Harris Walz yard sign
There have been many anecdotes, as well as reporting, in recent months stating that Democrats are afraid to put up signs or wear merchandise (shirts, hats, pins, etc.) representing their political choices in the 2024 elections. In other cases, Democrats are reporting that their Kamala Harris/Tim Walz and other pro-Democratic or anti-Republican signs are being stolen or destroyed. Similarly, a man was recently arrested for firing shots on three separate occasions at the Democratic Party headquarters in Tempe, Arizona. And last month in Portage County, Ohio, “Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski seemed to encourage his friends and supporters to write down the addresses of people with Democratic yard signs, sparking accusations of voter intimidation.”
Note that there have been very few reports of Democrats destroying or stealing Republican signs or committing other acts of vandalism. It’s almost always the other way around. This is all part of the Republicans’ pattern of thuggery and bullying, even terrorism. We have seen a steady increase in this behavior since the beginning of Donald Trump‘s years in the White House. Recall, for example, the deadly 2017 Charlottesville, VA Nazi march, where “Neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klansmen and other white supremacists marched through the University of Virginia campus bearing torches and terrorizing students with chants of ‘Blood and soil’ and ‘Jews will not replace us.'”
The thing that Democrats must do in the face of such Republican thuggery is to be courageous. MAGA bullies count on others being afraid of them. When people stand up to bullies, the bullies often run away, even crying that they’re suddenly the victims.
In this case, being courageous means putting up those yard signs, which can be downloaded free at the Harris/Walz campaign website (see link here). If the signs get vandalized or stolen, put up another one saying that any theft or destruction of your sign will result in an extra donation to the Democratic Party. Wear those shirts and hats. Put those bumper stickers on your cars. In this crucial election, leave it all on the field. If Kamala Harris and Tim Walz literally can risk their lives by doing all those campaign appearances in large public gatherings, and with so many MAGA Republican voters showing their colors, surely Democratic voters can have the courage to post a sign or wear a shirt or hat. Know that, if Republicans attack your sign, that is a sign … of Republican fear and insecurity.
Photo by Rick Obst, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/8BEpj8
