Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New family moved in next door, fwiw we live in N. arlington. They have small children(similar in age to mine) and I met the mom and she seemed lovely. i noticed her husbands car this evening has "don't tread on me" license plate and a real tree(I think) bumper sticker. My husband said they are probably rednecks and very pro-gun. Would you still get to know this family or stay away?

Guess what OP. I live in a McMansion in 22207, and I'm pro gun. I would tell any of my liberal friends this of course, but I'm not a bad person, and I would never have a gun where a child could access it. Don't discuss politics and life is much easier.

Ewww. McMansion in 22207 with guns. Keep it Klassy.

Yes, anyone who displays that flag or a license plate with it in 2017 is doing it make a statement that they're aligned with the current meaning of the flag. Specifically, white nationalism, anti-government and guns guns guns everywhere. The gun related bumper sticker is a dead giveaway, too. And it's troubling, because that means you now have a person who is armed, and living in very close proximity to you. That's reason enough to be concerned all by itself, but when taken in context with them being nazis, it would keep anyone up at night for sure.

That flag is basically the same as flying a rebel flag or a swastika flag, except the snake flag is like the undercover version, but the meaning is still the same, and the people who fly it know they are meeting a fellow nazi when they see someone with it. They can identify each other at a distance.

Of course, what they're too stupid to realize is that regular people can also spot them at a distance, too, once it became clear what that flag represented. This thread is the perfect demonstration of that. It's no longer a secret to anyone, but they keep showing that flag. Which also illustrates how stupid many of them are.


As for your neighbors specifically, how worried you should be depends on several factors that only you could really answer since you're there dealing with it. Best way to deal with it is pretend they don't exist. Don't acknowledge them, don't talk to them, anything. No interaction means they never get a chance to know anything about you, and you therefore, never become a potential target. These people personalize everything, and that's how they choose their victims - people who they perceive as being opposition, better or in some cases, being a POC is enough. But they tend to strike out at victims who are the object of their hatred, like that guy did in Alexandria this spring. If you don't acquaint yourself with them, you can keep from becoming an object of obsession in their minds. That's the best way to keep yourself safe. And it goes without saying that you should definitely keep an eye on them, discretely. If you see any activity that would indicate they are up to something, thats when you need to call the cops.

Good luck. It's terrible that people have to deal with stuff like this.

We have Arab neighbors with a "Don't Tread on Me" plate.

In histroical context, "don't tread on me" is anti-british. The rattlesnake is a symbol that the colonies have some bite.

The symbom has become the rallying cry of the libeterain movement and TEA party. The Libertarians are looking to stop gov't intrusion into the private life (e.g., gun rights, free speech), whereas the TEA party wants the money back from the gov't.

Bear in mind, if you are worried about guns specifically, 36% of americans own/have access to guns. 3% of those (1% of all americans, or 3,000,000 people) own 1/2 of the 265 million guns, or 1% of americans have 8 or more guns.

It's unfortunate the Gadsen flag has been co-opted by extremists.

I had this flag in graduate school. I'm an economist, a libertarian, and at the time (early 2000's) the flag and symbol was broadly associated with promotion of civil liberties. Then around 2010, the Tea Party usurped my symbol for their numb-skullery.

I would never judge someone who has this license plate. They may just be a live and let live libertarian like myself.

Anonymous wrote:This will probably be at least a 10-pager.

Best 1st reply

Anonymous wrote:Op here- The mom didn't seem very "redneck" and her kids were extremely polite. I'm not going to lie though, I have never seen anyone wear or display the "don't tread on me" sign that wasn't racist or very uneducated. Not judge mental as much as uneducated.

Then you need to get out more. How do you not see how judgemental and prejudicial you are? How do you not see you are doing exactly what you claim is wrong in others? Get the log out of your own eye before pointing fingers at someone else's splinter.

Anonymous wrote:Anyone who identifies with "don't tread on me" is stupid. Not necessarily uneducated, lower class, white. But stupid for sure.

So you are against Benjamin Franklin and the revolution? Sure it has been taken over by the tea party but, it didn't mean this orginally

Anonymous wrote:New family moved in next door, fwiw we live in N. arlington. They have small children(similar in age to mine) and I met the mom and she seemed lovely. i noticed her husbands car this evening has "don't tread on me" license plate and a real tree(I think) bumper sticker. My husband said they are probably rednecks and very pro-gun. Would you still get to know this family or stay away?

Guess what OP. I live in a McMansion in 22207, and I'm pro gun. I would tell any of my liberal friends this of course, but I'm not a bad person, and I would never have a gun where a child could access it. Don't discuss politics and life is much easier.

Omg my investment banker friend in Greenwich has this sticker. Be open minded OP.

Our neighbors have one, they are Hispanic and retired military officers. I have no idea why. They are originally from Texas.

Anonymous wrote:New family moved in next door, fwiw we live in N. arlington. They have small children(similar in age to mine) and I met the mom and she seemed lovely. i noticed her husbands car this evening has "don't tread on me" license plate and a real tree(I think) bumper sticker. My husband said they are probably rednecks and very pro-gun. Would you still get to know this family or stay away?

Well, if they are "rednecks," they're wealthy ones, right? Welcome them to your bubble.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here- The mom didn't seem very "redneck" and her kids were extremely polite. I'm not going to lie though, I have never seen anyone wear or display the "don't tread on me" sign that wasn't racist or very uneducated. Not judge mental as much as uneducated.

DH has a tea party plate. I really like real tree. He went to Yale undergrad/Harvard law. I went to Williams. We didn't vote for Trump, because, as PP indicated, he is the establishment (and because I don't think he is a good role model for our children). DH has guns though. And I am pretty judgmental, especially about people who call others uneducated immediately before misspelling "judgmental".

Oh. And DH isn't white.

Sure...

NP here and went to HLS and I believe this PP. Although I'm sure he got hissed at when speaking in class. I never knew people actually hissed until I went there; it was my first experience with silencing. Now silencing is mainstream, which I believe is one of the big reasons Trump was elected--when we don't let people talk, they shut up and express themselves with their vote.

Lots of bigots in this thread. The plate likely means he's pro-gun. So what? There are a huge amount of armed people in Nova who don't have the plate.