One thing the 2020 election hasn’t been short on so far is enthusiasm. Seven weeks from election day, polls suggest that the vast majority of voters have already made up their minds. Whether you support President Trump or would prefer a change to Joe Biden, you’re not about to waffle over pretty much anything that could happen before November 3, as Axios reported.
Of course, that’s not going to stop the passionate hordes from making their support known, as is their right. But in 2020, even expressing your political preferences is contentious and as one Navy vet’s story shows, it’s driving people to extremes.
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John Oliveira of New Bedford, Massachusetts is fed up.
The 20-year Navy veteran is an ardent Trump supporter, so much so that he has put signs up on his lawn. However, as WJAR-TV reported, he’s had to put up seven of them so far, and not all at once.
The first went up in May, and they started disappearing a couple of months later, Oliveira told South Coast Today . He filed two police reports over the thefts.
However, Oliveira also felt like he needed to do something more to protect his signs.
So, he put up a triangular, solar-powered electric fence around his Trump/Pence 2020 sign, with warning signs posted in English, French, and Spanish.
“It’s a shame I have to do this,” Oliveira told WJAR-TV. “I believe in the president. Obviously, people didn’t like it. Horse wire carries a charge. Certainly will send a message.”
Oliveira noted that he had another sign on his lawn that hadn’t been stolen.
That sign merely encouraged people to vote, reading “Voice Your Vote. Vote New Bedford.”
Only the pro-Trump signs went missing, which he suspects has more to do with the president than anything.
“This is the state of the country where people take signs off other people’s lawns instead of respecting other people’s opinions,” Oliveira told South Coast Today.
Oliveira said that since erecting the electric fence a few weeks ago, he hasn’t had to replace his lawn sign.
“I’m just trying to make a statement of what I believe in,” he told WJAR-TV.
“That’s what our country is about. Different opinions and voicing them in a fair and equitable manner. Taking a sign is not fair and equitable. You have to be able to respect each other or we won’t be able to accomplish anything if we don’t. Don’t mess with my right to free speech,” he added.
h/t: WJAR-TV , South Coast Today
