"Vote from the rooftops"

“When all else fails, vote from the rooftops” is a saying that has been printed on many images, usually with a picture of a rifle. A person is not voting in a voting booth, but is defending life, liberty and property.

The expression “vote from the rooftops” or “voting from the rooftops” refers to the 1992 Los Angeles riots (often called the Rodney King riots). Store owners in Koreatown believed that the city was ignoring them and allowing the mostly African American rioters to loot their properties. Many Koreans took to the rooftops with rifles to defend their properties from the looting.

“Vote from the Rooftops” bumper stickers were sold at a gun show, as printed in the Orange County Register (Santa Ana, CA) on February 5, 1995. “Now you tell me; am I stockpiling because I’m a hunter and competitive shooter, or because I intend to ‘Vote from the Rooftops’” was printed on the newsgroup humanities.philosophy.objectivism on May 15, 1997. ““Voting From the Rooftops,” a study by the Violence Policy Center (VPC), was released in October 2001. “vote from the rooftops Euphemism for an armed revolution if one’s (generally political) desires are not fulfilled” was entered in the Urban Dictionary on May 31, 2008.

“When all else fails, vote from the rooftops” was posted on the newsgroup rec.motorcycles.dirt on June 12, 2002. “When All Else Fails…Vote From the Rooftops” was posted on the newsgroup misc.survivalism on February 22, 2009. “When all else fails, VOTE from the rooftops” was posted on Twitter by ariel_amato on June 23, 2009.

Wikipedia: 1992 Los Angeles riots
The 1992 Los Angeles riots, sometimes called the Rodney King riots or the 1992 Los Angeles uprising, were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, in April and May 1992. Unrest began in South Central Los Angeles on April 29, after a jury acquitted four officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) charged with using excessive force in the arrest and beating of Rodney King. This incident had been videotaped and widely shown in television broadcasts. (...) . Koreatown, situated just to the north of South Central LA, was disproportionately damaged.

5 February 1995, Orange County Register (Santa Ana, CA), “GUNNING FOR PLEASURE // ARMS: Gun-show attendees have the pick of the modern arsenal, from used assault weapons to sniper rifles” by Laura Saari, pg. B1:
... “My Kid Beat Up Your Honor Student,” and “Vote from the Rooftops,” featuring a…

Google Groups: humanities.philosophy.objectivism
I accuse Leonard Peikoff and Betsy Speicher
Tom Scheeler
May 15, 1997, 3:00:00 AM
(...)
Well, you tell me what purpose I’m stockpiling them for. You seem to claim to know what everyone else is stockpiling for. Now you tell me; am I stockpiling because I’m a hunter and competitive shooter, or because I intend to “Vote from the Rooftops”.

Google Groups: alt.fan.pauline.hanson
Herry
Dec 10, 1997, 3:00:00 AM
(...)
Commie, right wing nutcase… it’s all the same to me. Government interference. Get rid of gun laws. Get rid of immigration restrictions. It’ll sort itself out. Most of all, get rid of you pompous windbags that _know_ what’s right for society. Vote from the rooftops. With an assault rifle.

Google Groups: misc.consumers.house.homeowner-assn
Utopia
Bruce
Apr 24, 1998, 3:00:00 AM
Why stop there, get a rifle and vote from the rooftops

Google Groups: alt.ozdebate
Once again, America shows how its citizens do not enjoy true freedom
Doug Smith
Dec 13, 1999, 3:00:00 AM
(...)
“Vote from the rooftops!”

9 October 2001, U.S. Newswire (Washington, DC), “Violence Policy Center Report Documents Sale, Details Terror Potential”:
Web site: http://www.vpc.org
WASHINGTON, Oct. 9 /U.S. Newswire/—The U.S. gun industry sold at least twenty-five 50 caliber sniper rifles to Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden’s terror network, a study released by the Violence Policy Center (VPC) this week reports. The study, “Voting From the Rooftops,” details the tremendous power of the Barrett M82A1 50 caliber sniper rifles-which U.S. Marines used in the Gulf War to knock out Iraqi armored vehicles from 1,750 yards away-and the gun’s potential use to commit terror acts that could cause enormous casualties.

Google Groups: ba.general
Racist Nun Guts at the Cow Palace Gun Show
Michael Dix
Apr 20, 2002, 4:30:26 PM
(...)
> And how about all those ” Vote From the Rooftops” ( Note: this depicts a Sniper armed
> with a high-power rifle, shooting and killing people from a tower or a roof) paraphernalia
> that you folks are so fond of purchasing these days?

Google Groups: rec.motorcycles.dirt
FIRE!
vlj
Jun 12, 2002, 11:25:36 PM
(...)
When all else fails, vote from the rooftops ...

