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    • Election stress? These Yard Signs Will Make You Laugh Again
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    Election stress? These Yard Signs Will Make You Laugh Again

    Umito Posted on

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    In the thicket of political campaign At a busy intersection in Goffstown, New Hampshire, Andy Brown decided to plant his own message: “Andy Brown: Don’t run for nothing. I just wanted a sign.

    Soon, a friend of a friend surprised Brown by adding another “paid for by friends of Andy Brown” sign.

    So, Brown doubled down on the joke and went back to the sign store for a custom 3-by-5-foot banner with a new campaign slogan. “I like big signs, I can’t lie” – a creative riff on Sir Mix-A-Lot’s lyrics – struck a chord on social media where one local responded: “And G-town cannot deny…”

    “I was just trying to make myself laugh,” said Brown, 41-year-old web developer. “But everyone had a great time.”

    From heated local races to the White House competition between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, front yards have become political battlefields with belligerent messages that turn neighbor against neighbor.

    But in some places, the Americans are fighting back. In the midst of one of the most divisive and polarizing elections in recent memory, they say they want make their neighbors laugh again – one DIY lawn sign at a time.

    Anand Edward Sokhey, a political science professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder and co-author of “Politics on Display: Yard Signs and the Politicization of Social Spaces,” said people turn to humor to appease feelings. tensions.

    Election signs are an expression of people’s identities, Sokhey said. “And against that dynamic, there are people who say, ‘I want to do something else here that’s going to break all that up a little bit,’” he said.

    In Arvada, Colorado, Mollie, a Labrador, is running for president against her neighbor Chloe, a terrier. The two stumped canines share a common platform: “More treats, fewer squirrels.”

    Their owners told a local TV station they wanted to make their neighbors smile during an anxious election.

    “He would probably make a better president than the choices we have now,” one person commented on Facebook.

    Blue road signs popping up from Pennsylvania to Nevada also prompt double-takes. Instead of Harris or Trump, they read: “Presidents are temporary – Wu-Tang is eternal.” »

    A friend gave José Gutierrez IV one of the signs touting the rap collective and he proudly placed it in front of his house instead of announcing his presidential choice. Neighbors who pass by tell him they love the sign.

    “You see all these Trump signs and these Kamala signs or whatever, and I was like, ‘I’m going to turn that sign off.’ It’s just cool,” he said. said the Detroit News.

    Dale King, co-founder of Ohio-based online retailer Doc Spartan, said the company sold a few hundred “Wu-Tang Is Forever” signs before the 2020 election. Since then, demand has only increased. only grows.

    “People are just more fed up than they were four years ago,” King said.

    A shirt promoting country artists Tyler Childers and Zach Bryan, the company’s choice candidates because “there’s nothing these two couldn’t fix with guitars, campfires and beers” , is also popular.

    A mix of Democrats and Republicans purchased 100 Childers-Bryan shirts and about 150 Wu-Tang shirts, demonstrating that a bipartisan agreement is possible, King said.

    “We can still laugh, we can still get along,” he said. “If a little shirt or a stupid sign can help people get through this, we’ve done our job.”

    Kent Buescher, CEO of commercial printer US Press, said less than 5 percent of sign orders this election cycle were placed by pranksters. But he saw a pickup from the 2022 and 2020 elections, when the Georgia-based company “didn’t see any of that.”

    “I think it’s increasing, especially when everything is so serious,” Buescher said. “I think people are trying to break the ice a little bit and take a lighter approach.”

    Brown’s attempt to bring comic relief to New Hampshire received a warm reception.

    “We talked about this guy’s sign at work,” one person commented on Facebook. “It’s awesome and a much-needed break from all the sign wars currently going on in Goffstown.”

    Brown said a few dollars is worth it to lighten the mood. The panels cost Brown less than $100.

    “Things have become more and more divisive, not only politically, but especially politically,” he said. “I spent more money on dumber things.”

    What started as a prank is now a big success. Brown set up an online store to sell the panels as well as flags, stickers and refrigerator magnets “paid for by Andy Brown’s lack of financial responsibility.”

    “It’s one of the few things I’ve done in my life where literally everyone had something positive to say about it,” he said.

    He has a message for residents who joked about voting for him as a write-in candidate.

    “I want to emphasize,” Brown said, “please don’t elect me for anything.”

    Umito
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