A good Christian family put up a uniquely humorous Christmas light display in Limerick, Maine, to celebrate their love of Christmas and America. They put up a huge Santa Claus on the second floor, a huge ISIS sign on the first floor, and then draped white lights from the Santa to the ISIS sign so it looked like Santa was urinating on ISIS.
Then the police showed up.
It was simple, humorous, and – most of all – effective at conveying a specific message. So why did the police show up after a neighbor freak out over the obviously anti-ISIS Christmas display?
The right wing nut jobs aren’t right about this or the war on Christmas, are they? No, they’re not.
Unfortunately, the family’s awesome message was lost on one neighbor because… Idiocy? Greed? Fear? Take your pick.
Police To The Rescue
The “concerned resident” who freaked at the ISIS sign took it out of context, assumed the worst, and claimed to fear the family sympathized with ISIS. But of course they do – because everyone knows that Santa pissing on ISIS is the universal way to say “I sympathize with ISIS,” didn’t you know that?
According to Sheriff William King in an interview with the Portland Press Herald:
“Sheriff’s deputies visited the home and the word ‘ISIS’ is lit up bright and clear.”
And so it was, but while the “ISIS” part of the anti-ISIS message is lit up in big, bold red lights, anyone with a brain would have looked at the rest of the scene to see Santa Claus pissing on ISIS’s name – just as Sheriff King did when he showed up to question the homeowner.
According to the NY Daily News, Sheriff King said of the Christmas display that the family:
“…Probably should’ve used yellow lights. But he used white lights. You couldn’t really distinguish what Santa was doing.”
The concerned citizen apparently called the media instead of the police, said Sheriff King, and the media called the York County Sheriff’s Office. Wait… What?
Yup. Sheriff King said he showed up to question the homeowner about the unique Christmas display because the media had called him about it, saying a “concerned resident” was worried the family supported ISIS.
The “concerned citizen” couldn’t have been too concerned, could he? Maybe about his 15 minutes…
Parallel Universe
What did the family think when Sheriff King showed up at their door questioning their love of Christmas and country? Imagine you and your family broke your backs to make such a display.
“It’s a damn fine display,” you think, and you go to bed. Next thing you know, police are banging down your door, questioning your motives, message, and loyalty.
The ever-wise Sheriff King let the family keep the display because no laws were broken, according to the Bangor Daily News. The homeowner did promise to change the lights so it looks more like Santa pissing on ISIS than it does now, although, although he didn’t say when or how.
ISIS is coming to behead us all and steal our kids! The war on Christmas is real! This is what our fear-based society fueled by right wing propaganda wants, but even the Pope agrees it isn’t true.
There just might be a war on sarcasm and comedic relief, though.
Featured Image by York County Sheriff’s Office via BuzzFeed.
