# Is "Black Lives Matter" a political statement? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 8, 2020, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-black-lives-matter-a-political-statement/914688 "2020-07-08T02:06:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2020, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-black-lives-matter-a-political-statement/914688/41 "2020-07-10T18:31:38Z")
Fair point, but if one states “all lives are important” that’s supposedly a big no no. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2020, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-black-lives-matter-a-political-statement/914688/42 "2020-07-10T18:38:56Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Our rule (which long predates me) says: > > > [@](#): > > > > SIGNS: No sign, DECORATIONS OTHER THAN HOLIDAY, advertisement, notice or other lettering shall be exhibited, inscribed, painted or affixed by any unit owner, or others, on any part of the outside, inside, or on windows of the living elements, or any vehicle parked on Association property, without prior written consent. > > That’s how one avoids the question of “what is political?” A question that has bedeviled the SCOTUS for centuries now; small wonder a mere condo board struggles. “Black Lives Matter during this Holiday Season.” Seriously, though, I think a BLM banner is political and is a violation of the Condo Rules, despite my support for BLM and opposition to condo rules. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2020, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-black-lives-matter-a-political-statement/914688/43 "2020-07-10T21:36:17Z")
It’s definitely political. However, that could easily make it protected speech. What state do you live in? There is a decent chance that you have a right to political speech in the private area of your condo. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2020, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-black-lives-matter-a-political-statement/914688/44 "2020-07-12T08:41:30Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > This is one reason I hate HOA’s. I was unwillingly in one once. There was an HOA rule against trailers or mobile homes on anyone’s property. A woman asked to have a trailer on her property for a few months so her mother, who had terminal cancer, could be close by. The HOA said no. I quit attending meetings. Sorry for the tangent, but I just don’t think this is a bad policy. This person’s misfortune notwithstanding, precedent matters. If they grant an exception for this circumstance (and we’ll ignore the fact that the homeowner could be lying and that “terminal” can have pretty broad interpretations) the next time another owner may say “my child just got evicted and has no place to live, so just until they get back on their feet.” The next owner might say “my wife and I are getting a divorce, so we’re sleeping apart until we can finalize it.” You don’t want to be weighing one person’s hardship against another’s. And equally important…why should a hardship be the only grounds for an exception? I get the hate for HOA…they only exist to dish out bad news in most cases, but living without one comes with it’s own collection of miseries. You can find no shortage of horror stories about bad neighbors in residential subdivisions and your recourse there is really limited. The HOA is asshole insurance and sadly that means standing on principle sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2020, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-black-lives-matter-a-political-statement/914688/45 "2020-07-12T17:25:06Z")
This was in a semi-rural area. Everyone knew the woman in question and her situation. Some of us were in favor of amending the bylaws to allow specifically for adult family members with a terminal illness as verified by docs, but the strong-willed HOA president successfully argued against it. Nobody felt good about it. I do understand the troubles HOA’s can prevent. In my case, the HOA boundaries ended on my side of the road. Someone who owned property on the other side (but didn’t live there) put up the ugliest trailer in history as a rental unit, and there was nothing I could do about it. However, I’ve heard a lot more complaints than I’ve heard compliments about HOA’s. But enough of the highjack. Thanks for your views… ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2020, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-black-lives-matter-a-political-statement/914688/46 "2020-07-12T18:11:22Z")
Our HOA doesn’t allow any flags or signage of any kind. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2020, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-black-lives-matter-a-political-statement/914688/47 "2020-07-12T20:08:10Z")
> [@BeagleJesus](#): > > > [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > > > It is, but it _shouldn’t_ be. > > I voted NO in the poll, but I think this statement more accurately describes the situation. Ditto. Of course, if Trump said the sun comes up in the West, saying the sun comes up in the East would become a political statement. I voted No to try to keep truisms apolitical. ---
**Author:** ![ThisIsTheEnd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisistheend/32/4713_2.png) [@ThisIsTheEnd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisIsTheEnd)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2020, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-black-lives-matter-a-political-statement/914688/48 "2020-07-12T20:24:34Z")
The Peace or (peace sign) sign comparison is apt. At some times it is a political statement, others it probably wouldn’t cause a fuss. People turn all kinds of shit into political statements now, like chicken sandwiches. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2020, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-black-lives-matter-a-political-statement/914688/49 "2020-07-12T20:41:21Z")
