I live in a blue state, have always lived in a blue state, and have recently decided to either A) become an expat if at all possible, or at the very least B) never live in a red or purple state. Prior to 2016, I incorrectly assumed that the people who lived around me were of similar political leanings, but as we should all know by now, that’s clearly not true. Everywhere I look there are signs of opposition, both glaring and subtle! Let all of those signs remind us that every single vote counts, every single time! Some of the margins between red and blue are razor thin.
I'm in Minnesota and it is pretty tame in the Twin Cities. There are Fair Campaign Practice laws and a rule that "all noncommercial signs of any size may be posted in any number beginning 46 days before the state primary in a state general election year until ten days following the state general election. Municipal ordinances may regulate the size and number of noncommercial signs at other times."
Beyond the appalling rhetoric, I believe that campaign/election laws vary from state to state. Some states prohibit such language. This is yet another reason why local/state house races are vitally important!!
IDK about panhandling there, but when we lived in Tbilisi, Georgia (the country - no where near Atlanta) there were several intersections with really bad panhandling. We were told they were gypsies (I did not research them) but it was typically young girls with a baby and maybe some preschool or elementary age kids. The "baby" never moved and was likely medicated/drugged to sleep all day. Never adult males! Rumor was there was someone they reported to who took any money they did get and it was better to not donate anything so they would move on or find a different way to earn money :(
There is a lot of evidence in social psychology that descriptive norms (what other people are actually doing) and injunctive norms (what people should be doing) are powerful influences on people’s behavior. A lot of that research was done by Robert Cialdini, who worked at Arizona State and he did a lot of field experiments, so perhaps it is his influence or one of his students at work here. Either way, I think it’s a sad application of an interesting tactic. It’s often used to discourage environmentally unfriendly behavior like littering: You shouldn’t litter/other people aren’t littering. This sign is invoking norms that it is both objectively (it’s a posted government sign) and socially (“most people don’t”) undesirable to give other people a little money directly when you both agree, in such a way that it is scientifically more likely to dissuade some people who would otherwise give. And that doesn’t feel right/kind/human/like what people’s taxes should be paying for. I also just find it really hard to believe that so many people would still be asking strangers for a couple bucks if government and non-profit services had all our bases covered.
In my neighborhood, we are not allowed to outt up signs per our HOA. I am in FL so unfortunately a red state. However, I have not seen political signs like that where I am. And definitely not that big. They are the general generic signs with name and what running for. I wonder if there is some kind of regulation for signs in FL. I am going ro have to look it up. Those signs in AZ are crazy and intense. My cousin lives in Scottsdale so I am going to have to ask them what they think.
Blake Masters is backed by Peter Thiel. Huge amount of conservative religious money behind him. He’s probably the most dangerous candidate there for women’s rights. He’s very much the « marry em young keep em busy popping out babies so they don’t have time to cause trouble » type.
No signs are up in my neighborhood yet, but the TV ads are starting to ramp up again. And they suuuuuuuuuck. I live in the Portland, Oregon metro area, so not only do we get Oregon election ads, but we get south west Washington state election ads too! Oh my god, last week one started airing that is clearly a smear ad that’s being paid for by people who have never been to the region. Not only do they scream how awful it is that the candidate they are smearing, lived in Portland last year, but they’re stupidly forgetting that, THE AD IS PLAYING IN PORTLAND! I don’t know who the candidate is, but he’s a Republican, and the GOP is doing junior-high-group-project levels of research, to smear their own! Meaning, the bare minimum. I mean, they cry that he voted for Bernie, but that’s not something anyone could legally know, the candidates voting record I mean. They also seem to be under the impression that the region is a denizen of criminals and hippies. I feel like Tricky Dick has come back from the other side, and whispered in the GOPs ear. So stupid.
Arizona has never been okay. Living there as long as I did up until 15 years ago is still amazing to me. I did get to meet Janet Napolitano while I was working at Borders at the Biltmore, though. That was pretty cool.
Okay first, I am SHOOK by the homophobic ones. I live in Wisconsin (home of Tammy Baldwin) and because no one really brings her orientation into it here, I guess I thought it was just too touchy a subject for people to broach publicly. Trust me, I never thought homophobia was over, I’m just surprised they are that brazen. So very not okay.
The signs we see here are really just names and positions. Sometimes just names. Nothing so interesting as what AZ has got going on. Maybe Wisconsin has stricter laws about that stuff?
And how sad is that panhandling sign? I just saw a post that I’ll paraphrase because I don’t remember it verbatim and there was no credit. But anyway: Teaching a man to fish is great, but there’s no rule against giving him a fish first. It’s a lot easier to learn to fish if you’re not starving.
It’s just like any complex problem. It’s not a one or the other option. We can and should do both.
This made me LOL. These signs are fucking insane. I enjoyed your roundup of them. I now respond to all male-pattern dumbness which I encounter with “sir...SIT THE FUCK DOWN”.
What a mess. As a Canadian I find US politics to be absolutely insane. The Electoral college? Why!? And how can people be appointed to the highest court FOR LIFE?
That being said, it’s not perfect here either. It’s hard to have a voice that isn’t loud enough.
I live in the Philly suburbs and there are lots of “Let’s Go Brandon” and “Don’t Blame Me I Voted for Trump” signs around, as I just roll my eyes. The local races haven’t gotten too bad yet but I feel like the Dr Oz ones might get a bit crazy in the coming months.
