Poster credit: LaRouchePAC.com

---

For the second time in recent weeks, I encountered this poster at my local post office.  The first time I saw it I was with my 14 year old son who wondered if we should roll down the window and say something.  I was incredibly proud of him, but I also pointed out that people like that are looking for attention, and that we didn’t want to dignify the man’s actions by fanning the flames. 

 The second time I was at a different post office, and encountered the same thing.  Again, I ignored him and stood in line to purchase stamps.  As I was leaving, a woman came into the post office and asked to speak to the manager.  Clearly upset, I lingered to see if she was chuffed about the man out front and she was.  A third customer chimed in and within minutes the three of us were engaged in a passionate conversation about hate speech, the offensiveness of the poster on what we thought was private property and the underlying racial tones of the poster.

 In the interest of full disclosure, I voted for Obama and plan to vote for him again in 2012.  Setting aside my political ideals, when did it become okay to slap a Hitler mustache on our sitting president and call for his impeachment?   I support everyone’s right to free speech, but I find the hateful implications disturbing. 

 When the manager appeared, she said the police had been called, but nothing could be done unless he broke the law.  Apparently we weren’t the first to get upset by his presence.  The manager, as it turns out, was planning to attend a rally in Washington DC the following week and planned to talk with officials about her experiences.

 The camaraderie of four women on a sidewalk empowered me to write this brief note.  But I’m also alarmed at the attitudes that would have someone equate my president with the likes of Adolf Hitler.

Adolf Hilter according to Wikipedia

Barack Obama according to Wikipedia

Your thoughts?