The winter holiday season is off to a rousing start — with “professional” Xhristians working as hard as ever to bring everyone in line with their “values”. Here’s a story from Colorado. There will be more. No doubt.
A Pagosa Springs [Colorado] resident is resisting an order by her homeowners’ association to remove a peace symbol-shaped wreath from an exterior wall of her home.
“I just wanted to put a message of peace out there,” said Lisa Jensen, who hung the wreath Nov. 19. She said Wednesday she didn’t intend the wreath as a statement against the Iraq war.
“I was really trying to be in favor of something – peace,” Jensen said.
She was informed by letter from the Loma Linda Homeowners’ Association that “Loma Linda residents are offended by the Peace Sign displayed on the front of your house.”
The letter, citing a use-restriction banning “signs, billboards or advertising structures of any kind” within the subdivision without prior approval, said the wreath had to come down by Friday, or Jensen and husband, Bill Trimarco, would face a $25-per-day fine.
Jensen said Saturday that Friday’s deadline had come and gone without contact from the board of directors. She was unsure of how, if imposed, collection of any fine would be enforced, but planned to leave all of her Christmas decorations, including the wreath, up until after Christmas.
Homeowners’ Association President Bob Kearns said Wednesday that the board had required another resident to remove peace symbols a week before, and that property owner complied.
Jensen said the other property owner, a neighbor, had sunk skis marked with peace symbols in his driveway as driveway markers. She said the neighbor told her he was informed that residents were offended by the posting of the peace symbols “while our country is at war.”
Kearns declined to describe the complaints he had received about Jensen’s wreath but expressed his own opinion.
“The peace sign has a lot of negativity associated with it,” he said. “It’s also an anti-Christ sign. That’s how it started.”
On Wednesday, every member of the subdivision’s five-person Architectural Control Committee was asked to resign when they collectively opposed the decision by the board of directors to fine Jensen and Trimarco.
Pagosa Springs is a nice little community on the Colorado-New Mexico border. You wouldn’t think — to look at it — that it was in the middle of the bible belt.
This is not what I remember from Sunday school when I was a kid — then they taught that Jesus was all about peace. Now it seems that is all out of date.
Not only are fulltime bigots criminal, they’re often laughable in their ignorance. It wasn’t until the 60’s and the VietNam War that some of the bible-and-tub thumping crowd decided they had to find some quick and easy justification for hating folks who protested against war — that they came up with the “twisted cross” scenario to depict the peace symbol as the anti-christ.
Anyone who’s read any history (or even part of the linked article) knows the tale of how Bertrand Russell hit upon using the semaphore signal for “N” and “D” — for nuclear disarmament — back in the early post-war days of the Committee for Nuclear Disarmament in the UK.
Ignorance may be bliss, after all. I guess that’s why so many nutcases are blissful.
Christians offended by the peace sign how offensive is that.
And this is the “Xhristians” fault how? How about blaming it on war mongers instead. Methinks we are becoming scapegoatish around here… perhaps even racist (religionist).
The letter, citing a use-restriction banning “signs, billboards or advertising structures of any kind” within the subdivision without prior approval,
A wreath is not a sign, a billboard, or advertising. Rather it is a traditional holiday decoration.
However, if my neighbors were offended by a peace sign on my home, I would remove the peace sign right away. That way, I would have room to put up a much larger one with the words “fuck you” written on it.
recatagon check out the story a little further.Methinks thou protests to much.
Home owners associations rub me the wrong way in general. So much for your home being your property when others can tell you what to do with it.
I’m certain they could put up a website with just a paypal address and get people to pay the “fine” for a sign 10x the size till next june.
If they need the backers, they’d easily find them.
Homeowners’ associations are always looking to put out someone who is different. This is just another case of All American bigotry.
If the homeowners’ association is offended by peace symbols while our country is at war, maybe they should look at the people who are causing the war. I am sick and tired of these people who say that we are affecting the morale of the troops by standing up and protesting an illegal war. As if the troops being told that they are going home, only to be deployed somewhere else in the quagmire has a positive affect on their morale.
Get a grip. In the land of the free, and home of the brave, it takes some bravery to speak out against an elitist government, as the Bush administration. It is one of our freedoms, nay, one of our RESPONSIBILITIES, to speak out when a war is waged against a country that had nothing to do with terrorist attacks, and never attacked us in the first place.
This violates their First Amendment right – Freedom of Speech and Expression. The people in her neighborhood should have the smarts to understand that this is why their children are fighting over in Iraq.
To the people that see this as a sign of Satan – you really need to get back in Church. You are seriously lost.
WHAT!?!?!? An overzealous Homeowner’s Association!?!?!?! Who has ever heard of such a thing?
Homeowner’s associations do this all the time. Move into a new development and you’ll find out all about abuse of power in a democracy…
#10: This is not a violation of First Amendment rights. I get so tired of people throwing that around all the time. First of all, it was not a governmental agency in any capacity that insisted the wreath come down; it was a private HOA. Second, the homeowner voluntarily chose to live in a community with a HOA. When you sign that agreement, you are choosing to give up some rights you would otherwise have.
It works both ways. If you want to keep pink flamingos out of the neighborhood, sign an HOA. If you want freedom to do anything with your yard, and you want your neighbors to have the same freedom, don’t sign an HOA (which means you’ll be picking another neighborhood).
Incidentally, I don’t agree with forcing removal of the peace sign, but I agree the community has the right in this case to demand it. I don’t think the agreements should cover things like holiday or other displays on your house, but then again, that’s why I didn’t sign an HOA.
“Jensen said, the neighbor told her he was informed that residents were offended by the posting of the peace symbols “while our country is at war.””
