Community Chat

[Sooner]

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@Irshgrl31201 wrote:

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@Sooner wrote:

No, it isn't a "free" country and people are not "free" to do as they please.  It is offensive and sick to hang dolls.  It's when you allow anything goes in public that we get kids who come to school with guns and knives.  When you have a society that allows such behavior and displays, that's when kids start to think that whatever they do is ok.

Hate crimes, violence, displays like this, and a culture of violence all go hand in glove.   When there are no limits, there no limits.  You know what I'm saying?  And what is wrong with people simply saying when someone says their displays are offensive "Oh, I'm sorry.  I will take that down."  Must everyone always be in your face?

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Actually it is and they are. Unless they have an HOA contract that doesn't allow it they are absolutely allowed to. It isn't my taste but it isn't my house and the only people in the wrong were the ones who went on their property and cut it down and vandalized the property. Who do people think they are going on to someone elses land and taking something down they have no right to?

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No, believeit or not, there are actually LAWS about what people can and can't do in public, or display in public.  Not of course that they are enforced much now, but theoreticalaly you can't sit on your front porch naked or put grandma's body on the porch swing and such and so forth. There are laws and standards, but it seems to be accepted and respected to flaunt them and that being as offensive as one can to their community is the model of behavior today.

[Irshgrl31201]

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@Sooner wrote:

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@Irshgrl31201 wrote:

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@Sooner wrote:

No, it isn't a "free" country and people are not "free" to do as they please.  It is offensive and sick to hang dolls.  It's when you allow anything goes in public that we get kids who come to school with guns and knives.  When you have a society that allows such behavior and displays, that's when kids start to think that whatever they do is ok.

Hate crimes, violence, displays like this, and a culture of violence all go hand in glove.   When there are no limits, there no limits.  You know what I'm saying?  And what is wrong with people simply saying when someone says their displays are offensive "Oh, I'm sorry.  I will take that down."  Must everyone always be in your face?

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Actually it is and they are. Unless they have an HOA contract that doesn't allow it they are absolutely allowed to. It isn't my taste but it isn't my house and the only people in the wrong were the ones who went on their property and cut it down and vandalized the property. Who do people think they are going on to someone elses land and taking something down they have no right to?

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No, believeit or not, there are actually LAWS about what people can and can't do in public, or display in public.  Not of course that they are enforced much now, but theoreticalaly you can't sit on your front porch naked or put grandma's body on the porch swing and such and so forth. There are laws and standards, but it seems to be accepted and respected to flaunt them and that being as offensive as one can to their community is the model of behavior today.

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There are laws of course for nudity and such but this doesn't fall under any. Just because someone chooses to decorate this way doesn't make me automatically think they are trying to flaunt something. Some people happen to have a different take on things that you or others might have. They are within their rights to do that and the people who go on to their property to take it down (whether they leave a note or not) are completely out of bounds and in the wrong. It is vandalism and that is wrong.

[sfnative]

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@Sooner wrote:

No, it isn't a "free" country and people are not "free" to do as they please.  It is offensive and sick to hang dolls.  It's when you allow anything goes in public that we get kids who come to school with guns and knives.  When you have a society that allows such behavior and displays, that's when kids start to think that whatever they do is ok.

Hate crimes, violence, displays like this, and a culture of violence all go hand in glove.   When there are no limits, there no limits.  You know what I'm saying?  And what is wrong with people simply saying when someone says their displays are offensive "Oh, I'm sorry.  I will take that down."  Must everyone always be in your face?

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@Sooner

I'd suggest you re-read the Constitution and Bill of Rights.  Ours IS a free country.

HOAs limit ones personal expression, as do schools.  Federal, State and local laws prohibit criminal behavior; but, no one can prohibit "bad taste" behavior.  You might not like it, but those folks have every right to decorate as they please under those circumstances.

