73,000 signature petition calls for takedown of landmark Uncle Sam billboard

[mahatmakanejeeves]

I'be been by this thing. You can't miss it.

Hat tip, The Stranger

NEWS
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by Charles Mudede • Jun 9, 2020 at 8:36 am

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Lots of People Want That Awful Far-Right Billboard Taken Down: If you travel from Seattle to Portland, or the other way around, there is no way of missing that blasted billboard that's always got something to say. It has been around forever. It stands in Chehalis, Washington. It has a creepy painting of Uncle Sam. The job of the billboard is to blindside the intelligence of people who just want to get to Seattle or Portland in peace. Those Criminal Immigrants... That Godless Government... The Flag-Hating Liberals... And So On... And So On... Someone even tried to burn the whole damn thing down, reports KIRO. And there is also a petition to get it officially removed. The feeling is that it's not only nutty but hurting business in the area. Who going up to Seattle or down to Portland on I-5 will stop at a town that advertises hate so prominently?

73,000 signature petition calls for takedown of landmark Uncle Sam billboard

By: Shelby Miller
Updated: June 8, 2020 - 5:05 PM

LEWIS COUNTY, Wash. — A giant, two-sided billboard with a painting of Uncle Sam greets thousands of drivers heading up and down I-5 every day.

“It's a sign that makes you think,” said Tracy Christy.

The billboard sits off Exit 72 on private property and has been in Lewis County since the late 1960s.

"I've been watching that sign for probably 30 some years and I don't always agree with everything he puts up there, but it's his opinion,” said Kevin Irwin.

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The billboard is so famous it even has its own Wikipedia and Yelp pages.

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[LakeArenal]

1. Really took a long time to see the actual sign.

[Thunderbeast]

2. One of the stains gracing I-5 north of Portland.

Last edited Wed Jun 10, 2020, 10:46 AM - Edit history (1)

The original billboard was between Centrailia and Chehalis on the west side of the freeway. I think it showed up in a farmer's field in the seventies.

The farm sold, so a new "Uncle Sam" billboard was erected at Napavine in the nineties. Always had RWNJ crap on it...guns, United Nations, Democrats, Immigrarion.

Another joyful roadside attraction is near Ridgefield, where a sizable monument to the Confederacy overlooks the highway. That part of Washington State is home to a large number of Trump worshipers.

There is also a large church-art installation nearby.

Billboards say a lot about a community. Travelling through Georgia, the billboards with the two most prominent messages were: "DON'T KILL THIS HERE BABY", and "ADULT BOOKSTORE NEXT EXIT!".

Free Speech carries some uncomfortable consequences.

http://www.chronline.com/opinion/voie-commentary-the-curious-case-of-the-loved-and-loathed/article_f27433d6-6e91-11e7-9761-373d383e8afa.html

[OregonBlue]

6. Wasn't Chehalis the headquarters of the John Birch

Society of the Northwest? Or maybe it still is

[2naSalit]

3. I remember the original and

this one... about time that was taken down. A propagandist eyesore.

[RainCaster]

4. I think that farmer will keep it up no matter what

The comments I've seen over the years show him to be a bigoted Trump voting pig. I imagine him to be very proud that he is "owning the libs".

[gopiscrap]

5. I happily signed that petition

[lettucebe]

7. If billboard is on private property, I see no way a petition will force it down

I see it when I go to Seattle. It's not that big a deal, you see it, you laugh at the idiocy and you drive past, at least that's what I do