A man has spent $4,000 erecting a massive middle finger statue, aimed at local officials, and the world has a new petty hero.
Ted Pelkey, from Westford, Vermont, has been involved in a battle with the city over plans to build a garage, where he can move his business to.
Pelkey has been told by planners that his application doesn't meet the standards set out for the city. But Pelkey reckons it's personal.
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Talking to boston.com about his ideal to put the giant middle finger on top of a 16ft pole, he said: "I was sitting at a bar and said to my wife, 'Hey, I want to get a statue made of a middle finger, and I'm going to put it up on the lawn."
He went on to say that he was 'sick' of the way he had been treated by officials.
"The town of Westford has played with me for 10 years," he said. "And we all know that was 10 years of my prime existence, when I was hustling more than I'm hustling today. I'm just sick of it."
As it's technically classed as a piece of 'public art', the sculpture won't be removed.
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Pelkey hopes that other local residents are not offended by the display and that it might make them think about the people who are in charge of the town.
He told the news outlet: "I'm not trying to cause hate and animosity to the people who live in that town, because there's very good people in that town. All the people are very good people."
Speaking to WCAX, he added: "I'm hoping we can get it through to the people in the town of Westford to have a really long look at the people who are running their town."
Understandably, the sculpture has caused a bit of a stir, but, on the whole, residents don't seem too put out by it.
One told WCAX: "I wasn't offended. It's somebody's expression and it didn't hurt anybody as far as I know except for maybe somebody's feelings."
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Another added: "You can't believe somebody went through all that work. It's very big. Everybody got the message. But a lot of work went into it."
You can say that again. Pelkey splashed out around $4,000 getting the sculpture made and placed on the pole. He's even added two floodlights so it can be seen night or day. Well, if a job's worth doing and all that...
Featured Image Credit: Facebook/Ted Pelkey's Middle Finger Sculpture in Westford, Vermont