That’s a very restrictive view of what a good neighbour should be. Those who are offended by the view of drying clothes and insist on dictating other people’s lifestyle are much worse neighbours than she is.
> To live peacefully in a society you have to compromise and you can’t just do as you please.
Exactly. Like accepting that some people hang their clothes to dry. That’s a step towards keeping a peaceful neighbourhood.
> What if someone decides they shiujd park their car on the front lawn since the boat and camper take up the driveway? Or just set a clinch up on the front lawn because I like to have a nap there?
Who the fuck cares? Whom would this hurt?
As to who it “would hurt” - it could very well hurt everyone’s property values and certainly hurts everyone’s eyes to have to see a car parked on the front lawn. Again, it’s antisocial behavior and inconsiderate of the vast majority of people in the area. It’s selfish.
It's revealing what's considered anti-social (hang drying your clothes) and what's considered normal (driving massive, pedestrian-flattening pickups).
Indeed. And that is oppressive.
> Otherwise she’s just doing as she pleases and that’s antisocial behavior.
Doing as we please as long as it does not hurt others is the definition of freedom and liberty.
> As to who it “would hurt” - it could very well hurt everyone’s property values and certainly hurts everyone’s eyes to have to see a car parked on the front lawn.
That is entirely unreasonable, besides the fact that it is completely stupid that drying clothes can decrease property prices. It is not more dirty than anything else you can put on your lawn, and it is not a sign that the house is poorly maintained or anything.
Also, if that is your standard, why are political posters and flags acceptable? In which way does a drying shirt “hurt your eyes” (really?) more than a MAGA banner? Does your argument apply to what people wear as well, or is there anything magical about lawns?
> Again, it’s antisocial behavior and inconsiderate of the vast majority of people in the area. It’s selfish.
Not at all, this should not be any more controversial than the clothes we wear. The selfish ones are those who impose a way of life on others for no good reason.
I'm guessing my garden might be considered substandard in many suburban settings.
I'm mostly pretty sympathetic with people doing whatever is "reasonable" with their properties including drying clothes on a line. But there's clearly some point in a suburban neighborhood where broken down cars and decaying furniture will among other things depress nearby property values which is an understandable issue for the owners.
If it's so important, just make an official law. Don't allow police or towns official to enforce whatever rule they made up. Is your hair too short/long for your gender prototype? Is the music band in your t-shirt not welcome here? Is your hallowing decoration not 100% lore compliant?
The contractor doesn't know this, so plants to the center of the gate. Which is 3 or 4 rows of corn on my field.
Property lines are problematic everywhere.
But the bigger point is if the community has a standard or by-law that she is just ignoring. Just doing what you want is no way to live in a society as is reflective of the selfish turn we've taken. It's inconsiderate of you neighbors and part of living socially is that a part of "who we are - our true selfs" has to be sacrificed to make ourselves bearable to others. We can't just expect everyone to accept "our truth" or whatever. Otherwise, you're antisocial.
That's great. I'm grateful we live in a country where people that are compelled to always put themselves first and not have to consider other people can remove themselves from society and choose to live an isolated life away from society. I'm even more grateful for the people that recognize this about themselves and make the move.
Living socially involves sacrifices and considering those around you. They do the same and we live harmoniously together. There's some people that can't or won't do this and if they try and live socially they end up frustrated as they are rejected by their community. In some cases it results in violence and in others just miserable people that can't seem to get along with anyone and they have a constant chip on their shoulder. Removing themselves from society and going to the country is the best route here.
You have to truly be in the absolutely middle of nowhere with an amazingly huge amount of land to actually be able to "do what you want" in a reasonable manner without someone telling you no.
And I'm talking about stuff that couldn't be seen from off your property line. So many county regulations and such these days - some places 100+ miles from the nearest international airport had county building restrictions nearly as bad as the suburban development I lived in.
It's been a very eye opening and incredibly sad process for me. Land of the free indeed. It seems there is increasingly nowhere left to run away from petty authoritarians.
Who said hanging your clothing is antisocial? No, hanging your clothing in defiance of a community by-law or guideline is antisocial by virtue of most your neighbors finding it that way.
You don't get to decide if you're antisocial or not. Society does.
In my county there are inspectors for water and septic. That's all. So that had to be to code.
Everything else is up to the landowner.
For instance, I contribute to the local volunteer fire department. The annual festival. The fireworks on the 4th.
I pull my neighbors out of the ditch when their car slides on snow in the winter. Hell, I snowplow my stretch of gravel with my tractor if the county isn't going to get to it for a couple days and my neighbors need to get to work.
Interactions are generally more cooperative, maybe even healthier, without the always-being-in-one-another's-face.