If you look closely at the picture above, you can see wire frame. There was a sign there Sunday night. By Tuesday morning, it was gone. Someone stole my Kamala Harris sign.

It took me a long time to get the sign. I ordered it (Yes, I paid a $25 dollar donation for it, hardly grand larceny, but still….) two days after the dramatic week when Biden pulled out of the race and endorsed her. The Harris campaign had bigger things to do than find a union printer and arrange for the signs to be printed and sent out. That’s OK. I was willing to wait. But when it came this past week, I was happy to put it up.

One of the things most of America does not realize is that while Vermont is the home to Bernie Sanders, it is not nearly as liberal a state as most people think. There are rural areas (and I live in one) that staunchly support Trump. My neighbors on either side are Trump supporters. One has a flag. Another has a sign on their lawn. I would never dream of taking or damaging their signs. But someone did.

I am under no impression that a Harris sign in my front yard was going to change a single vote. But I did want people to know where I stand, on the odd chance a conversation might break out. (“Mr. Atkins, you were a Republican when you were young. How did this happen?“). I am like that. I stand for things. I don’t beat people over the head with those things, but I do put them out there. In this case, with a demure sign, dark blue with white text.

No, I did not think I would swing the election with my sign. It was a simple statement. That someone felt should not be there; that they felt so strongly that they would steal to keep it from being seen.

I have put up signs for candidates in my yard much of my life. My parents did it. (As an aside, my parents were often on different sides, so it was not uncommon for us to have signs for both candidates in our front yard.) Local Candidates. National Candidates. In heated campaigns. And no one ever stole one.

It is frustrating. I have lots of Trump supporter friends. Here’s what I know about them. They have a different focal point and philosophy than me, but they are good people. They help others. They believe in law and order. They believe in free speech. They would never steal a sign because that would violate both of those beliefs.

But here we are. I am signless. There’s not enough time to get another sign in. They, whoever they are, “won”. A tiny victory for hate, for “I can do anything if I disagree”, for “other people do not have rights.”

To quote my imaginary conversation: How did we get here.?

That’s another conversation. For now I will end my disappointed rant with a picture of a sign down the road at the Wayward Goose Farm. A sign I wish I could display on MY yard, because more than any candidate, it speaks to what I believe.

And for me, that person is Kamala Harris.

Off my soapbox.

Tom