Pagan Symbols On Fence Must Go, City Insists

Disenchanted Faerie

Robert Frost once said "good fences make good neighbors."

Apparently not when the fence is used to express religious beliefs.

A Des Moines couple say city officials have attacked their pagan religion and their civil rights after a complaint from a neighbor led to a notice to remove symbols that had been painted on the fence. Officials said the symbols are graffiti and must be removed.

"Those are religious symbols; they're not mean or obnoxious in any way," said Ryle MacPebbles who lives in the 2000 block of Southeast Sixth Street. "I just don't like them telling me my religion isn't anything.

the rest of the article, including pic of the fence, can be found here ^[LINK]

.:arkisaeo ^[LINK]:.

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orchid_noir · Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 8:22 am Post subject:

I have to agree with some of the comments that I have seen elsewhere on this one.

A) If he had put a little effort into them he might have more of an argument against the graffiti thing.

B) If he had looked into local regs and gone with plaques of some type he could easily fight it.

C) If he had made them tiny (still effective, yes?) and neat/clean looking he might be able to fight it.

but instead he took a can of black spray paint to a new (looking) fence and rather sloppily tagged it with them.

I'm all for personal rights with personal property, but we ALL need to have a little respect for those around us, and to me that includes trying to keep the visible parts of one's property looking presentable.

Like I said, if he had put a little effort into the sigils I would support him 100%, but if I came out to this on my street I would offer to help him clean them off and re-do them in a more aesthetically pleasing way (same would go for any religious symbols done in this manner, though).

Feed a starving artist.... ^[LINK]

Disenchanted Faerie · Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 5:18 am Post subject:

OPINIONS AND UPDATES:::
(2 articles)

Pagan Images Neither Graffiti nor a Sign
Give Ryle MacPebbles credit for standing up to local officials in defense of his right of religious expression. But, also give the city of Des Moines credit for rethinking its graffiti ordinance and avoiding an unnecessary First Amendment battle.

Acting on a neighbor's complaint, the city ordered MacPebbles to remove symbols he had painted on a fence bordering his yard on Des Moines' south side. The city declared them to be graffiti, in violation of a city ordinance, and said they had to go.

MacPebbles protested the order, contending the images on his fence were symbols of his pagan religion, and as such not only did not fit the definition of graffiti but are protected by the First Amendment.

The city, upon reflection, conceded the point and dropped the removal order. In fact, Ben Bishop, the city's neighborhood inspections administrator, apologized in a letter to MacPebbles for "any inconvenience this matter may have caused." That was a class act.

Too bad the story didn't end there. Unfortunately, while recognizing that MacPebbles' images are not graffiti, the city classified them as a "sign," which means he had to pay a $35 sign fee. That makes no sense, either, because the symbols are not an advertisement or an announcement any more than a crucifix or a Star of David would be classified as signs. In any case, MacPebbles decided to claim victory, and pay the $35 in the hope of being left alone.

Meanwhile, the city's enforcement officers say the decision in the MacPebbles case leaves them in something of a quandary on how to enforce the graffiti ordinance. They say they will now have to make the call on a case-by-case basis, and will retain the option of enforcing the anti-graffiti ordinance against gang symbols, regardless of whether they contain religious symbols.

It shouldn't be that tough. The city should retain the power to remove graffiti from surfaces on public property - such as bridge abutments or park benches - and from residential or commercial structures. In these cases, graffiti is generally understood to be words or images created by vandals without the property owner's permission. And, in those cases, quick removal is the best prevention.

The city, however, shouldn't have trouble distinguishing between that sort of graffiti and protected forms of expression, such as MacPebbles' religious symbols. For one, he painted them on the fence himself. For another, they are on his private property.

If the neighbors don't like what they see, they can look the other way, but they shouldn't be able to enlist the city in their effort to regulate the aesthetics of their neighbors' fences.

Fence, Not Paganism, Dividing Neighbors
I went out to the southeast side of town the other day and talked to the main players in the great pagan-symbol fence feud.

This isn't your traditional stay-off-the-grass, baseball-in-the-flower-bed, next-door-neighbor controversy. It involves religion, censorship and First-Amendment rights.

Just be glad you aren't involved. The ACLU could be called in before it's over.

On one side of the wooden privacy fence is Ryle MacPebbles, who has a wife, two preschool girls and a name that belongs in a Larry McMurtry novel. He's also on disability after suffering a terrible fall while working a construction job.

MacPebbles put up the fence because he thought the next-door neighbor lady was spying on him. Then he took a can of black paint and sprayed pagan symbols on the side of the fence that she sees. To keep her from peeking in, he hung a tarp with more symbols above the fence.

On the other side of the fence is the single, mid-40-something woman who wants the symbols removed. The city, calling the handiwork graffiti, originally agreed.

MacPebbles and his wife, Rachel, countered by saying it isn't graffiti. It's an expression of their religious beliefs, which must be respected.

After thinking it over, the city now says the symbols can stay if the couple buys a $35 sign permit. MacPebbles says he'll purchase the permit.

The neighbor lady, who wouldn't give her name, believes she's the aggrieved party. "It's totally wrong what he's doing to me," she says.

And the ground war continues. MacPebbles has put up a canvas and an $800 surveillance system to keep an eye on the enemy.

The enemy points to the camera looking out over her driveway and says who's spying on whom?

She says he's "torturing" her and turning the neighbors against her. I can't speak for the torture, but the neighbors I talked with seem to be siding with him.

MacPebbles seems like a decent enough guy, even with scary tattoos.

He and his wife are member of the American Pagan Church, which, according to the Web site, practices "a nature-centered spirituality" and "an eclectic and alive blend of traditional worship."

Aesthetically, though, the neighbor lady has a point. As far as I know, she might be the second coming of Gladys Kravitz, the busybody who lived next to Samantha and Darrin Stephens in "Bewitched." Still, the symbols do lack a certain aesthetic merit.

Honestly? If you asked 10 strangers to identify the symbols, eight would say graffiti.

MacPebbles says he's willing to replace them with more artistic representations but can't make the alterations because the neighbor lady won't let him on her property.

Graffiti is still graffiti, she says, and witchcraft is witchcraft.

You'd call it a rocky relationship, if there were one at all. She says he curses at her. He admits it, but says you should hear the words that come out of her mouth.

He says her mother ran over some of his tents with a lawn mower.

Back and forth they go. It wasn't my job, but I tried to play referee.

Come on, kids. Where's the love? Surely, there must be a neighborly compromise hiding in there somewhere, no?

No.

"I tried making concessions," MacPebbles said. "I washed her windows when she had carpal tunnel."

That's a start.

MacPebbles told me his church believes in all religions and respects all gods. He showed me a book, "The Runes," and said he was a Druid, which is "almost equivalent to a minister."

The Web site says members must live in balance with the universe, be caring, compassionate and responsible. Words to live by, pagan or otherwise.

MacPebbles might be well within his constitutional rights. But if the symbols are supposed to deliver peace and keep the negative energy at bay, you wonder when they'll start working.

.:arkisaeo ^[LINK]:.