We had to live in a rather backward part of the country for 6 years.  One Halloween, I brought 2 of my Longaberger pumpkin baskets to work filled with candy and placed them on my desk.  My boss, a corp V.P, told me to remove them immediately.  When I asked him why, he said that there would be no celebrating of any holiday in his department, as it might insult the "religious sensibilities" of his employees.  "Well," I said, "Part of me is Irish and if I can't have these pumpkins, can I bring in the original carved potatoes?"  Of course he said I couldn't bring in anything.  So in this case, my First Amendment Rights flew out the window.  "Religious sensibilities" my foot!  So, I told him he was insulting my Celtic sensibilities.  I was livid!

However, given a few exceptions, we ARE a free country.  Heck, when I was in college during the riots, I was free to scream at the hippies who were beating up the cops.  There were about 300-400 hippies/protesters and 8 cops.  The cops were losing.  It was BAD.  I used my right to speak in public, screamed at them to stop and lo and behold (I kid you not) they nearly all did a 180 and headed for me.  I ran!  This allowed time for more cops to come up behind the hippies/protesters.  Long story short, their "right" to assemble was stopped right there.  School buses were brought in and they were hauled off to jail.  I learned later that they carted away 648 people.

I lost a number of rights ever day when I went to work at the Navy command where I was employed. . I knew this was a condition of employment, didn't like it one bit, but that's the military way.

All in all,  I'd rather have had these experiences here in the U.S. where we live in a Republic, rather than a country where individuals have few rights.

[Puzzle Piece]

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@Irshgrl31201 wrote:

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@Puzzle Piece wrote:

I think some folks don't realize they are asking for trouble.  And then again, some folks want to impose some foolish message or shock upon others.  Henceforth, they get their consequences. 

I know I've stopped all Halloween decor due to vandalism and my things were just Autumn/Fall decorations. 
Halloween used to be strictly for children but now the adults who don't grow up chime in with lots of nonsense. 

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Well obviously it doesn't matter if they decorated distastefully or not. You have stopped decorating due to vandalism with just fall decorations. Vandalism is vandalism. People have no right to touch anothers property for ANY REASON. Asking for trouble? Blaming the victims of damage to their personal property by saying they were asking for it? No, they have every right to decorate how they would like to. I guess you were asking for it to then simply because you put out decorations.

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Yes, they were inviting trouble because many don't approve of such things and will vandalize.  Regarless of their liberty to display what they display. 

[DoneTryin]

I think it crosses the line from what would be considered common sense.

I don't think it's fun or funny.

I may not agree with their choices, but they can do what they want to on their own property.

[Cakers3]

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@PeterDM wrote:

These baby doll decorations are tame.  I saw a story on the news about a home that had bodies wrapped in plastic hanging upside down from their trees. It was so incredibly disturbing that the family who lived there took them down.  The school buses all had to go by the home on the way to school, and children were becoming traumatized.  Ghosts and ghouls are imaginary figures, and are just fine as far as I'm concerned.  However, images of violence, especially depicting infants, is in bad taste.  Violence will never go down in this country if we keep glorifying and celebrating it on our front porches.

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I agree with your post.  It may be their private property and nobody has the right to cause harm to the owners or their home but sometimes common sense needs to take the reins in certain situations.

If they had them indoors at an adult party that would be bad enough but this display serves no merit nor does it reflect the spirit in which we celebrate Halloween.  And I decorate quite a bit for the holiday.

[NoelSeven]

This brings up a fascinating question.  Can we display anything we want on our property (not HOA)?

I suspect "public decency" would be a determinant.

[NoelSeven]

I should add, I suspect that would all depend on city, town ordinances.

So many things have decency or morals clauses which can be open to interpretation.

[maestra]

Western culture has embraced a 'culture of death', and then we are surprised by the acts of violence in media, and wonder why children act as such.

I enjoy Halloween, but there are limits. jmho

[ladyroxanne]

@PeterDM  i agree with what you are saying, but look at cable tv and all i see are horror movies  i don't watch them if i can help it, but there are so many and i'm sure that one is worse than the other.  you can't say that they don't desensitize people to violence.