# Didn't know what to make of this guy's sign. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 4, 2010, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-know-what-to-make-of-this-guys-sign/541876 "2010-06-04T02:49:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-know-what-to-make-of-this-guys-sign/541876/1 "2010-06-04T02:49:34Z")
Saw a guy picketing on a street corner. He was wearing khakis and one of those explorer hats, with a khaki safari scarf. That’s for context, but it’s the sign I’m on about. One side said: Dante St[sub]ate[/sub] Darwin and the other said Noble Me[sub]dial[/sub] Lotto The letters in sub were actually angled down, with a caret between the angled and non-angled letters. Each word had a different color background. White, red and yellow, but I forget in what order. Anyway, I was stuck at a fairly long red light, with plenty of time to absorb this. So I thought I’d share. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-know-what-to-make-of-this-guys-sign/541876/2 "2010-06-04T02:57:11Z")
Well, I know Dante State ain’t in the SEC, and that has to be embarrassing to any fans of any sports teams they may have, but other than that, I got nothing. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-know-what-to-make-of-this-guys-sign/541876/3 "2010-06-04T02:57:56Z")
Could be a reference to something, but it could very well be just good old fashioned mental illness. In my old neighborhood we had a guy who liked to stand on the street corner wearing a sandwich board sign with incoherent ranting about the evils of Jews and Catholics on it. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-know-what-to-make-of-this-guys-sign/541876/4 "2010-06-04T03:21:25Z")
Yeah, I figured mental illness. Thing is, though, what registered first was just a guy with a picket sign, so I immediately thought it must be a healthcare protest. “Darwin” sort of pointed me in that direction at first, too. Hey, in a roundabout way, it could be seen as a healthcare protest, regardless of his own purpose… ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-know-what-to-make-of-this-guys-sign/541876/5 "2010-06-05T20:47:05Z")
We recently went on an Eastern Caribbean cruise, and one of the stops was in St. Martin. On top of a hill at a scenic overlook was a diner. Well, it _was_ a diner, now I think it’s a church. Here’s two examples of the crazy: [Crazy part 1](http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a309/daithilacha/DSCF0116.jpg) [Crazy part 2](http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a309/daithilacha/DSCF0117.jpg) Remember, folks: Vote Purple, and vote often! ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-know-what-to-make-of-this-guys-sign/541876/6 "2010-06-05T20:50:49Z")
There’s the suit-wearing protester in Chicago who carries a sign insisting that the FBI is [raping his wife](http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/333074/middle_eastern_chicago_immigrant_protests.html). ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-know-what-to-make-of-this-guys-sign/541876/7 "2010-06-05T21:07:46Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > There’s the suit-wearing protester in Chicago who carries a sign insisting that the FBI is [raping his wife](http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/333074/middle_eastern_chicago_immigrant_protests.html). Hmm, someone created a [Wiki page about him](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farhad_Khoiee-Abbasi), and it looks like he randomly adds other officials to his protest sign. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-know-what-to-make-of-this-guys-sign/541876/8 "2010-06-05T22:45:32Z")
> [@Daithi\_Lacha](#): > > [Crazy part 1](http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a309/daithilacha/DSCF0116.jpg) > [Crazy part 2](http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a309/daithilacha/DSCF0117.jpg) That’s some high octane crazy all right. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-know-what-to-make-of-this-guys-sign/541876/9 "2010-06-05T22:52:05Z")
In Milwaukee we got [this guy.](http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1343/1042916509_b85b8a2207.jpg?v=0) That drives around all day (no idea where he gets the gas money. Not only is the car totally 100% covered in stuff (that’s an old picture), he spouts something from a bull horn mounted on top as well. [http://www.flickr.com/photos/71552040@N00/209809188](http://www.flickr.com/photos/71552040@N00/209809188) ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-know-what-to-make-of-this-guys-sign/541876/10 "2010-06-05T22:53:18Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > Could be a reference to something, but it could very well be just good old fashioned mental illness. In my old neighborhood we had a guy who liked to stand on the street corner wearing a sandwich board sign with incoherent ranting about the evils of Jews and Catholics on it. This guy? I remember seeing him for years in Salem. [http://www.boston.com/news/packages/iraq/globe\_stories/012291\_antisemitism.htm](http://www.boston.com/news/packages/iraq/globe_stories/012291_antisemitism.htm) ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-know-what-to-make-of-this-guys-sign/541876/11 "2010-06-09T15:16:22Z")
