New Jersey woman refusing to obey order to remove vulgar anti-Biden flags despite fines
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A New Jersey woman, who has been ordered by a judge to remove a number of vulgar signs criticizing President Joe Biden, has refused to back down despite the promise of monetary fines by city officials.
On July 15, homeowner Patricia Dilascio was ordered by Roselle Park Municipal Court Judge Gary Bundy to remove three of 10 flags displayed on her property within a week or face $250-per-day fines, even though the signs belong to her daughter, Andrea Dick. The display features the phrases "F*** Biden," "Joe Biden Sucks," "Socialism Sucks, Biden Blows," and "Don't Blame Me I Voted For Trump," among others.
The duo had 20 days to appeal the ruling, but the fines would begin on Thursday regardless of their move. Dick has refused to comply with the directive in the face of the stiff penalty.
"It's my First Amendment right," Dick told the New York Times on Monday, "and I'm going to stick with that."
Complaints about her display began to pour in as early as last month as critics suggested the anti-Biden flags should be removed due to the proximity of the home to a local school. Bundy insisted the case is not about "politics."
"This is not a case about politics. It is a case, pure and simple, about language," he said at the time of the order last week. "This ordinance does not restrict political speech. Neither this town or its laws may abridge or eliminate Ms. Dilascio's freedom of speech. However, freedom of speech is not simply an absolute right. It is clear from state law and statutes that we cannot simply put up the umbrella of the First Amendment and say everything and anything is protected speech."
In June, a code enforcement officer issued a violation notice to the home pertaining to a law forbidding "any obscene material, communication or performance or other article or item which is obscene within the Borough." Prior to last week's hearing, Dick stuck to her guns and refused to remove the signs, citing similar First Amendment concerns.
Judge orders woman to remove 'f**k Biden' flags from outside her home or face daily $250 fines https://t.co/DpJ0QikkYb
— The US Sun (@TheSunUS) July 19, 2021
Roselle Park Mayor Joseph Signorello III, a Democrat, has echoed statements from residents that the "vulgarity" is the issue at hand.
"It's been brought to our attention less because of the political aspect of it, but the vulgarity of it," Signorello said last month. "The real problem is, from a neighbor perspective, is it's a block away from an elementary school. It's in a high-visibility area for children. Most of the ire was drawn from a lot of local parents."
However, Michael Campagna, an attorney representing Dilascio, argued the move by the judge was akin to "censorship."
"I am a firm believer in the First Amendment," he said. "I may not believe in what you're saying, but I absolutely believe that you have the right to say it. That's what our democracy is about. If you tell people that they cannot say something, that they cannot print something, that they cannot put a sign up, we're going into censorship."
"In Nazi Germany, when Hitler didn't like something, they burned the books, and then they burned the people," he added. "I don't think we want that to happen in Roselle Park."
Some legal experts appear to agree with Campagna's reasoning. Thomas Healy, a law professor at Seton Hall University, told the New York Times he would be "stunned" if Bundy's ruling was upheld.
"It's hard to imagine a simpler case from a constitutional standpoint," he said.
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Sorry but they have a point. Why should kids have to see that shit everyday.
And her comparing it to nazi's, makes me want to slap the shit out of her.
We've all seen the enormous amount of vulgarity directed at Trump.
That would likely pass muster with these butt hurt local liberal twits if it were anti-Trump messages.
Hope she stands her ground because even offensive and vulgar speech is protected by the Constitution.
Bullshit. Show me where any "Liberal" put up a sign that said fuck trump next to a school.
her neighbors on both sides need to put up signs that say "I live next to trumpster morons" with an arrow pointing towards her home.
Haha
That would be great. Good idea.
How a billboard for the whole damn city to see? One that includes not so veiled swastikas.
but what about...
Because it's New Jersey.
If we're going to start slapping people for idiotic nonsensical melodrama, a whole shitload of people are in trouble.
That's not to say I'm not in favor of the idea, BTW.
What the hell is the point of you captioning part of the article.
There is none.
So says, XXJefferson51, Mr. Donald J. Trump can't do anything wrong. Just let a republican appear with a "Fuck Trump" sign and its party censure time. Yeah, and XXJefferson abusing a Hitler reference "twice over" is insensitive and shows a lack of respect!
You do remember RESPECT?
Maybe she's the one who wore the Trump Can Grab My -----(with an arrow pointing down to her crotch) teeshirt.
Sounds about the right speed.
So much for the party of family values....
