A California man decided to get creative after being ordered by the city to conceal his boat behind a fence and has become a social media hero for his epic act of defiance.
When Etienne Constable of Seaside received a nasty letter from code enforcement informing him that municipal code required that his boat be “screened on the side and front by a six-foot-high fence” or else he’d be fined, the 29-year resident decided that he’d comply but with a delightful bit of trolling of the local officials.
Constable erected the fence as told but got a neighbor who’s an artist to paint a mural of the boat on it, effectively giving the busybodies at city hall the middle finger.
Man who kept his boat besides his house was ordered from the city to put up a fence to hide the boat from view. So he built the fence and hired someone to paint it. pic.twitter.com/wrkQh6RjXn
— Doug Aoki (@Nantanreikan) May 9, 2024
“I’m not a rule-breaker but I like to make a political statement as necessary as well as a humorous statement and a creative statement,” Constable told local news outlet KSBW.
“I thought, ‘This is ridiculous,’ and my first reaction was to leave a nasty, nasty message at the city hall,” he says. “And then I thought, well, I might as well build a screen … I’ll do what they want, but I’m not going to do it their way,” he told the Washington Post.
He then hired artist Hanif Panni to do the boat mural which he shared on social media.
(Video: YouTube)
Constable’s response to the meddlesome bureaucrats has already made him into a minor legend with X users who took to the platform with their kudos.
Legend.
— coderojo (@coderojoxx) May 9, 2024
What is that saying, not all heros wear capes? https://t.co/x99LLynPVH
— Florida Man – World’s Superhero (@danmmeyer) May 9, 2024
. Is this the first known instance of a Spite Fence? God bless the rebels.
— AnnaZ (@AnnaZ) May 9, 2024
…and straight into the folklore of the internet…
— Paul Jensen (@PaulJen01998021) May 11, 2024
This is hilarious!!!
This level of petty, is truly inspiring!— pinkprincessinthecity️ (@pinkprincessin1) May 9, 2024
I have a strong desire to buy that guy several beers
— 100% Ping Wing (@PingWingery) May 9, 2024
Malicious compliance is a beautiful thing
— Aus Integrity (@QBCCIntegrity) May 10, 2024
I just would have thought that the HOA would’ve had a rule about fences and like everything else they have to be consistent, same color, same height, and person would still have a battle on his hands.
— C S (@clarksville999) May 10, 2024
Become ungovernable
— Aaron Stannard (@Aaronontheweb) May 9, 2024
“The more people see something, the more opinions there are about it … and it’s just so fun to see those branches stemming off of something that I created,” Panni said. “ … One of the reasons why I do public art, and art in general, is to inspire those conversations.”
“I’m all in favor of generating a discussion and making people smile,” Constable said of the positive response online. “The reaction is extremely more than we ever expected and we’re both just tickled about it.”
The city has not responded to being mocked in such a brilliant manner.
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