http://www.thekcrachannel.com/news/4180042/detail.html 

Hanging from a house in Land Park, a soldier's uniform in a noose dangles from a rooftop. The words "your tax dollars at work" are scrolled across the chest.

In a community full of patriotism, this view of the war in Iraq has not gone unnoticed.

"I think it's the ultimate sign of disrespect. We have troops dying for us," Land Park resident Mark Cohen said.

"(I'm) annoyed and disgusted. I think if this is the way someone feels they can find a better way to vent their opinions," Land Park resident Pete Miles said.

The homeowners behind the controversy are Steve and Virginia Pearcy. They released a statement saying, "There will always be people who are offended by political speech, and the most important forum of all ... is one's own residence. The First Amendment is meaningless unless dissent is allowed."

your thoughts?

Hog

Sounds like Rickamaven

Charlie

Yeah...It was pretty offensive to me. They have a right to express their thoughts and their feelings as long as it doesn't croos the line of "hate crime". Sounds like someone got fed up with their display and removed it. I think no matter how many times they put it up...it will be removed.

There is another right people have which they can use to display their dissatisfaction with the Pearcy's...other then theft and vandalism....it is freedom of expression.

They can ignore the Pearcy's. Offer them no help...or any notice at all.

If I was a neighbor....I would make it disappear too. Just my opinion.

Hog,
My thoughts....

1. I respect the couples opinion and decision to protest the war.

2. I don't like their method. It's a little too violent for me.

3. I would've shot the people the came onto my property to remove it.

Adroomi..

1. I agree
2. Agree also
3. see the (Pun) in our type on this one LOL

Hog

You can pour all the gasoline on the campfire you want, just come crying when you are burned.

---

...so you agree that it was okay for folks to climb up these peoples house and remove and destroy private property? Just curious.

Nope I do not agree that it was/is ok for these people to come on their property to remove or destroy their private property??

I was recalling your rational tone in the post I recently posted as to the Theft of our personal property and what my thoughts were at that time of the topic??? your rational motives have changed??

"hey kids here's a couple bucks go rip down these folks horable display against our soldiers and country"
You would still Shoot first??

Hog

Hog,
...sorry, that question was for Gene above with the gasoline comment.

I tried to remain a voice of reason and be rational in my comments to you on your house robbery issue, because I didn't want you to do something rash yourself in the heat of anger and pop some kid on accident. It can happen, you know that. Since that post, you've cooled down a bit now I think, so the neighborhood is probably safe from you shooting it up (lol).

If I had hung up the display such as these folks I would have done it with much forethought. I would realize the aggressively bold statement I was making and also realize that I would most likely be toe to toe with some very angry (and completely misunderstanding of my meaning) neighbors. I'm sure that this couple has received some pretty threatening words and or an occaisional rock tossed at them in the past couple days.

With that being said, putting that up is like asking for some misguided "patriot" to come and kick you and your families ass one night. Sad but true. I'd be willing to bet that the ones that took down that display were not kids, but rather between the ages of 30-45, white, male, and very pro-Bush. Possibly toting a knife (to cut it down), and perhaps some other sort of weapon. I see this as a threat to me and my property.

I would not have shot first, but since I don't own a couple of big dogs (I will again one day though), they definately would have been looking down from their ladder, further down the barrel of a Mossberg 500a 18.5 inch stainless 12 guage pump with a vented barrel, pistol grip and 7 shell capacity. Held by someone who knows how to fire it correctly also.

Make sense?

i saw that and i disagree with using that image as a sign of protest.

Makes perfect sense to me... and I would be doing the very same to protect my property... but at the same time it wouldn't be from an act such as these folks have done...

Hog

(IMHO)
I think it sucks, but it's their right to do it. Doesn't mean I have to like it. I hate it.

If they were my neighbors, I'd talk to them about creating a different way to express their views. There's no need to disrespect the men and women who are doing their duty, they didn't set policy, and the anger here is misguided. There's no reason to put that imagine in the minds of family & friends serving in Iraq, that's damn cruel.

Huge pictures of the devastation, or even something really gut-wrenching like pictures of children in Iraqi hospitals, traumatic amputees, with just a single question mark for text. Just about anything that would display their strong anti-war (Iraq) views and the bleak realities of that war, without condemning the men and women called upon to fight it.

Obviously there are other ways folks can voice their opinions as well, but those are outside the scope of this thread.

Effigy of soldier torn down after hanging from a house

By Will Evans -- Sacramento Bee Staff Writer
Published 5:02 pm PST Wednesday, February 9, 2005

An effigy of a soldier hanging from a house in Sacramento's Land Park neighborhood that sparked controversy over freedom of expression is now gone.

An unknown person tore down part of the camouflage soldier fatigues Wednesday morning, and later someone on a motorcycle took the rest of the political protest, according to neighbors. Throughout the day, people from outside the neighborhood drove by to see it or take it down themselves.

"I'm a huge military supporter and I've got some good friends over in Iraq right now," said Mike Coates, 25, of Fair Oaks. Coates heard about the issue on the radio and drove by Wednesday afternoon with a ladder in his pick-up truck to take down the effigy. It was already gone.

"I'm outraged," said neighbor Marque Cohen, who has contacted police and city officials to get the effigy and other signs and flags taken removed. "We have our men and women in uniform that are dying to protect our rights and I think it's a disgrace that somebody would be allowed to hang a U.S. soldier in effigy in front of their house."