So ,according to you, one person doing something equals millions of others. To me it only means that that's her doing. I guess I am just more rational than liberals which is why I am a conservative.
Haha
Yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night.
I await you chiming in with the same sentiments when conservatives here post the claim that ALL BLM protestors are rioters, vandals and arsonists.
I won't be holding my breath...
I have a neighbor with a Newsom sucks sign in his yard but, just yesterday I noticed that it's been replaced with a Newsom is an idiot sign. Come on people, you can get a message across without being vulgar.
I agree but that knife cuts both ways and i'm sure you cheered on more than one equally vulgar anti Trump sign in your time.
The key here is consistency. Whats good for the Goose is good for the Gander
I have not cheered on any vulgar signs. I find it disgusting that people seem to think that they don't have to be civil anymore. I have never called Trump anything worse than Trump. (which is pretty bad all by itself) Leave your name calling in the junior high.
So say you ..... confidence is not high in that regard .... specifically when related to Trump.
And what name did i call you? Goose or Gander?
Sucks isn't that bad they say that on regular cable all the time. The F bomb is a bit much but I've seen it spray painted on walls and bridges and nobody paints over it for years. The truth is if the kids are old enough to read it they've already heard it come out of other kids mouths.
too bad it's not a religious school then. those thumper parents would be losing their shit over it...
Elder for Governor!
Another vulgar sign...
She probably could win this on 1st Amendment grounds if some conservative lawyer wanted to go pro bono on it. I wonder, though, if the neighbors could also put signs of their own up on their property saying Patricia Dilascio is a bitch and fuck Patricia Dilascio and Trump sucks Patricia Dilascio blows? I mean what's good for the goose and all.
I imagine they would say she is not a public figure, blah blah...
Probably, but it could take months for the courts to rule on it. In the mean time...
She has certainly injected herself into the public sphere.
True that.
she knows trump will pardon her after august.
I don't know about her winning though. If the city has an ordinance against public displays of vulgarity. It would make any law null and void.
What would there be to stop Burger King from putting Fuck McDonalds on their marque. Or someone putting up a billboard that says the governor sucks donkey dicks.
The SCOTUS has repeated ruled that vulgarity is protected 1st Amendment speech. This goes all the way back to Cohen v California where a guy was charged with disturbing the peace by wearing a jacket patch "Fuck the Draft". Also in 2015 a MI State statute that read "Any person who shall use any indecent, immoral, obscene, vulgar or insulting language in the presence of any woman or child shall be guilty of a misdemeanor." was repealed under People v Boomer.
Then again there have been rulings that uphold that under certain circumstances spoken vulgarity can be regulated like in Watts v United States and in schools under Bethel School District No 403 v Fraser. Also as "indecent speech" in broadcast media under the Federal Communications Commission v Pacifica Foundation. And the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a SC law that prohibited profanity near a church or school.
In the case of Burger King, normal decency and the market probably already suffices. It falls under the social rule that just because someone can, doesn't mean someone should.
Ah, understand. It just seems rather vague to me. Like could I sue the company that owns the billboard that I wanted to use to put up a sign. After all I would be the one paying for it and it would be my message. It seems that if the company could stop certain messages then they themselves would be tampering on free speech.
Could nudity be considered free speech? After all, I am using my body as a message.
The courts have stated that nudity in film or print can fall under the 1st Amendment, but public nudity can't. So far public nudity for either entertainment, personal expression or as a form of protest doesn't seem to hold up in court as far as I can find online.
Free speech is easy when you agree with it. It only gets hard when you don't.
Many times the loudest opponents in cases like this are the greatest violators themselves
She may have offended her neighbors but she didn't personally attack them. It's always wise to think twice before starting a feud with a neighbor, you'd be surprised how miserable someone can make you without breaking any laws.
I have watched that show on the ID channel, Fear Thy Neighbor, or something.
People are nuts.
True. No denying it. Tread lightly with thy neighbors, or bear the 'blunt' of it.
Something this woman should also understand. Her neighbors could get as nasty as the law allows too.
At an earlier time this was considered to be free speech
Nothing is absolute. Not even free speech.
Some people do not seem to understand that.
At an earlier time stealing or defacing political yard signs was legal and good clean fun.
Cha-Ching! They should collect those fines and use the money to feed the homeless. That would probably make her head explode.
That or donate it to Biden's favorite charity and make sure she knows just where the money went.
... on the sidewalk in front of her house...
You don’t have to be vulgar to be funny and make a statement. Be creative!
