HEAVY SPOILERS: This is a very well made documentary about a family's legal battles with an HOA over a Christmas light show, complete with a camel, live nativity, choir, and thousands and thousands of lights (think Clark Griswold on cocaine) put on in their Idaho neighborhood. Now, generally I can't stand HOAs, and I wouldn't ever live in a neighborhood that has one, and I totally expected to be on the Christmas guy's side, but man was I wrong. I can't stand a bully, and I have never seen a bigger bully hiding behind the "Christian Persecution/War on Christmas" nonsense in my life. He was threatening lawsuits before he even moved into the neighborhood, and btw, he's a lawyer, "thousands of times smarter than these people", which he'll happily tell you before he threatens to sue you...which is constantly. As a side note I learned he was educated at Liberty University, so yeah....anyway, he's going to spread Christmas Cheer and if you don't let him he's gonna ruin you, damn it!
I feel for that neighborhood. They just wanted to keep their neighborhood the quiet, sleepy little bit of paradise that they moved there to have, and it was all ruined by one guy, not his family mind you, just the husband. His poor wife just wanted to have a nice relationship with her neighbors cause she never had that growing up, as she lived in an isolated area with lots of space between homes, and her husband ruined it. She tried to be supportive, but this guy has a my way or no way mentality, believing he's like an American General, surrounded by hostile forces, to the point of quoting an American General's one word reply to the German Army when they told them to surrender during the Battle of the Bulge in a reply to the HOA. He compared himself to Moses according to one couple in the neighborhood, an actual Christian minister and his wife, whom I'm positive he probably accused of being "anti-Christian atheists." He had the Three Percenters running around the neighborhood, armed of course, cause that's their whole thing, and surprise, surprise it upset some people, but it's Idaho, so everyone is apparently armed. Nothing says Christmas Cheer like armed security from a militia! When things turn against him, Mr. Christmas says the Judge is corrupt and they live in a banana republic, cause of course they do. He says the HOA's lawyer is clearly a "commie." Jeez...the documentary crew must have the patience of saints to be around this ray of sunshine.
These are retirees and families with children for the most part, though the neighbors aren't exactly blameless in this whole thing either. This is a tight knit neighborhood, with everyone being close, and one guy tried his best to mess it all up with his righteous fury (and most likely political ambitions that a kerfuffle like this could jump start in the crazy right wing of our current times), though he actually made everyone else an even tighter group with his bull.
In short, he's a child that was bullied, so he became a bully himself as an adult, using lawsuits as his brass knuckles and conservative media as his bullhorn. Who knows how it will all end up cause he wants to take it to the Supreme Court should it be necessary. Keep in mind, nearly every single person in this neighborhood is a Christian of some denomination, they just don't want thousands of people in their neighborhood for several days each holiday season. They also didn't seem to appreciate being secretly recorded every single interaction that you have with a neighbor. I'm sure he's a real hit at parties. It's back and forth in the courts right now.
I can't believe it, but I hope the HOA wins.
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