‘Yield’ Not to The Birdbrained

November 16th, 2006 · 6 Comments · Local, Main

I was glad to see a couple of letters to the editor in The Lakeville Journal this week from people fed up with what I call politico-vandalism.

Some cretin has been going around spray-painting the letters “BUSH” under stop signs in the Northwest Corner.

My, how clever! Next thing you know we’ll be seeing yellow signs at other intersections proclaiming “Yield Not to the Neocons.”

The nitwit who scrawled the president’s name was also too stupid to realize it makes his side look foolish. Then again, maybe that’s what he intended to do.

There has been widespread speculation that some of the Robo Calls we all received in the weeks before the recent elections were designed to make you think they’re coming from the other side so that you will be disgusted with them and vote against the candidate you mistakenly think is annoying you with the call.

Maybe there’s something to that. I once covered an election next door in New York where a candidate for town council was caught stealing her own signs — presumably in an effort to generate sympathy for herself. So maybe the failed “Stop Bush” campaign is really the brainchild of erstwhile genius Karl Rove.

But at this point I think the prudent thing is to assume these infantile stunts were performed by someone who actually believes the words on the sign. In the name of civility, please “stop” it yourself. And for safety sake, cut it out and remove the vandalism.

The stop sign pictured above sits at the intersection of Wells Hills Road and Route 41 in Lakeville. As anyone who often passes through there knows (or anyone who has read my earlier post on it), it is one of the most confusing and dangerous intersections on the planet (with apologies to those who must navigate Columbus Circle everyday).

The last thing we need is to give the out-of-towners another reason to miss the “Incoming Traffic Does Not Stop” sign. But hey, fixing that intersection is a problem even Rove couldn’t solve.

Tags:

6 responses so far ↓

1 terry mccarthy // Nov 16, 2006 at 6:14 pm

This kind of thing has been going on in politics for a very long time and is unlikely to ( STOP! ) any time soon. Back in the 60s it was common in Boston for campaign operatives to slap the bumper stickers of their opponents on the back of their own cars. Then race around the streets of Boston, cutting people off. Flipping them the bird. Hoping they’d notice the bumper sticker, and vote in the opposite direction. Least back then they were creative about it. Scribbling ” Bush ” on a sign is a sign of the times. You’re right. They’re morons.
2 fred // Nov 16, 2006 at 6:53 pm

it’s very much a rip off of The Stop Bush Project. Which, by the way, has some really cool pieces in it.

Living my carefree days in Philadelphia… riding the train into trenton a few times a week… I became a big fan on graffiti art… it was everywhere.. mostly crappy throws that took some knucklehead 5 seconds with a can of paint. though outright vandalism in most cases.. some can be works of art and beauty…. so seeing “BUSH” spray painted under a sign demeans the “art form” (for lack of a better word) of what someone with talent and alot of testicular fortitude can do with a can of spraypaint.
3 jake // Nov 16, 2006 at 8:57 pm

I wonder why no one ever vandalized the “Slippery When Wet” signs during the nineties.
4 fred // Nov 16, 2006 at 9:21 pm

probably because they had their fill of bon jovi songs by 1989.
5 The Lone Vigilante // Nov 21, 2006 at 2:13 pm

Hate to be a stickler for truth but it looks to me like Bush was written on the signs with thick permanent marker.
6 Terry // Nov 21, 2006 at 3:13 pm

Dear The Lone Vigilante,

In the case of this sign, I think you are correct. Forgive me and thanks for noticing. I don’t think it changes my argument, however. You struck out in your last search for truth (â€œI have often described myself as a political â€˜hybridâ€™â€¦â€). So you are batting .500. Not bad for a vigilante.

Terry Cowgill

The View From Connecticut’s Northwest Corner