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Apparently, a California City Found This Traffic Sign to Be Homophobic

Homophobia no longer exists in this California neighborhood because its local council decided to remove certain traffic signs. Of course, I’m joking—what fresh hell is this nonsense? In the world of make-believe, this traffic signal symbolized oppression and anti-gay bigotry. For the rest of us who aren’t afflicted by mental illness, it merely said that drivers could not make a certain turn on some roads. 

Who knew that the no U-turn sign was problematic? Apparently, for the residents of Silver Lake, California, it was a sign of homophobia. I’m not kidding. The comical part is that this was something that took months to push through (via NBC Los Angeles): 

Street signs that officials said previously targeted LGBTQ community members were taken down from a Silver Lake neighborhood... 

The signs that read “No Cruising” and prohibited U-turns were installed in 1997 when neighbors complained about gay men hanging out and looking for dates in certain residential areas close to popular gay bars. 

While the “No Cruising” signs were removed after the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council voted to dismantle them in 2011, some of the no U-turn signs remained.

[…] 

After months of “bureaucratic process,” Raman said she collaborated with the office of Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez, who oversees other parts of Silver Lake, to remove the final signs. 

First, this nonsense dates to 2011? Also, there aren't other municipal issues more pressing for this part of Los Angeles? It’s not the worst example of West Coast lunacy—the story of tampons in the boys’ bathrooms for kindergarteners was worse—but these types of theatrics are exactly what Nicholas Kristof was talking about when he wrote about how liberals failed this part of the country.

Kristof is a native Oregonian and proud liberal, so it’s not shocking that he’s an op-ed writer for The New York Times. But he did pen a lengthy and rather brutal examination of how his home state has devolved into left-wing lunacy. He notes that the first step is to have some humility and admit failures. When it comes to housing, the Left Coast is a haven for homelessness. Kristof aptly notes that liberals here are heavy on the political theater but lack results in governing. They say all the red meat lefty phrases to energize the hippie masses but don’t do anything. Even Democrats have lamented how it’s painful to watch far-left elements operate in government because nothing gets done. It’s an artsy region, whose masterpiece is urban decay.

Dithering for years on traffic signs because it triggered people is exactly the sort of silliness that made the West Coast a hellhole. But, as some noted, "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone probably have an episode idea here.