(Photo by Brian Allen)

A week after a black construction worker found two nooses at the construction site of The Wharf, Southwest residents woke up to flyers plastered on their cars that reveled in the election outcome with a nastiness and misogyny that shocked them.

“Your tears of unfathomable sadness are delicious,” wrote someone describing themselves as “Your Smiling Neighbour.” (the full note is below).

The British spelling and the use of “queue,” “prattled,” and “bloody” were unusual for someone claiming to “know what [sic] best for Middle America,” but as best anyone can tell, the vitriol is real and not some kind of sick joke.

The flyer’s writer claims to have put up Trump-Pence signs on the street that were taken down, which one Southwest resident says appears to have been the case.

A few weeks before the election, a bunch of Trump lawn signs showed up around 4th and M Streets SW and on neighboring blocks. “There weren’t a lot of any political signs before … and they sort of just popped up,” says Chelsey Kelly, a resident of the neighborhood. “They were out for like a week, then I heard some folks had taken them down, and they came back up.” But beyond that clue, no one seems to know who was behind the almost maniacally gleeful message.

In a tweet, Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen wrote that it is important not to normalize such behavior.

“I think many people are bracing for this type of open hostility and lack of decency,” Allen told DCist in an emailed statement. “I don’t think it reflects our values or priorities—and certainly doesn’t build a stronger community. I, like many, will be on the lookout to protect residents from hateful speech and actions. But if this person really wants to make America great again, they might want to start by not using the British spelling of ‘neighbour.'”

The area’s precinct closely mirrored the city’s average voting pattern, with Donald Trump earning just 4.25 percent of the votes in the area—or 98 people.

Referencing the appearance of the nooses, Kelly says that her neighbors “have been on edge” and the letter only made things worse.

“It really bothered me that people felt unsafe … and it makes me mad that this person just wants to rub it in our face. The people that are upset or are worried or are legitimately scared for the future of our country—we have every right to feel that way,” she says. “This is the internet troll on paper.” Kelly had already drafted a response message that she planned to print out today and distribute, but someone else beat her to it.

Another anonymous letter popped up this morning which decried the original’s “gloat-rage-spam.”

“This is a note to try to quell the unease that our dear neighbor left us with last night… No matter what toxic words appear on our cars under cover of darkness, we must not be frightened into silence or fear of our neighbors,” the response reads. It is signed “The Safety Pin of Waterfront,” a reference to the trend of wearing pins as a sign of inclusion.

Kelly posted a photo of the response to a local Facebook group, where residents said they were grateful to the writer for the message. “Thank you so much for creating something positive out of a message that was so hateful. Love the Little Quadrant that Could, and our community!!” one person wrote. Others echoed the letter writers’ offer to walk neighbors home from the supermarket if they felt unsafe, or just needed a hand with their bags.

In the message that Kelly had planned to distribute, though, she would have included her name and tried to strike up a conversation with the original poster—akin to ones happening elsewhere in the city between people on opposite sides of the political spectrum.

“I wanted to point out that this person was anonymous and if they wanted to have a conversation about the election, race relations, the economy, whatever, I’d happily meet them and chat with them,” she says. “It was brave to print these out and put it on cars, but you’re not brave enough to talk to me in person?”

Southwest leaflet by RachelSadon on Scribd

Southwest response leaflet by RachelSadon on Scribd

This post has been updated with comment from Councilmember Charles Allen.