Posted by: mrshooah on: November 3, 2008
By AMBER HUNT • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • November 2, 2008.
Janette Fleury ended up passing out a life lesson with her candy this Halloween: Sometimes adults act like children. Across the street, a fellow supporter of Republican presidential candidate John McCain was denying costumed children candy if their parents supported Democratic rival Barack Obama.
“They came to my house and saw the McCain sign and asked, ‘Are you going to be like that, too?’ ” Fleury said today. “I told them, ‘No. Sometimes adults just act stupid.’ “
It was perhaps an unexpected message coming from a 51-year-old woman wearing a witch’s hat. But Fleury felt it was necessary after neighbor Shirley Nagel turned Friday night’s annual candy quest into a political debate with youngsters.
On Friday, Nagel had a sign in her Grosse Pointe Farms yard reading: “No handouts for Obama supporters, liars, tricksters or kids of supporters,” according to WJBK-TV (Fox2).
When children approached, Nagel quizzed them about their parents’ political leanings, Fleury said. If they were pro-Obama, Nagel turned them away, she said.
The fire was stoked further when Nagel’s next-door neighbor put out a large Obama poster and his own homemade sign promising candy for all.
Nagel told WJBK-TV that “Obama’s scary.” When asked about children who’d been turned away empty-handed and crying, she said: “Oh, well. Everybody has a choice.”
Fleury said most of the rejected children didn’t appear upset. Rather, many walked away chanting Obama’s name, she said.
Nagel couldn’t be reached for comment today. The Associated Press reported that her front-yard sign was taken down by Saturday afternoon. Phone calls placed by the Free Press were forwarded to a voice mail in-box that was full.
Fleury takes her politics seriously, too, but she said that there’s a time and a place for them.
“I just don’t think politics should be intertwined with Halloween,” she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact AMBER HUNT at 586-469-4682 or alhunt@freepress.com.