My guy was in the metro Detroit area. I guess there are a lot of them out there! ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-know-what-to-make-of-this-guys-sign/541876/12 "2010-06-09T15:57:02Z")
We have [Help Is On The Way](http://uweekly.com/newsmag/05-05-2010/14458/help-is-on-the-way-out). Honestly, I don’t know if the dude’s crazy. He’s got mad rhymes. Just sits out there all day, every day, on OSU’s campus, doing little rhyme couplets that end with “help is on the way.” Probably the most successful panhandler I’ve ever seen, and never, ever pushy or an asshole. Just sitting there rhyming, all the time. Unsurprisingly, there’s a [Facebook page](http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&viewas=0&gid=2200537110) devoted to him. For a random homeless guy hitting up students for spare change, he’s pretty beloved. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-know-what-to-make-of-this-guys-sign/541876/13 "2010-06-09T19:02:14Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > We have [Help Is On The Way](http://uweekly.com/newsmag/05-05-2010/14458/help-is-on-the-way-out). > > Honestly, I don’t know if the dude’s crazy. He’s got mad rhymes. Just sits out there all day, every day, on OSU’s campus, doing little rhyme couplets that end with “help is on the way.” Probably the most successful panhandler I’ve ever seen, and never, ever pushy or an asshole. Just sitting there rhyming, all the time. > > Unsurprisingly, there’s a [Facebook page](http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&viewas=0&gid=2200537110) devoted to him. For a random homeless guy hitting up students for spare change, he’s pretty beloved. Aww. I like how he encourages the kids to stay in college. At Michigan, we had [Shakey Jake](http://blog.mlive.com/annarbornews/2007/09/shaky_jake.html). > [@](#): > > Among his claims: That he had been around the world dozens of times but never in an airplane. That he had a dozen bodyguards who watched out for him constantly but couldn’t be seen by other people. That he slept only two hours a night. And that he was born on Halloween and was 104 years old. Very nice man. Unfortunately he passed away while I was a student. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-know-what-to-make-of-this-guys-sign/541876/14 "2010-06-09T20:22:47Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > Dante > St[sub]ate[/sub] > Darwin > > and the other said > > Noble > Me[sub]dial[/sub] > Lotto My guess is St. Darwin is meant to suggest that scientists (or, at least, “evolutionists”) have supplanted god with Darwin and/or the State. Not sure where “Dante” comes from. My best guess is that he’s heard the name Dante in connection with Hell (Dante’s _Inferno_) and is assuming that Dante is a pseudonym for the devil. So, the scientists who place science and secularism about God are doing the work of the devil. For the second side, I’m guessing it’s a jab at Obama. Noble Med\*al refers to his Noble Peace prize. Me+Lotto equals “mulatto.” Not sure about the “I” in medial. Could be a typo, could be an attempt to suggest that Obama isn’t so smart, and needs to take remedial courses in something. ---
**Author:** ![Bayesian\_Empirimancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@Bayesian\_Empirimancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayesian_Empirimancer)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-know-what-to-make-of-this-guys-sign/541876/15 "2010-06-10T17:36:10Z")
> [@Daithi\_Lacha](#): > > We recently went on an Eastern Caribbean cruise, and one of the stops was in St. Martin. On top of a hill at a scenic overlook was a diner. Well, it _was_ a diner, now I think it’s a church. Here’s two examples of the crazy: > > [Crazy part 1](http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a309/daithilacha/DSCF0116.jpg) > [Crazy part 2](http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a309/daithilacha/DSCF0117.jpg) > > Remember, folks: Vote Purple, and vote often! Wait a second, I’ve always voted for Optimus Prime or the Queen of England. Purple is now my new choice