Everybody wants to weigh in on Jake Johnson's fence.
There are two schools of thought. One is the law is the law and the brazen breaking of it must be punished or else the rules of a civil society mean nothing.
The other school of thought is that Mr. Johnson is a folk hero standing up to the folly of arbitrary one-size-fits-all laws that are preventing him from making his property more attractive.
One wag even tried to compare Mr. Johnson to civil rights icon Rosa Parks, showing the dangers of comparing the banalities of everyday life to historic events. Mr. Johnson is not a Rosa Parks and the codes office is not the Gestapo.
Mr. Johnson is a hard worker who likes to get things done and feels the ends do justify the means. He did not want to pursue the due-process approach to changing a law.
He does raise some great points about unintended consequences of laws. That happens all the time, as laws are passed in reaction to real or perceived travesties or injustices.
It's also true there are many worse looking properties and there are bigger fish to fry. Mr. Johnson says he intends to appear at the December 2 Council meeting. It will be interesting to see if he can mount the charm offensive needed to convince a majority to rethink the law.
Even if that happens its a process that includes drafting, review and debate, so he still faces the issue of what to do with his Mullin Street property which is in violation.
Watertown Daily Times | Fence-gate
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