We must be humble and respectful. Other religion and virtue have received more real discredit from hypocrites than the wittiest profligates or infidels could ever cast upon them. Holidays are usually synonymous with good cheer, smiles, and a festive atmosphere—but occasionally, decorations can be the cause of friction and ill will as well.  When people of various faiths and traditions all live in the same high-rise building or Home Owner’s Association, one needs to especially take into account the rules, aesthetics, and safety guidelines of the entire community—not just those members who happen to be a part of the dominant culture. When it comes to the policy on holiday decorations, good resident boards and managers usually tread very carefully and are mindful of their associations’ diverse tenants, in common areas, such as lobbies, garages, hallways and balconies.

When people of various religions al live in the same high-rise building or community development, holiday decorating has to please everyone’s customs and traditions. So if any decoration goes on, it needs to be approved by the manager and agreed upon by the tenants, in an effort to keep everyone safe and happy. The decoration needs to address how much religion is allowed when it comes to decoration, what types of ornaments and lights will be allowed, and how much to put in the lobby and even the size of the items. A lot of high-rise buildings have the large glass windows, unobstructed, for your protection.  If something were to happen, and you could not contact the police, they are able to ride by and see that everyone is safe. However, with all the trees, faces on the walls and colors, they cannot see anything, which is putting you in danger. This is Midtown Sacramento, California, and there are criminals in the area. We are also blocks from the State Capitol, so the security of this building is very serious. I have heard many cry out against sin.

As I walked into the lobby today, of the apartment building today, I was completely offended and felt sick. The manager just spent thousands of dollars painting and buying new furniture, and plants and art work to go onto the walls. They even had to paint the same space three times because the tenants kept complaining about the colors. So after months of trying to get it right, the management came up with a design that beneficial for everyone. However, just days later, the same people who were complaining about how they hate pink or green or yellow, decorated the lobby for Christmas, without taking anyone else into consideration. The decorations are totally overboard and make the art gallery lobby look like a preschool, but no one is complaining because Mrs. Charlotte in 901 decorated the lobby and they are afraid to offend her. And Betty 604 has gotten away with seriously assaulting two people in this building, without being arrested and she was reported to police. Not everyone here is religious, and some religions do not celebrate Christmas, and it is a public space. Perhaps one could get away with a Christmas tree, but wait until you see these pictures.

These people, who are doing all the decorations, are aware that there are Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Jewish people in the building, who do not celebrate Christmas, but they do not care the these displays may be offensive, and possibly a safety issue. The problem is some of these people purposely try to make the high rise look off kilter, to make it undesirable and keep conflict flowing, and the management is aware and just lets these people violate their leases. Now being mature, you keep the complaints to yourself and just sit back and hope that the manager will start enforcing the lease agreement.

After all, they audit some people, for parking, and only give them a week to respond. The manager will post a note on your door, where everyone can read it, and say you have a week to bring your registration and license and insurance to their office. I know, because it happened to me, and if I had been out of town, they could have towed my car away. A week is not long to comply and anyone could have ripped the letter off my door without me every seeing it, and I would have gotten in trouble. I am not sure who manages this building, at 1820 Capitol Avenue, in Sacramento, California, but they are not doing a very good job. It is not just about the decorations, but they have tenants that live here who have assaulted others, are reported, reports are true, but they are not evicted or arrested.

There seems to be a double standard in this building for how they implement the rules, and the conduct is possibly a violation of federal law. If you know of ongoing problems, with specific tenants, and do not handle them, that creates an unsafe living environment, which is housing discrimination. Federal law prohibits housing discrimination based on your race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender, familial status or disability. If you feel your civil rights have been violated, you can file your fair housing complaint. Your housing discrimination complaint will be reviewed by a fair housing specialist to determine if it alleges acts that might violate the Fair Housing Acts. The specialist will contact you for any additional information needed to complete this review. If your complaint involves a possible violation of the Fair Housing Act, the specialist will assist you in filing an official housing discrimination complaint.  Contact U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development at 800-333-4636. There is no crime so dangerous, so detestable, as hypocrisy; it has the complicated guilt of every crime that it conceals.