Is it no longer possible for neighbors of different political persuasions to get along? Our friend Sam* recently relayed an exchange with her neighbor that isn’t just unneighborly, it’s downright scary. Is this what we have come to?

Sam lives several miles away from us, but still here in Fauquier County. She has about 1 1/2 acres and has lived in her home for 23 years. Her neighbor, John*, has lived next to her for about 15 years.

While they were never best friends, they got along. Every neighborhood seems to have a “strange guy” and John fit the bill. Having said that, other than the occasional conspiracy theory, strange complaints about other neighbors, and complaints about people lying about him, they more or less got along. And they never talked about politics. It just didn’t come up.

In the last three or four years, John seemed to get worse. There were more and growing conspiracy theories. He had a restraining order put in place against him. He was arrested for violating the restraining order, and was later arrested for brandishing a firearm. He also told a “whopping lie” about Sam to another neighbor (Sam’s words).

Last fall, Sam put a Biden sign in her yard, near their shared driveway. John moved the sign away from the drive and further into Sam’s yard. There were still no political conversations.

A few years ago, John started raising chickens (and a few roosters). Initially, there was no problem and the chickens happily clucked around his yard. Things changed this year. He wanted “free range chickens” and didn’t confine them. Of course chickens don’t recognize property lines and in the spring, more and more of them came to Sam’s yard to eat and dig up her plants and garden. Many of these plants were perennials, some of which she planted over a decade ago. As the new growth came up, the chickens ate or scratched the plants (Hostas were a favorite) into oblivion.

Initially, Sam tried to be a good neighbor and just shoo the chickens away. The chickens evidently liked the plants and kept returning. On one occasion, she chased the chickens away six times in just a few hours.

In March, Sam finally complained to John about the chickens. It did no good. In April she did the same, and this time John replied “Please Don’t tell me how to manage my chickens, or suggest I “enclose” them, when I already do. They are free range Earthlings and have their own rights to travel. They don’t believe in fences or politics, they don’t yell at and berate their neighbors, or treat them like second class citizens…”

Sam eventually called Animal Control. Before she even mentioned his name, the officer said “Trust me, I’ve had my handcuffs on him before.“

John’s response this time? “Calling the cops on those evil chickens and that evil white Republican man next door for trespassing… seems like such a great plan. They can Shoot all neighboring creatures great and small, and with implied immunity. Let them be your heel and heavy gun to do the dirty work, let them threaten to extinguish life over a nibbled plant…”

John offered that Sam could trap, kill and eat a chicken if she wanted. Sam, understandably, doesn’t care about trapping, killing and eating one of his chickens. She just wants her garden left alone.

And so it continued. Sam has put countless hours and dollars into her garden. The chickens continued to eat and destroy plants. She complained to John again in June. This time? You can see his reply in this photo:

That “You pandered uncountable votes for Creepy Corn Pop the blundering commie, and the irony of a liberal democrat or Marxist calling someone out over “property rights”, rather, the concept of “no regard for other people’s property”… is priceless…” is the most rational statement in the entire text says something about his state of mind.

If you were Sam, what would you do? Animal Control says they can do no more than fine him (and have already done so), but he just doesn’t pay the fines. She has discussed John with the sheriff’s office, but hasn’t yet involved them in resolving the issue. She has grown tired of engaging him in conversations and texts, which do no good, and in fact seem to exacerbate the situation.

I realize not all Trump supporters are as extreme as John has become, but I can’t help but believe our former president’s actions and comments have encouraged John’s behavior. His text from June shows just how irate and irrational he has become …BlowbamaJiden … beeLM … children being trafficked and regendered by perverts … human debt enslavement … plandemics … genocidal geoengineering … an orangemanbadassed styled eco-friendly border wall …

Sam has spent 23 years in her house. Her bit of paradise is now closer to a living hell. This is evidently what we have come to – forget being friendly or neighborly, you can’t even engage in conversation to resolve issues. I realize in the big scheme of things, Sam’s problem is rather small. Having said that, it also seems to tie to our national problems and issues. For many of us, comity no longer appears to be an American quality.

If you were Sam, what would you do?

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Addendum:

• *Sam is not our friend’s real name. For privacy and security reasons, I’m using a pseudonym. The same is true for her neighbor’s name.