What will RAP do?

[Dog Walker]

Nope, that is the Rastifari flag.  The crowned lion is the symbol of Halie Selassie, the last Emperor of  Ethiopia who is regarded as the second coming of Christ by the believers in Rastifari.

Nothing racial about my comments.  Rastafari is no more or less strange than any other religious sect and promotes a healthy and respectable lifestyle.  No alcohol, no meat, great music and a tolerance of other faiths and paths to enlightenment and opposition to all forms of oppression

They use cannabis instead of wine as a sacrament which gets them in trouble with law enforcement authorities.  Stupid of the authorities, but not wise to advertise in my opinion.

[Dog Walker]

The neighborhood's objection isn't to Rastifari, but to painting trees.  Thought that was clear, but guess not.

Painting trees is graffiti.  Just hang a flag to support your team.

[trigger]

The Cameroon National Football team is called the Lions, hence the head of a lion. Jeez... this is why some people think there was a shooter behind the grassy knoll.

[trigger]

"Painting trees is graffiti." Mmmm, maybe. Not sure this particular case would survive a first amendment argument in front of the Supreme Court.

[Dog Walker]

I'll go back and take a picture of the flag to post so that you can compare it with the Wikipedia entries.

Now if someone will just PM me with directions on how to post a picture!  LOL!

[Dog Walker]

"Painting trees is graffiti." Mmmm, maybe. Not sure this particular case would survive a first amendment argument in front of the Supreme Court.

Especially since it is a religious expression, not the symbol of a football team!  ROFLMAO!

When is Cameroon playing anyway?

[Captain Zissou]

The Cameroon national flag has a star on it, not a lion.  Not trying to fight you here, but you're trying to stretch facts just as much as your opposition to prove your point. 

[trigger]

Cameroon is playing Japan right now on ESPN, hence the timing of the appearance of the flag. The tree was painted on private property so it is probably protected by the first amendment. For example, I could NOT paint my trees because they are in the public right-of-way and technically owned by the City of Jacksonville so the City/RAP have a right to police those trees.

Perhaps the readers on MetroJacksonville.com would be better served by educating themselves about "the beautiful game" rather than drug culture symbolism...lol!

http://www.tnr.com/blog/world-cup/75534/matt-drudge-and-the-future-soccer

[trigger]

Do I have to repeat myself? The Cameroon national team are called "THE LIONS". The Indomitable Lions, to be exact but I'm not aware of any artistic expression for the word "indomitable".

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameroon_national_football_team

The lengths people will go to in stretching reality to prove they are not engaging in racial stereotypes is ridiculous. You guys did, it was a mistake, get over it and do better in the future. :-)

[trigger]

Yes, it is just a HUGE coincidence that the World Cup started this week, that Cameroon is playing today, that they are called the LIONS, and a flag appears on a tree in Riverside in the Cameroon colors with a lion head. Give me a break.

[Captain Zissou]

^ I liked the painted tree too, it was just a bit of an unflattering choice of subject matter.  I like art work on houses and in yards.  It adds character to homes and neighborhoods.  My favorite are the prayer flags (the Everest looking flags) that people string across porches.  I think those are beautiful.

That said, being that this was in a historic district, and that the subject matter could easily be misinterpreted (as evidenced by this thread), this art needed to be removed.

[aubureck]

This tree actually received numerous complaints to the city in various departments.  As I understand the owner of the property has painted or is planning to paint over the artwork on the tree.

[Dog Walker]

The tree has been painted over with a brown that matches the rest of the tree.

When I was a kid there was a fashion for painting tree trunks white up to about head height.  Anybody else remember that or why it was done?

Half the houses in Riverside have flags of some sort on them.  Some people change them with the season.  We love our front porches and decorate them a lot.

The house that had the painted tree also has some very attractive clear glass vases on the porch rails that add a nice sparkle to the place.

[Dog Walker]

Here's the flag on the house on Dellwood Ave.



Here's the flag of Ethiopia:




Here's the flag of Cameroon:



Here is the flag of Rastafari:



Argument ended I trust.

[jbroadglide]

BRAVO, Dogwalker, Bravo!