Wow, all this time I thought you pulled the “Peace” paraphernalia out of the attic at times when there was some conflict resulting in senseless death and misery to hundreds of thousands of people, Americans were dying on foreign soil for questionable reasons and you felt a need to exercise free (as in freedom) speech to point this out. Guess not. I’m glad I read this quote. Now I understand what’s really important. Placating nitwits.
They should just tell people it’s not a peace sign it’s a warplane on a bombing run.
Why has dvorak.org become such a Christian bashing website? Someone must have had a bad experience as a child by a ruler hold nun. But seriously it’s pretty ridiculous how much this site goes to great lenghts to bash the religion and its believers.
16. We don’t have to go to any “great lengths” to “bash” Christianity. The so called Christians don’t help their cause when they do things that are not “Christian,” like this. When “Christians” falsely say that the peace sign is an inverted broken cross, and it’s an outright lie, they are not helping themselves either. Many Christians that I know of would welcome a peace sign during a time of war, because Christ was the “Prince of Peace.” It means something to some practicing Christians, and nothing to others who are ‘Christians’ in name only.
I have friends who live in Pagosa Springs (locals call it PewGrossa for all the smelly sulphorous hot water that bubbles out of the ground (fire & Brimstone below?)) One of my friends wears a peace symbol on her necklace and has a hard time getting her mail from the Post Office because of it. Republicans man the poles and have tried to keep her from voting in the last 2 national elections. It is surprising how strong the Republican Anti Constitutional sentiment is there. Many people don’t expect to find this kind of ugliness and stupidity outside the Appalachians but those in the know find Colorado exceeds the Appalachians in this way. It is an ugly small minded community like several others in Colorado. I relocated to California after living there 23 years and getting sick of the ignorance of the natives.
Right on Roc Rizzo…I was informed of this debacle by a friend who lives just north of this subdivision…she was outraged at what is happening to these people, as all right-thinking folks are. And special kudos to the Durango Herald, who not only publicized the whole thing, but evidently published the poor folks telephone numbers! Nice job there, Durango Hurled!
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”
~Mahatma Gandhi
(thanks to Daisy)
16, Patrick Moynihan said “everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts”. More often than not, it’s facts that are questioned on this blog rather than personal beliefs. Not always, but fairly consistently. Any Christians hit by flack on this site, for the most, part took the hit because of something done by christian impersonators or poli-theocrats. Two groups which overlook collateral damage regularly, when it doesn’t involve them. If you are in fact so close to spiritual perfection, turn the other check and forgive those who trespass. One more thing, making left handed comments about nuns and rulers is a non-Christian thing to do, unless you are from one of the sects still pissed off about the Inquisition. Of course anyone who ever had a Nun as a teacher got rulered. The really tough ones made you put your hands flat on the desk before they coiled up for the swing at your knuckles. We don’t hate Nuns because of that; we just flinch a lot when around penguins that make sudden moves.
Mr Kearns, I just received a phone call from Jesus. He says that peace is a good thing…and that being ‘pro-peace’ does not mean that you are ‘anti-war’ or ‘anti-government’…or anti anything. Oh he also wanted me to tell you that you are a whiny bitch.
I really like the Clean Graffiti concept.
If they did that to me, I would clean walls all over the place, using of course a bristol brush, water, vinegar and bio-dishwasher soap, that very symbol.
Then have the council think about how to remove clean spots from walls…all over the place.
You can’t be fined for cleaning walls.
This reminds me of a talk some friends of mine had about hand signs, their origin and meaning, varied from the peace sign to who created the devil sign most rockers use.
Then a Christian guy who was listening to us said, “All hand signs are satanic.” I replied to him “Then the deaf and the mute will go to hell.” That surely shut him up.
24,
And your opinion applies to this case how?
Platitudes are intellectual pacifiers. Say something of substance next time.
Can you move into a neighborhood that has a HOA but refuse to sign? Would restricting someone to buy a house somewhere be legal if they refuse? Just curious
#13, jcb,
Generally true, but nor always. Courts have found that home owners agreements may prohibit free speech, in doing so, they may not be capricious and the rules must be evenly applied. They must also be clear so any reasonable person would understand what is not allowed. If the HOA allows any Christmas decorations at all, then they would be acting capriciously if they tried to prohibit these decorations.
Of course, Colorado may have Home Owner Association laws that trump this general rule.
Peace? I’ll give you peace you motherfuckinghippy fuck wad
#29, hmmm, sounds like your mother ran off with some hippy after you were born, leaving you to be brought up by those ruler wielding nuns. I can’t think of anything else to explain you pure hatred to those who espouse peace. It must be hard going through life carrying such negative feelings.
I’m sorry but I am a simple college student. Having never owned a house, I am intrigued by the whole HOA thing.
Can’t they just, refer them to the case of Arkell v. Pressdram?
And if I move into some neighborhood someday (probably will) can’t i just, not sign agreement?
Peace Symbol Flap – Democracy versus Dictatorship. Lisa Jensen deserves support for standing up to a bully like Kearns. What kind of committee does this “association” set up, that when it disagrees with the President (dictator comes to mind) he simply fires them all and puts in stooges that do what they are “ordered” (sounds like the present Iraqi government)! Mr Kearns and company may like to know that their antics are read about all the way up in Ontario, Canada. We also have soldiers who are friends, siblings, sons & daughters serving and dying over there too, but at least we are educated enough to realize that the Peace Symbol was around and accepted by Christians long before this war. Mr. Kearns had better be consistent and make sure that none of the 200 association members have any Christmas cards with the offending symbol on them?
P. McLean
Ontario
Canada