The city code enforcement office and city attorney reviewed the case and found there was nothing to be done, according to City councilman Rob Fong.

Next-door neighbor Pete Miles said there was sure to be more signs of protest from the house's owners.

"To all of us the first amendment is one of our vital rights but there are other important things in life such as getting along with your neighbor," Miles said.

But other neighbors said they either agreed with or didn't mind the political protests.

People trespassing to take down the sign was more worrisome, said a neighbor named Ann, who declined to give her last name for fear of retribution.

She said her son is an Army convoy driver who recently returned from Iraq, fighting for "our ability to express ourselves without being intimidated or have someone come onto our property."

"I don't necessarily agree with everything he puts up there, but it's his right," she said.

A sign that accompanied the uniform saying "Your Tax Dollars At Work" remained, having fallen in a neatly kept flower bed. Iraqi and Palestinian flags remained hung from inside the windows.

For more details, see Thursday's Bee.

The guy should lay landmines in his yard and then stand on his front porch and burn an American Flag. That'd kill more than a few patriotic idiots.

After the carnage, he could write a letter addressed to "any soldier" and thank the soldier for giving him the right to do as he just did.

I don't like war either.....I'll do anything I can to stop it. I don't like the method sometimes, but if you can just get one person to think, then you have the potential to change history.

I try not to get into the politics of Free Speech?
These people hanging this out on the side of thier house in the name of free speech!
These people are cowards! and they make me want to puke!
Free speech is the ability to speak your mind in an open forum.... Not posting a sign and hiding behind closed doors.
Damit! whatever happened to simple human desentcy and respect? Christ, where are peoples morals?
myash07

I don't think it is in good taste as there are MANY other methods to get the point across, BUT it is their right......it is also the right of the community to alienate them as well.

As Many of you know I'm a Dessert Shield/Dessert Storm, OIF-1 and OIF-2 Vet. I find this to be a total lack of respect for the military men and women who serve, the country for which we stand, the flag which we salute, and the values we hold near and dear. Freedom of Speech should have it's limits, this in my honest opionion is one example of exceeding the intent of the ammendment and shouldn't be tolerated.

In my current position I oversee the training and development of our basic infantrymen. They are some of the finest young men in the free world. They all volunteered to serve their country, there is no mandatory service, so there is no excuse for not following the orders of the President and the Officers or Non Commissioned Officers over them. As Military members we are held to a higher standard, this is not an example of that standard. This is an insult to all you serve. It saddens me that anyone would deem this as appropriate.

I do not like what these people did or what it stands for, but I will fight ...er... make that, I will let adroomi fight for their right to do so.

JonR

Personally I think they are asswipes.

Sonny

Well stated....I agree with the way you put it!

Charlie

Todays newspaper.... Notice that these two don't even live in Sacramento. Seems kind of a chicken thing to do; come into town, do the nasty deed and then go back to Berkeley.

John

******************

U.S. soldier effigy taken from home in Land Park

By Will Evans -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Thursday, February 10, 2005

Virginia and Stephen Pearcy intended to provoke, but they thought that was what free speech was all about.

The couple's most recent political protest brought more attention than they expected. Several weeks ago, the two lawyers hung a U.S. soldier in effigy from their Land Park house, along with a sign that read, "Your Tax Dollars At Work."

The anti-war protest riled some neighbors and caught media attention this week. Wednesday morning it was torn down by those opposed to it.

"I'm a huge military supporter, and I've got some good friends over in Iraq right now," said Mike Coates, 25, of Fair Oaks.

Coates heard about it on the radio and drove by Wednesday afternoon with a ladder in his pickup truck to take down the effigy. It was already gone.

The camouflage fatigues, noose and U.S. flag that was bundled as a head were partially ripped down by someone who fell off the facade of the house in doing so, according to neighbors. The rest was taken by someone on a motorcycle, they said.

"We think it's patriotic what we're doing," said Stephen Pearcy, 44, who lives mostly in Berkeley. Virginia Pearcy, 27, presides occasionally as a pro tem judge for the Small Claims Court of Sacramento.

The "political protest art," Stephen Pearcy said, was protected by the Constitution and signaled that "the troops are being hung out to dry and billions of taxpayer dollars are being spent to send Americans over to Iraq to die. "The First Amendment's not there to protect popular speech. ... It's only unpopular speech that needs protection," he added.

The Pearcys have long put up political signs and flags at their residence. Behind the windows remain large flags: a Palestinian flag to support a Palestinian state, and an Iraqi flag to sympathize with the Iraqi people, Pearcy explained.

Neighbor Marque Cohen, however, has made repeated calls to police and city officials to get the Pearcys' protests removed.

"I'm outraged," he said. "The First Amendment is fine, but I think it's definitely being abused. The forefathers wouldn't have agreed to this type of thing. This is more like malice."

The city code enforcement department and city attorney reviewed the protests and found there was nothing to be done, according to City Councilman Rob Fong.

"The First Amendment is a broad protection," Fong said.

Sacramento police spokesman Sgt. Justin Risley said police responded to a call Wednesday regarding the taking of the effigy. Any suspects could be charged with theft, he said.

One neighbor said she was more worried by people trespassing than by any protests. Ann, who declined to give her last name for fear of retribution, said her son is an Army convoy driver who recently returned from Iraq.

"I don't necessarily agree with everything (Pearcy) puts up there, but it's his right," she said.

The Bee's Will Evans can be reached at (916) 321-1987 or [email protected].