAs. We did accounting for one, and they fought about everything, no flag visible above back fence, one time it was sceen door color of one condo, only to find it looked different in shade! We have an HOA in our rural sub, one woman wanted French street lights in front of each hour, we voted that down, as we have our own which fits our house Across the street, a neighbor into Hummel figureines and Persian rugs, had a fit when we put up a ranch entranceway. She got over it. It fits the pines trees and mid-centruy style of our house, she had a hideous white garage door which drew the eye if you drove up the sreet. We learned to live in harmony as individuals. We do have rules, no livestock, no fence in front of house, okay anywhere else, but those were in place when we moved in. One lady still has her Trump sign up, will not give up, and I kinda like her determination, but we took ours down.
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  • Posted by malonejr 3 years ago
    Honestly, we let it continue with the "No Fault" America of the late 60's.
    Responsibility starts at home by setting the example you want your spawn to be able to observe.
    Blame starts in the mirror!
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  • Posted by tohar1 3 years ago
    Seriously! Look at the "offensive" frog in question. It is so non-offensive that I can't imagine much if anything that could be less scary...I mean a humanoid frog sitting upright & smiling at a person...Oh! The Humanity!!! I see the comment section is locked by Reddit. Geez...I can't imagine why. The lady needs to get bent! Yes, she is the a**hole!!
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