0_o

[jenn_unplugged]

When I got home from work today, there was a little orange plastic football in my front yard. It had the local high school's logo on it -- you know, the sort cheerleaders toss out at football games. Except someone had taken a black marker and wrote "Jews suck" on it, and had drawn a swastika on it. And left it in my yard.

Now, we're not Jewish, but that's beside the point. It could just be a weird coincidence. Some neo-Nazis could have been tossing a small football around in my cul-de-sac and left their little toy behind in my yard by accident. Of course, my house happens to be the only one on the cul-de-sac that's not bedecked with Christmas lights.

I'm not sure what to think. I'm not sure if I should just brush it off, or if I should do something about it. Of course, I'm not sure what exactly I would do. I suppose I could show it to all my neighbors, but what would I say? "Any chance you dropped this in my yard? Hey, nice hood!"

Seriously -- what would you do?

Comments

[thalia]

I'd call the police, mostly to make sure there's a record that it happened. If you don't want to do that, how about the local anti-defamation league, or Hillel House, or some Jewish organization? They might be able to give you some direction.

How upsetting.

[jenn-unplugged.livejournal.com]

If I were sure it was intentional, I'd definitely do that. I'm just wondering if it could possibly have been a freaky accident? Okay, probably not. That sounds weak, even as I write it.

Thanks for the advice!

[thalia]

What I think is completely ridiculous is the whole "house not decorated" = "doesn't celebrate Christmas" thing. That's just stupid. Maybe it was left there accidentally, but it's still creepy that someone's drawing swastikas on footballs.

[jenn-unplugged.livejournal.com]

Yes, exactly -- WTF?

Of course, we're also the token neighborhood liberals...

[glasshouses.livejournal.com]

Wow - a toughie. Do you have anything at all on your house? A wreath on the door? If not, I think you can reasonably assume it was left on purpose.

In which case you can report it in case there is some sort of escalation, and then forget about it. It sucks to think that would happen where you live. Your town is sort of the beacon of hope in a hopelessly red state, but kids are kids.

I suppose you could also take a digital picture of it and print out one page flyers for the mailboxes around you, to let your 'hood know about a disturbing incident and ask them to keep an eye out for you, which of course is what good neighbors do for each other (and by requesting their help you're letting them know you don't even *remotely* think it could be one of their precious offspring).

[jenn-unplugged.livejournal.com]

We have no Christmas decorations up. We managed to get our tree up on Sunday, but it isn't visible from the front. I don't want it to be an anti-Semitic thing, but it sure looks like it, doesn't it?

Taking a picture and printing flyers is a good idea. Thanks!

[afb.livejournal.com]

Agreed, I'd definitely report it to the police. What a horrible thing to do, if it was on purpose, and what a ridiculous thing to do it "for" -- no visible Christmas decorations? *is dumbstruck* My instinct would be to strike back by installing lights so gaudy they cause property values in your neighborhood to drop. ;)

[jenn-unplugged.livejournal.com]

LOL! Except that would be a lot of work. And I'm lazy... :-P

Gah, this whole thing is bizarre!

[afb.livejournal.com]

*sends comforting thoughts and chocolate* It's very strange. I'm glad you've got a game plan.

[amberleewriter.livejournal.com]

I would ask the neighbors.

Honestly, many of these kinds of people run in packs and are likely to do more mischief than just toss a plastic football on someone's lawn. Approach it as a safety issue: "Gosh, I found the weirdest thing! *describe football* I'm not sure if I should worry about gangs casing our neighborhood. I mean, my husband is often out of town. They might see a woman as an easy target for robbery this time of year. Have you seen anyone strange around the neighborhood? Do you think I should report it to the police? They might be able to get fingerprints off the thing."

Not only will this give you the chance to go, "um, BTW, bigots, I'm not Jewish thanks for assuming jackass" in a low-key way but it will also put parents or adult bigots on notice that you aren't going to tolerate this kind of thing and that if they or their kid did it they better have been wearing gloves or they are likely to be charged by your DA with a hate crime.

We don't decorate for Christmas. We are the only ones on our street that don't. My husband is an atheist and I'm Buddhist but that's not the reason why. I just find it a waste of money (electricity + the decorations) and I would rather spend the decorating and cleaning up time enjoying my friends and family during the season. However, we already know we are the talk of the neighborhood because we keep to ourselves, work strange hours, and have a lot of expensive toys (like husbands BMW bike). I understand from our neighbor's son that there was a lot of talk about two years ago that we must be drug dealers since we "don't have real jobs" and our cars are home all different hours.

Yeah, whatever.

It never ceases to amaze me how stupid and cruel people can be. Here, have a can of whupass. Feel free to open her up.