I live in a blue state, have always lived in a blue state, and have recently decided to either A) become an expat if at all possible, or at the very least B) never live in a red or purple state. Prior to 2016, I incorrectly assumed that the people who lived around me were of similar political leanings, but as we should all know by now, that’s clearly not true. Everywhere I look there are signs of opposition, both glaring and subtle! Let all of those signs remind us that every single vote counts, every single time! Some of the margins between red and blue are razor thin.
Case in point!! Just give directly to folks who need it. https://www.cltampa.com/news/st-pete-police-hoarded-change-from-donation-stations-that-say-the-money-helps-the-homeless-13842818
I'm in Minnesota and it is pretty tame in the Twin Cities. There are Fair Campaign Practice laws and a rule that "all noncommercial signs of any size may be posted in any number beginning 46 days before the state primary in a state general election year until ten days following the state general election. Municipal ordinances may regulate the size and number of noncommercial signs at other times."
Beyond the appalling rhetoric, I believe that campaign/election laws vary from state to state. Some states prohibit such language. This is yet another reason why local/state house races are vitally important!!
I don’t know what is happening locally either. So many mixed signals and life long politicians circling back around. It’s exhausting is what it is.
IDK about panhandling there, but when we lived in Tbilisi, Georgia (the country - no where near Atlanta) there were several intersections with really bad panhandling. We were told they were gypsies (I did not research them) but it was typically young girls with a baby and maybe some preschool or elementary age kids. The "baby" never moved and was likely medicated/drugged to sleep all day. Never adult males! Rumor was there was someone they reported to who took any money they did get and it was better to not donate anything so they would move on or find a different way to earn money :(
There is a lot of evidence in social psychology that descriptive norms (what other people are actually doing) and injunctive norms (what people should be doing) are powerful influences on people’s behavior. A lot of that research was done by Robert Cialdini, who worked at Arizona State and he did a lot of field experiments, so perhaps it is his influence or one of his students at work here. Either way, I think it’s a sad application of an interesting tactic. It’s often used to discourage environmentally unfriendly behavior like littering: You shouldn’t litter/other people aren’t littering. This sign is invoking norms that it is both objectively (it’s a posted government sign) and socially (“most people don’t”) undesirable to give other people a little money directly when you both agree, in such a way that it is scientifically more likely to dissuade some people who would otherwise give. And that doesn’t feel right/kind/human/like what people’s taxes should be paying for. I also just find it really hard to believe that so many people would still be asking strangers for a couple bucks if government and non-profit services had all our bases covered.
In my neighborhood, we are not allowed to outt up signs per our HOA. I am in FL so unfortunately a red state. However, I have not seen political signs like that where I am. And definitely not that big. They are the general generic signs with name and what running for. I wonder if there is some kind of regulation for signs in FL. I am going ro have to look it up. Those signs in AZ are crazy and intense. My cousin lives in Scottsdale so I am going to have to ask them what they think.
Blake Masters is backed by Peter Thiel. Huge amount of conservative religious money behind him. He’s probably the most dangerous candidate there for women’s rights. He’s very much the « marry em young keep em busy popping out babies so they don’t have time to cause trouble » type.
No signs are up in my neighborhood yet, but the TV ads are starting to ramp up again. And they suuuuuuuuuck. I live in the Portland, Oregon metro area, so not only do we get Oregon election ads, but we get south west Washington state election ads too! Oh my god, last week one started airing that is clearly a smear ad that’s being paid for by people who have never been to the region. Not only do they scream how awful it is that the candidate they are smearing, lived in Portland last year, but they’re stupidly forgetting that, THE AD IS PLAYING IN PORTLAND! I don’t know who the candidate is, but he’s a Republican, and the GOP is doing junior-high-group-project levels of research, to smear their own! Meaning, the bare minimum. I mean, they cry that he voted for Bernie, but that’s not something anyone could legally know, the candidates voting record I mean. They also seem to be under the impression that the region is a denizen of criminals and hippies. I feel like Tricky Dick has come back from the other side, and whispered in the GOPs ear. So stupid.
Arizona has never been okay. Living there as long as I did up until 15 years ago is still amazing to me. I did get to meet Janet Napolitano while I was working at Borders at the Biltmore, though. That was pretty cool.
Okay first, I am SHOOK by the homophobic ones. I live in Wisconsin (home of Tammy Baldwin) and because no one really brings her orientation into it here, I guess I thought it was just too touchy a subject for people to broach publicly. Trust me, I never thought homophobia was over, I’m just surprised they are that brazen. So very not okay.
The signs we see here are really just names and positions. Sometimes just names. Nothing so interesting as what AZ has got going on. Maybe Wisconsin has stricter laws about that stuff?
And how sad is that panhandling sign? I just saw a post that I’ll paraphrase because I don’t remember it verbatim and there was no credit. But anyway: Teaching a man to fish is great, but there’s no rule against giving him a fish first. It’s a lot easier to learn to fish if you’re not starving.
It’s just like any complex problem. It’s not a one or the other option. We can and should do both.
These signs are absolutely unhinged. Arizona Is not ok!
This made me LOL. These signs are fucking insane. I enjoyed your roundup of them. I now respond to all male-pattern dumbness which I encounter with “sir...SIT THE FUCK DOWN”.
What a mess. As a Canadian I find US politics to be absolutely insane. The Electoral college? Why!? And how can people be appointed to the highest court FOR LIFE?
That being said, it’s not perfect here either. It’s hard to have a voice that isn’t loud enough.
I live in the Philly suburbs and there are lots of “Let’s Go Brandon” and “Don’t Blame Me I Voted for Trump” signs around, as I just roll my eyes. The local races haven’t gotten too bad yet but I feel like the Dr Oz ones might get a bit crazy in the coming months.