Urban Dictionary
vote from the rooftops
Euphemism for an armed revolution if one’s (generally political) desires are not fulfilled.
If John McCain wins the election, I’m going to vote from the rooftops.
by Manchurian Muslim May 31, 2008

Twitter
Sensei Ken
@constructalpha_
Replying to @TheGamerAuthor
@Busterwolf1176 “Vote from the rooftops” is a time honored American tradition 😊
5:27 AM · Jun 7, 2008

Twitter
Doug
@dugitman
Replying to @pandoramusic
@pandora_radio Congrats! Soooo happy about this. Now, a few good economy decisions and they may avoid people voting from the rooftops.
9:51 AM · Sep 28, 2008

Google Groups: misc.survivalism
When All Else Fails…Vote From the Rooftops…...
Harry
Feb 22, 2009, 8:32:20 AM
When all else fails…vote from the rooftops…...
http://incogman.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/goodwguns.jpg?w=497&h=431

Twitter
ariel_amato
@ariel_amato
When all else fails, VOTE from the rooftops.
9:14 AM · Jun 23, 2009

Twitter
Florian H.
@fhelling
When all else fails… Vote from the rooftops. http://bit.ly/6U6QaF
2:07 PM · Nov 25, 2009

Twitter
RickAstroTea 🇺🇸
@RickAstroTea
“Voting from the rooftops” is actually a valid exercise, but one only tyrants fear.
2:08 PM · Aug 24, 2011

Twitter
Carlton Kannady
@ShitThatGuy
WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS VOTE FROM THE ROOFTOPS AR-15 T-SHIRT | AR-15 GUN T-SHIRTS FOR THE GUN ENTHUSIAST http://ar-15shirts.com/WHEN-ALL-ELSE-FAILS-VOTE-FROM-THE-ROOFTOPS-AR-15-T-SHIRT-AR-15-GUN-T-SHIRTS-FOR-THE-GUN-ENTHUSIAST.HTM
5:25 PM · Jul 20, 2012

Twitter
Salon
@Salon
Welcome to the gun show: “When All Else Fails, Vote From the Rooftops!” http://salon.com/2012/09/16/this_is_the_wild_west/
7:41 PM · Sep 16, 2012

Twitter
𝘿𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙚𝙡 𝙂. 𝙍𝙤𝙗𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙤𝙣
@daguro
Anyone wearing a T shirt with a picture of a sniper and the phrase “When all else fails, vote from the rooftops” should be shunned.
9:48 AM · Apr 14, 2014

Google Books
America Divided:
How Did We Get Here?
By Rex Crouch
Reno, NV: Short Attention Span Press
2015
Pg. 82:
“When all else fails, vote from the rooftops.” ~Unknown Patriot

Twitter
Jim Hankins
@ltecato
#gunsense #dallas Where did the snipers get the idea of “voting from the rooftops? http://machinegunshirts.com/WHEN-ALL-ELSE-FAILS-VOTE-FROM-THE-ROOFTOPS-T-SHIRT-GUN-T-SHIRTS-WITH-ATTITUDE.HTM
12:40 PM · Jul 8, 2016

Google Books
Paper Gods:
A Novel of Money, Race, and Politics
By Goldie Taylor
New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press
2018
Pg. ?:
“When all else fails, vote from the rooftops!” she was caught on tape telling a pro-gun rally during the heated primary.

Twitter
Kristin Andrene
@KristinAndrene
Replying to @Ladyoftheplains @FoxNews and 2 others
“pitchforks and torches time” (@SheriffClarke), “vote from the rooftops”—militia tee-shirts—calls for revolution from at least two #prayforpay preachers and
@JudgeJeanine; cries of “hang her” during the campaign…not sure all the violence comes from the Democrats, lol,
4:37 PM · Feb 18, 2018

Twitter
Steven Godofsky
@sgodofsk
back in the ‘90s they called it “voting from the rooftops.” This same idea has been around for decades.
Although, worth noting—in the ‘90s there really was terrorism as a direct result of the 1994 AWB.
5:48 PM · Feb 19, 2020

Twitter
Court Wing
@court_wing
Replying to @court_wing @glennkirschner2 and @Twitter
Also apparently this mirrors a WHITE NATIONALIST talking-point they repeatedly use, “voting from the rooftops” , a reference to store owners shooting predominantly African American rioters in 1992 Rodney King protests…
10:04 AM · May 29, 2020

Twitter
Ewetopian
@Ewetopian
Replying to @JenAntila and @RyanFaircloth
“You see this in FB comments,...You’ll see very strong condemnations of racism and homophobia. Then there are people who use racially charged phrases such as, ‘Vote from the rooftops.’ reference to Korean shop-owners who went to rooftops to fire on looters [during ‘92 LA riots]”
9:08 AM · Jun 1, 2020

Twitter
Militia.Liaison
@ChristianLiais1
Americans “Voting From The Rooftops” during the 1992 L.A. “Rodney King” Riots,(Pic). These were Americans of Korean Decent that Guarded their Own Businesses From the Rooftops.
#RKBA
10:23 PM · Jun 6, 2020

Twitter
Fred the Great
@fredontwittur
“Voting from the rooftops” is about when others come for you, not starting the violence yourself.
Quote Tweet
Ryan Busse
@ryandbusse
·
Sep 3, 2022
“Voting from the rooftops” was once relegated to the dark alleys of gun culture. It means “if election does not go my way, I become a sniper.” (this is a well-known pic of a guy advertising the idea)
the hat is a classical and very popular Greek reference: “come and take them”
(“When all else fails, vote from the rooftops” is shown on a sniper’s shirt.—ed.)
9:48 AM · Sep 5, 2022

Twitter
Declaration of Memes
@libertycappy
(The following text is shown on an image.—ed.)
when all else fails,
vote from the rooftops
1:00 AM · Mar 2, 2023