There are at least two different types of “homeowners association” , mandatory and voluntary. “Mandatory” are the ones that you hear complaints about, where they make enforcable rules. Those are already in existence when you buy the house or condo and can’t be imposed on people after the fact.
“Voluntary” is entirely different. You can join or not. They can’t make rules about flags or vehicles ( or anything really) and if they try, they have no way to enforce them. Other names for this type of association include “Springfield (residents, property owners, neighborhood, block ,civic …) association.” They arrange events like community wide yard sales, or street fairs , have “town hall” meetings with various government officials. Any restrictions on flags or parking or the color of your front door are imposed by a governmental body , not the voluntary homeowners association.
Honestly I feel like this has gone way afield. “Let people enjoy things” is obviously a stupid response to critiquing harmful pranks, or ferchrissakes rape. The question isn’t at all about that. It’s about whether it’s a legit response to critiquing shallow entertainment.
Homeowners’ associations? What the hell are we talking about?
We have a lake association strictly voluntary and it arranges social events and organizes our lake monitoring activities for environmental protection indicators.
I have come across HOA spoof reels that sound real at first but hilarious and probably not far off the mark of HOA ridiculousness.
The OP misunderstood a common internet phrase when they titled the thread, but the body of the OP makes it clear what they’re actually talking about, and most people are responding to that, not the thread title.