Halloween is 25 days away, and the Hub City is already looking pretty scary:
That third picture shows perhaps the scariest house in Aberdeen. What could be scarier than making children think there are any grown-ups left who support a bully and traitor for President? Or that grown-ups would support a candidate not on his merits but just because they want to make someone else cry? I know kids, scary and sad.
But don’t worry, kids: that Trump flag (and the one next door, and the one kitty-corner across the street) are just Halloween decorations, not actual political signs. Because if they were actual political signs, they’d be illegal in Aberdeen, which allows political signs in residential areas only under certain conditions:
The following signs are generally exempted from the provisions of this article:
….Temporary political campaign signs, provided that they do not exceed six square feet in size and are neither displayed more than 60 days before nor seven days after the election to which they pertain [Aberdeen City Code, Section 60-341(c)(4), retrieved 2019.10.06].
I didn’t go up and measure those political signs (though this version on Amazon is fifteen square feet, clearly a violation of code if it were displayed in an Aberdeen yard), but I can measure the calendar. The general election is 394 days away. The primary is 240 days. Political signs for Presidential candidates can’t go up in Aberdeen until April 3 for the primary and September 4 for the general.
I may not like Aberdeen’s unconstitutional restrictions on political expression in residential areas, but they are the law. So when the neighbors get done scaring the kids, these political signs will have to come down in November… because while a reasonable person can view these banners as scary Halloween decorations, there’s no way to interpret them as embodying the Thanksgiving or Christmas spirit.
I fear a spate of vigilantism could plague the Aberdeen area soon. Those fellows should probably strike their colors and shape up and fly right.
Grudz, I get the feeling your “fears” are really baseless pot-stirring. Tell us what evidence leads you to make your statement.
It won’t be vigilantes who take down those scary flags. It will be the Aberdeen PD, dispatched by Mayor Schaunaman himself, who is clearly a law-and-order kind of guy.
These fears are not based on evidence, Mr. H. They are an emotional reaction to the horrors of flags about President Trump being elected again, and that your very neighbors are that twisted in their minds. The angry rages which even here on this blog lash out from far out-of-state at South Dakotans who seem to like Mr. Trump makes me fear there may be fellows in Aberdeen who are not tempered with the reason and kindness spread by Mr. Novstrup, the elder, but who are the sort that would perhaps play Halloween pranks with those flags.
“Ghoulash.” Clever. I like that. 😁
The inflatables yard might be just a tad over done, but some folks lose all rationality when it comes to holiday decorations, not a terrible thing.
On the other hand, we might wonder just how long ago the people flying the Toddling Traitor flags lost their rationality? 😉😉
Grudz, your attempt to misportray the discussions here as a danger to public order are as misguided as the clear bullying intent of the Trump flag.
“I may not like Aberdeen’s unconstitutional restrictions on political expression in residential areas, but they are the law.” What about the petition circulating law that is currently being challenged by you – isnt that law in effect? So if the legislature amends the ID requirement to only residential areas, you would support?
Realist, I am following those laws assiduously, even as I seek to overturn them. Following the law and calling for equal enforcement of that law (and the Aberdeen PD has removed all sorts of illegally placed political signs in past election seasons) does not equate to supporting the law, as I thought my sentence made clear.
When I get done with the current petition drive, perhaps I will turn my attention to overturning the political sign ban… or maybe I’ll just let Mayor Schaunaman take the matter to the Council to protect his Trumpist friends’ garish and bullying banners.
grudznick is only portraying Mr. Trump, and banners in his honor, as a potential danger to public order. Halloween, I suppose, poses its own dangers to public order, what with soaping of windows and flaming bags of dog poop and all that stuff. I put no truck in the demon Samhain.