When sure folks are fed up with their government, there are no lengths they won’t go to make their displeasure known and felt, far and wide.
Protesting one’s government is a fundamental human right everyone should have. It represents a safeguard of personal freedom and can be a force of positive change when politicians become too corrupt or inept to serve the people’s will.
This brings us to the fascinating tale of Ted Pelkey.
For many years, Ted has been locked in a bitter dispute with the government running the town of Westford, Vermont.
And one day, he decided he wished to express his dissatisfaction with the town’s leadership in the most productive way possible by spending $4,000 to erect a massive statue of a middle finger right in front of his home.
Ted said enough is enough.
“I’m fed up and it was time to do something,” Ted Pelkey said, according to the station.
So what did he do? Vote? Run for office? Take out an Op-ed in the local paper?
Naaaaaaah.
Ted decided to try a different approach and commissioned the creation of a statue carved out of a massive chunk of wood that resembles a hand flipping the bird.
Ted placed the statue on a high pedestal to be visible from the road and surrounded the creation with floodlights to ensure it had proper illumination at night.
Ted has been involved in an ongoing dispute with the city over his plans to build an oversized garage and move his business onto his property.
“We’ve been trying to put a business there for the past 10 years,” Pelkey said, according to the Free Press. “It’s just never-ending. They’re railroading us really good.”
And here’s the best part.
There isn’t much anyone in the town’s government can do about it if they don’t like it.
As far as Ted’s legal rights are concerned, his statute is protected under the First Amendment of the U.S Constitution as free speech and public art.
In the video below, you can also watch a video about Ted’s “understated” gesture of protest.
Thanks for reading. Please be so kind as to pass this story along to your friends and family?
Sources:
- “Man Spends $4K Erecting Giant Middle Finger Statue as Protest to Town” WIBC.