A few Trump 2020 signs have cropped up on my neighborhood lawns. Frankly, I think all lawn signs are ridiculous (but not as ridiculous as Trump flags flying from the windows of pickup trucks), and I’d rather not know who my neighbors are voting for. But here we are.
My question: is it illegal to send through the mail an envelope containing nothing but one of Trump’s most offensive quotes? Say, a typed envelope, no return address, and inside a typed statement, then Trump’s name and the date he said it.
I assume nothing will come of this except I’ll feel a little personal satisfaction, but on the other hand, maybe the devout Catholic next door doesn’t know some of the awful things Trump has said. Who knows what kind of a bubble these people are living in?
Anyway, I can’t find anything online that says it’s illegal. Should I start tomorrow?
If they were Trump voters in 2016 and plan to vote for him there is absolutely nothing you can do. They are like drug addicts in that if they really don’t think they have a problem you may have to let them go. We can’t save them all.
Not a lawyer, but I can’t think why on earth it would be illegal. The only thing that comes to mind would be harassment, but that would hardly apply to a single letter containing no threats.
On the other hand, I can’t see it accomplishing anything more than giving you a small sense of satisfaction. If that’s worth the price of a stamp to you, and your blood pressure can handle finding and typing out the quotes, go for it.
I have no knowledge about this whatsoever, but it seems to me that once you send anything through the mail that contains political literature (like say quotes) – then you become a Political Action Group or some other designation which means you might be called upon to release financial statements or other information. I doubt there would be any prosecution, but taking any action MAY (or may not- like I said, I don’t know) make you an entity you are not counting upon becoming.
On the other hand, if you wrote letters saying: My name is Nayna and I am your neighbor. I noticed you are supporting Trump and want to be sure you are aware he made these statements on these dates.
etc.
I am sure that is legal because for certain you are operating as a private citizen and exercising your right to free speech.
I wish you well. I have not been able to influence those around me who are Trump supporters but you may be able to.
Oh, I’m a total coward when it comes to actually discussing Trump. I go in armed with stats and sources, and within minutes I’m buried in so much disinformation and inaccuracy that I can’t even remember where we started. I have no illusions that I’d change anybody’s mind. I’d send something in the mail (absolutely anonymously) only to be a smartass.
A local Jehovah Witness church is apparently having their members write and mail letters to people in the community, urging them to address stress via religion. I’ve gotten three, my gf got two.
They’re legal, as are the crazy political postcards I’m receiving.
I feel for you on that score. The sky is blue turns into a nine hour debate with you quoting scientists and color experts while they quote comic books and Rush Limbaugh and at the end of it they are more convinced than ever the sky is every color imaginable except blue.
You do not strike me as a coward however, and I admire any smartass. Good luck in your efforts to educate your neighbors. (You know, I half expect that if Trump wins he will have everyone who posted mean stuff about him rounded up and sent to reeducation camps.)
I want to get a US flag for my porch and stick a big Biden sign right in front of it, just to convey the idea that you can be a patriot and still vote for a Democrat. My wife has ix-nayed the idea. Despite our diverse, blue-leaning neighborhood, she’s scared.
You don’t automatically become a PAC just by mailing political literature. That would be an unfathomable intrusion on free speech. Anytime Amazon sold a book that mentions history or politics or society, then, they’d be engaging in political activity.
The FEC is more concerned about the fundraising for elections and candidates, and that’s when stuff like PACs actually matter. But even then you’d have to fundraise $1000 before you have to report it.
Mail those quotes to your heart’s content, just don’t expect them to do anything more than further cement their already-decided votes. It’s just more libtard holier than thou attitude to them.
What you should NOT do is stick anything directly into mailboxes. Those are federal property and you might get the US postal inspection service on your ass, and you already know they’re trying to sabotage elections even before you got that idea. Just spent the few cents on stamps and hope they don’t just trash your letters.
^ This. Also, you may be pissing off people and activating them to actually go and vote, or they may take action to encourage others like them to vote that may otherwise not. They may post the letter on Facebook in one of the many mis-information bubbles there: “Hey, some lib-turd in my neighborhood sent me this…let’s make sure to get out the vote for Trump!!”.
Think about how you’d react if you got a similar letter showing embarrassing Biden quotes or fake photos of him. I would recommend not doing this.
Similarly it is unlikely that anyone is going to change their religion just because they get a flyer that tells them about this Jesus person who presumably they never heard of. But they keep mailing them out, so they must work on some people.
One way to go would be pose it as a pro Trump list so as to get them to start reading it. Start out with some rather innocuous quotes, and then work your way up to the bat shit crazy.
Well, it would be totally anonymous. He’d have no idea it was from me, or from anyone in his neighborhood, or even why he in particular was receiving the letter. I have zero illusions that I will change his vote to Biden, and I am 100% sure that he plans to vote for Trump, because he has a Trump sign on his front lawn.
It depends on the quote (and obviously I’d verify it before having any reaction at all), but if I got a letter showing me quotes where Biden said he thinks Democrats are the dumbest group of voters in the country, or that he can “do anything” to women because he’s a star, it might actually encourage me to stay home.
Of course, some of Trump’s supporters actually like him because he’s so gross and offensive. Nothing I can do about that.
Well, that’s the thing. You’d probably just be feeding the troll. They get off on that sort of thing. They don’t care about you or women or ethics or democracy. They care about reclaiming power lost to other groups. The White Man wants to be back on top, the rest of the world be damned.
Believe me, I know how satisfying it is to tell them off. It’s probably not tactically effective, but it sure feels good.
That’s true. Maybe I’ll find a quote about how Trump isn’t actually religious. That might actually offend this particular neighbor.
And really, from the beginning this was just so I can inwardly laugh at the asshole next door. I don’t really expect anything to change because of an anonymous letter.
Reply, It’s well worth $0.55 to me. Hell, maybe I’ll put four stamps on there - extra support for the post office!
Sigh. Once you start posting absolute total nonsense on a subject you admit you know nothing about, how are you any different from or superior to any of the Trump supporters people are making fun of in this thread?