Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Vandals, too, decorate displays
The holiday spirit may be getting a little too spirited in South Florida, where protesters are leaving their mark on some alternative displays.
In Boca Raton, one man’s expression of his religious views — a satanic pentagram —was met with an expression of another kind: graffiti. And an equally unconventional seasonal display was vandalized in Delray Beach.
Wednesday’s morning light revealed that a pentagram and banner put up Tuesday evening at Boca’s Sanborn Square was spray painted. The area is supposed to be a free-expression zone.
Preston Smith, a Palm Beach County teacher who put up the display, called it a hate crime for which he would be filing a police report. The banner, which had
been placed near a life-size Nativity scene, called for Americans to honor the Bill of Rights.
The spray-painting obscured the pentagram’s depiction of Satan as a horned beast and writing that included, “In Satan we trust.”
“We will not be silenced by the those who fear freedom of speech in America,” said Smith, adding the banner will be replaced today. “We will not be persecuted by religious zealots intolerant of diverse viewpoints. We are not going away, but are instead ready to make this an annual tradition.’’
But just as Smith used his banner to counter the Nativity scene, someone Wednesday placed a second banner as a counter to Smith’s banner. It warned about taking Satan’s symbols lightly.
Someone in Delray Beach did not take lightly the “Festivus pole” put up by Chaz Stevens, who was honoring the fake holiday that was part of a “Seinfeld” television episode.
The Donald Trump cap that sat atop the pole was stolen. Stevens, who works in business development, said he will be replacing the hat today. on Thursday.
For four years, he’s been erecting these poles around the state.
“We are making the pole great again,” he said. “This time, no one is going to get this hat. We’re going to use the same glue that keeps Trump’s hair in place.”