A Cranston, R.I. man prompted a neighborhood protest after he posted a sign that said “Glad you have canser [sic] so die stupid†on his garage window after a dispute with his cancer-stricken neighbor.
Edward Jimmis told the Providence Journal he put up the sign, encircled in a holiday wreath with a red bow, because he “wanted to hit a nerve.â€
The neighbor, 55-year-old Bob Gold, has been in remission for a year from Hodgkin’s lymphoma, first diagnosed in Feb. 2009. He said he was in his backyard on Monday when he saw the wreath and the cardboard sign.
Gold said he called Cranston police, who told him Jimmis was not breaking the law. An officer asked Jimmis to take the sign down but he refused.
According to the Providence Journal, Jimmis changed the sign after receiving calls from a reporter to a new one that read, “Love your neighbor.â€
Asked about the change, Jimmis said, “You’re supposed to love your neighbor. I’m doing him a favor.â€
Unsatisfied, Gold complained to the mayor’s office and called the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. A representative from the mayor’s office said that while the mayor supported Gold, “We can’t legislate being a good neighbor.â€
On Tuesday afternoon, about 17 people protested in front of Jimmis’ house, carrying signs that read, “Leave our peaceful neighborhood,“ â€Evil to cancer patients,“ â€Shame on you“ and â€God please help him.â€
Cranston Police Chief Marco Palombo, Jr. said Jimmis later acknowledged putting the sign up had been over the top and said he wouldn’t post it again.
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Angry Neighbors Protest
CRANSTON, R.I. -- Neighbors protested Wednesday night outside the Cranston home of Edward Jimmis, who posted a sign directed at his neighbor.
"Glad you have canser (sic). So die stupid," the sign read.
Bob Gold, the target of the message, said he couldn't believe it.
"I had to go over to the fence and look at it several times, go away, come back. I said, 'Oh my God. He's really done this. He has so gone over the line,'" Gold said.
Jimmis stayed inside his home during the protest, but commented on the demonstration outside his door.
"Let them do whatever they want to do," he said.
As for the now infamous sign, Jimmis said he put it up because Gold had been pushing his buttons.
"Sorry for the sign. It wasn't called for. It wasn't me. I wanted to hit a nerve. It was directed at him, not everyone who has cancer. It was very distasteful. I admit it. I'm not a vicious person. I did wrong. I admit it," Jimmis said.
But neighbors claim Jimmis engages in antagonistic behavior on a regular basis.
Lynn Ceprano said he gives her the middle finger.
"He is so bad. He is so bad," Ceprano said.
Jimmis claims he has arthritis so the finger sticks up.
Another neighbor said Jimmis mowed the letters F and U in his lawn as a message to her.
He allegedly shines a spotlight in one woman's window, and the neighbors can rattle off the stories.
"I've lost a lot of my eyesight. I can't drive a car or anything. He'd come out here calling me a blind blah, blah, blah and stuff. I just don't like the guy. He's constantly antagonizing everybody," said Bill Arrighie, whose mother-in-law lives across the street from Jimmis.
When asked why so many neighbors have negative stories about him, Jimmis said, "They all get together."
His wife called them troublemakers.
Jimmis said each neighbor started the problems with him. Both sides of the feud said Jimmis does have friends in the neighborhood.
But the message was clear.
"Pack your bags. Go find another town to live in," Gold said.
Jimmis said he's willing to end the dispute, but he said he's not moving.
"I ain't going nowhere. This is my house. They can stay out there for three years. It's not going to bother me," he said.
