Woman fined for peace sign wreath

The main reason I never want to join a housing association and/or a planned community is that the committee imposes rules on you when you move into the neighborhood and is strict in enforcing them. I remember this one episode of the “X-Files” where Mulder and Scully have live in a gated community to investigate a case. Mulder rebels against conformity by pouring orange juice on an askew mailbox and practicing his jump shot at night on a basketball hoop out in the street. I don’t think I saw the end of that one but I still remember him sitting in a lawn chair on the front porch, watching his mailbox.

Anyway, on to the news story. A woman in southwestern Colorado is being fined $25 a day for not taking down a Christmas wreath in the shape of a piece sign. Earlier this year, there were stories about people in other communities being asked to remove American flags and “Support Our Troops” signs from their lawns. Although the homeowners are bound by the terms of the contracts they signed, the exercise of those rules so as to not offend anyone seems absurd and overly politically correct to the common person.

Also, I would consider the actions of the association president — getting rid of whoever disagrees with you — as constituting an abuse of power:

Kearns ordered the committee to require Jensen to remove the wreath, but members refused after concluding that it was merely a seasonal symbol that didn’t say anything. Kearns fired all five committee members.