Ha. Now I want to look for funny signs...
Imo humour has a stronger message.
I want one of these.
That dumb bitch certainly has the right to show us that she's garbage and an idiot and an obvious Turd Reich supporter.
I tend to go quite a bit overboard with my comments a lot of times but I've thought about it, mulled it over, and you're right. She obviously has the right to do this. It's her property. It's not like she's hanging a swastika for all to see or something inappropriate.
But I do BLAME HER for voting for whatshisname
Ok...here is where I go against all the people I voted up.
I don't see anything vulgar about her signs. I say words like that in every day life. And...what about her 1st Amendment rights? It's her property, why can't she post those signs in her yard?
As for comparing herself to the persecuted in Nazi Germany...she went too far there.
Change my mind
You're gonna get a "but the children" argument as there is a school in the vicinity and a dollar to a doughnut, the kids know/hear words like that every day.........and may be able to teach their parents a couple new ones.......
meh..I've said worse in front of my kids
Sure. But that doesn't mean the behavior should be normalized.
Your kids certainly can't say words like that in school, and for good reason.
It's akin to the idea that no kid in America is more than two clicks away from seeing all the titties their little heart desires. That doesn't mean we should be putting them on a billboard across the street from the school.
I have heard elementary age kids use worse language than that.
I feel the same way about the signs - as long as they are on her property - who gives a fuck.
I am sure most children have seen & heard the words fuck & sucks before. Too many people around that are disturbed by words. Teach your children about appropriateness. I did.
I did not think she was correct in her comparison. Just not right.
I'm not saying I agree with her views but she does have the right to them
I wouldn't think you agreed with her Nazi comparison.
But of course!
I live in a nice neighborhood with well manicured lawns and landscaping. I don't want to come home to billboards because a neighbor is a dolt. I'd feel the same about derelict cars and appliances in the front yard. Her immediate neighbors should put up "BEWARE OF CUNT→" signs, maybe that would drive the point home.
A friend of mine in academia shared a blog by Jim Golden, an AP US History teacher, entitled:
The Confederacy, You have a choice
It's posited as a Q & A.
Here's the part about public displays of the Stars and Bars:
I agree with this posit.
The city officials can gain compliance. Keep raising the fine and demand timely payments at penalty of arrest. It may be her right to say what she wants, but it can result in 'hell' to pay sometimes, too! Assuming the city officials are enforcing city zoning/code rules.
What's so difficult to understand?
This language strengthens democracy and is necessary to maintain civilized society. This language is why we have a 1st amendment.
This language is an existential threat to democracy that undermines civilized society. The 1st amendment was never intended to protect such vulgarity.
See the difference?
I think it’s more about the gulf of rationality between the two ideas. As it pertains to Trump flags versus Biden flags, there is nothing redeeming about Donald Trump as a human being, whereas Biden is just a middle of the road politician who actually goes to church on Sundays. Who would go to such extremes to support the obvious greater of two evils? It says a lot about the person flying that flag. BLM is another matter entirely. Any black parent can tell you about the talk that they must have with their children about exactly how to conduct themselves in the presence of the police, and how it is not a talk that white parents generally have to have with their kids. That is a reality entitled to some verbal outrage.
Exactly. Those signs just tell me to stay clear and I wouldn't have any interactions with her.
Plus I would never move into that neighborhood to begin with if I saw that sign from that nutty bitch when I was looking for a home.
The obvious difference is portability. A banner is carried; a flag is grounded.
That said, if this woman wants to say "Fuck Biden" and even if she later decides to light up her house with it. I say let her. If she goes to far or crosses the line with 'locals' they will find the means to avoid her; shun her; or make her move. Problem solved.
Of course, if she is violating zoning laws, then that is another matter altogether and the city can take care of this.
Exactly CB. I would steer clear of her and wouldn't have any interactions with her.
There is only so much disrespect a neighborhood will abide—especially over their child/ren.
yeah. one sign is a mobile part of a protest and is temporary for just a few hours, while the other sign is in a fixed position and visible for more than just a few hours.
A swing and a miss Nerm. The problem is billboards in a residential front yard. No one complaining would change their tune if they said "Fuck Trump". The fact that they contain vulgarity just makes them worse. No one wants to see anything like that. If someone in my neighborhood put up a huge poster with poem by Byron I would want it gone. As I said earlier, derelict cars/appliances would be just as bad. These things affect property values. If I were looking for a home and I saw that, I would look elsewhere. Who would select a home in a neighborhood with an obvious retard.