How MUch Trouble Could This Cause Me

[MostlyLurks]

Well, add me to the growing list of victims of sign vandalism. Mine lasted 4 days. Woke up Sunday to find that not only was my K/E sign gone but the fuckers had actually put a B/C sign in its place.

I'm going to put up another sign tonight and I want to booby trap it. I'm thinking about running an exposed wire from the nearest outlet to the wire frame of the sign holder - somebody tries to take it and they get zapped.

Anybody know if this would get me into trouble when the little shits grabbed it and went into cardiac arrest? Of course, no B/C supporter would enlist a trial lawyer to sue me, right?

Mostly

[olddem43]

1. The wire is a bad idea for several reasons. -

However, I think coating the sign with vegetable oil may be a good idea.

[MostlyLurks]

8. Why vegetable oil? What's that do?

[olddem43]

15. Gets all over their filthy hands and clothes when they try to take it.

Doesn't prevent them, but they at least pay a price, just not enough to be able to sue you or have you charged with a crime.

[mmonk]

2. If you have money to spare,

get a camera for outside at nights. Either that or an invisible fence that sounds an alarm. Otherwise, let it be and just put up more Kerry/Edwards signs.

[sui generis]

3. Just put up two signs

Put up a new kerry sign, and a home made sign that says that Bush/Cheney supporters stole your last sign - that's the kind of people they are.

Also aim a video camera on a tripod out your front window - whether it's recording or not if they can see it they probably won't mess with your sign again.

[Demit]

4. poison ivy or cinnamon oil--suggestions from previous threads. Hahaha!

[ret5hd]

6. Prussian Blue...from industrial supply stores...

blends right in w/ the blue background of kerry signs, and leaves a blue stain on ANYTHING it even slightly touches, and is damn near impossible to wash off.

[DrZeeLit]

5. Coating with Pepper Spray?

Or maybe some juice from the inside of the jalapeno? You know how BAD that feels when it gets into your eyes -- yikes! And it's invisible, so the person doesn't even know and everyone eventually rubs an eye.

Did I also read here about inexpensive motion detectors? Get on the cheap and set up? Who posted that? It was a good read.

Sorry about your sign(s). What's absurd is to consider that this is the moral group who currently run the country --this is their base. And they don't even "get" how ugly they are.

[fudge stripe cookays]

10. Screw jalapenos.

Go for habaneros instead. Much hotter. Trust a Texan. We know our peppers.

I also like the DUers ideas of coating with sweet stuff (maybe Karo syrup). It'll bring ants, and they won't realize it until they get them in their car and start getting bitten. Plus they'll have gooey stuff all over their car.

FSC

[sui generis]

11. habaneros are awesome

but you may have to throw away your grinder and whatever you use to apply the potion after you're done!

Here's another one - stink bait! Generously paint the stake and the outside edges. No one will even go near it. Plus if you throw up while painting it on it's just gravy, so to speak.

:evilgrin:

[Kolesar]

17. Texas ants are mean sisters ... eom

[bowens43]

7. Horrible idea.

It's only a sign. Certainly it is not worth hurting someone over this.

[MostlyLurks]

9. No, it's not "only a sign".

In doing what was done, they had to:

1. Trespass.
2. Steal.

And this is in an attempt to silence my free speech rights - I don't consider that an "only" situation.

Alas, a friend in the know has advised me this won't work for technical reasons. But they'll get something, just have to figure it out.

[Kolesar]

12. 120 Volts could kill somebody

You don't want that. Even on Halloween

[AngryOldDem]

13. Don't do it

Believe me, I understand how pissed you're feeling. I had two signs stolen in two days myself. But you really can't know the trouble you could be buying for yourself if you hook something up and it goes wrong. It's not worth it. If you haven't already, call the police and file a report. I did, both times.

I'm resigned to taking down the sign at dusk and putting it back up the next day. And when I go out at night, and see all the untouched B/C signs, I get angry all over again that I have to go to such ridiculous extremes to protect a $5 piece of plastic (which I got for free, but had to be paid for nonetheless), as well as to exercise my freedom of speech. It sucks, and this is not how democracy is supposed to work, but there it is.

I think instead of trying to "get back" at those morons who are doing this, we need to begin pointing out that freedom of speech and association are some of the first to go in an authoritarian state. And given the increasing rabidity of the right, I really can't chalk this year's rash of thefts and vandalism to the usual political pranksterism. All this stuff should be making us all think about just where we are headed as a society. Make no mistake -- the oppression begins small, but builds. Kerry supporters are the targets today. Who will it be tomorrow?

[mongo]

14. Who will it be tomorrow?

Most likely, me.

[GoBucksBeatBush]

16. Don't do this, you'll be sued.

MostlyLurks:
don't construe any of this as genuine legal advice, but as a property owner (or tenent) you actually owe what's called a duty of care to people who come onto your property, even if they're tresspassing. In a tresspassing situation, the duty of care you owe to the tresspasser is rather low, but you still have a duty to warn (via signs, and such) of any "known and hidden dangers." A live, exposed wire running to your sign, while providing quite an excellent bit of "don't fuck with me or my sign" would almost certainly be considered a hidden danger, and since you put it there, it would almost certainly be a "known" danger (known to you). You'd probably be liable, big-time. Better to go with things that would be an annoyance (like sticky-sweet stuff or oil, or the blue paint that doesn't come off...)


just my $.02.