Like many of my neighbors, I have had a Black Lives Matter sign out in front of my home. (An aside, I live in a city of color majority, I am white)

Some time in June, miscreants went through the entire neighborhood and took more than a dozen signs, including mine.

I had bought a ten pack of signs (from a Black owned business) and have shared them with neighbors...So, next day I put up another (and replaced those of my friends)..so there!

But this last week was more active...Wed night my sign was taken...I didn't notice at first but the next morning my across the street neighbor (and retired cop) came across the street to say he saw a kid with my sign under his arm running down the street and hop into a car at the corner at about 9:30pn.

I, undeterred, put yet another sign up and....Friday night at about 10pm I got a text from my around the corner neighbor (he is a former coworker and I helped them find this home)...Seems their sign was stolen but the husband just happened to be looking out the window at the time and while running out and cursing at the thief, heard "Anthony, open the f..ng door!"

So now we have a driver name, a car description and a partial plate. Another neighbor of mine is looking at his camera footage..

One neighbor has a theory..they are white kids, late teen or so...thefts are about 9:30pm or so..just after the nearby supermarket closes...hmm...

I have signed my latest sign (my last in the pack) with a Sharpie..black on black so not visible at first glance but readable..."This sign stolen from..with my address"

AND..I add some bells to the frame so once the kid pulls it up, it will make a racket.

Stay tuned!!

I didn't know you were white.

Keep up the good fight!

Hmmm. Let's see ... bunch of white kids "roaming" through a substantially non-white neighborhood. No vigilantes with guns shooting at them because"they're "suspicious." No police encounter culminating in a videoed confrontation that ends in a tasing or worse, "because they resist."

Some people apply noxious substances to their signs to discourage thieves.

Bells may be too subtle.

How about something really attention getting?

quote:

Originally posted by wtg:
Bells may be too subtle.

How about something really attention getting?

It did cross my mind that a nice electric fence contact on the metal frame might do the trick.

quote:

Originally posted by Piano*Dad:
Hmmm. Let's see ... bunch of white kids "roaming" through a substantially non-white neighborhood. No vigilantes with guns shooting at them because"they're "suspicious." No police encounter culminating in a videoed confrontation that ends in a tasing or worse, "because they resist."

Sad but true.

quote:

Originally posted by Piano*Dad:
Hmmm. Let's see ... bunch of white kids "roaming" through a substantially non-white neighborhood. No vigilantes with guns shooting at them because"they're "suspicious." No police encounter culminating in a videoed confrontation that ends in a tasing or worse, "because they resist."

Just to be clear, while my city is 42% or so white, this neighborhood is much whiter, conservative and bigoted...I had worries about putting the sign out in the first place, as did my neighbors.

I had thought about putting it in my front picture window but then ..there was the possibility a rock would come through.

Our new election districts will ensure a more representative city council..right now most are from my neighborhood, several in their 70's..one in particular a bigot....We, the new comers, and young families are more vocal and stand our ground in the neighborhood to squash this old 60's mindset.

We shall see in November.