I really can’t think of any situation where it wouldn’t be political, even without the existing movement. It still implies that society doesn’t think black lives matter. (It does not, however, imply that any individual who happens to read it thinks that, despite claims to the contrary.) What it should not be is partisan–but it is. ---
**Author:** ![ThisIsTheEnd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisistheend/32/4713_2.png) [@ThisIsTheEnd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisIsTheEnd)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2020, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-black-lives-matter-a-political-statement/914688/50 "2020-07-12T21:35:59Z")
And the mask thing would be an interesting test. Because wearing a mask during a pandemic is hardly a political statement. But NOT wearing a mask certainly has been turned into one. So if you put a sign in your window that says “DON’T WEAR A MASK” that should be disallowed. But if you put up a sign that said “WEAR A MASK” I’d like to hear the pretzel they’d have to twist. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2020, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-black-lives-matter-a-political-statement/914688/51 "2020-07-13T10:09:45Z")
Within my county, wearing a mask in the public areas of a condo is explicitly required by executive order. We (the Board) have posted signs to that effect throughout the complex. Compliance with the law is not viewed as political. Nor, as noted above, do we distinguish between political and non-political signs posted by our residents. They are equal-opportunity prohibited, period. The OP’s association wasn’t smart in their rule drafting. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2020, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-black-lives-matter-a-political-statement/914688/52 "2020-07-20T17:24:31Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Condo building with a rule in the by-laws that no signs of an advertising or political nature are allowed in windows or on balconies. BLM banner on balcony. Told must come down. > > I argue that “Black Lives Matter” does not promote a political party, a political candidate, or a defined political movement; it is not a political message, any more than a message of “Peace” would be political. > > Thoughts? Does it count as a “political” message? Don’t know if this matters two weeks after the OP, but I’ll toss it out there anyway. Federal goverment employees are barred from all political activities in the workplace, and even some political activities outside the workplace (see **[1939 Hatch Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatch_Act_of_1939)**). So the OP’s question and its answer have legal bearing for them. Turns out that on 7/10 the **[US Office Of Special Counsel ruled on the matter](https://federalnewsnetwork.com/workforce-rightsgovernance/2020/07/black-lives-matter-support-slogans-are-ok-at-the-federal-office-osc-says/)**, saying that: > BLM is a “hot-button” issue and both politically and culturally salient. But BLM terminology is issue-based, not a campaign slogan. Therefore, using BLM terminology, without more, is not political activity. BLMGN does not meet any of the criteria for classification as a partisan political group. Therefore, BLMGN is not a partisan political group, and employees are not prohibited from wearing or displaying BLMGN paraphernalia in the workplace. Probably not of any legal weight for the OP’s situation, but pretty strong support nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2020, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-black-lives-matter-a-political-statement/914688/53 "2020-07-20T19:15:48Z")
A statement in support of civil rights is absolutely a political statement. How could it not be? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2020, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-black-lives-matter-a-political-statement/914688/54 "2020-07-20T19:28:13Z")
This turns on the definition of “political”. If one restricts “political” to mean “about the Republican party and/or the Democratic party”, which is pretty much what the Hatch Act is about, then the OSC ruling on BLMGN makes complete sense _within that narrow legalistic frame_. If one takes “political” at large as in “about how groups of people organize their governance and resolve their differences” then clearly BLM is political _within that much more expansive definition_. Which definition is the OP’s condo board operating under? That’s for them to decide, but I bet it’ll lean more towards the expansive flavor of “political”. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2020, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-black-lives-matter-a-political-statement/914688/55 "2020-07-20T23:01:53Z")
Just to close the loop. Actual declarations were better written as no signs without board approval. Board unanimously declined to give approval. Discussion regarding its being not advertising a political activity made moot. Would have been fine if that was as far as it went but some of the other comments made were sad. Worried about the building being vandalized due this sign on a 5th floor balcony. (Many homes and businesses have such signs locally). Might diminish the salability of a unit on the market. Oy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-black-lives-matter-a-political-statement/914688.md?page=2)