Hugo Chavez bans signs in stadiums

When the Redskins (briefly) banned signs at FedEx Field this fall, I made plenty of over-the-top jokes comparing the franchise to various dictatorships. I was just joking.

And the recent events involving sporting signs in Venezuela are, obviously, completely different than anything in Landover. Still, it makes you shake your head a bit. If you haven't been following, The Post reported on this two weeks ago:

At a recent baseball game a sign in the crowd read: "3 Strikes-Lights-Water-Insecurity/President You Struck Out." Chávez's thugs beat up those baseball fans.

The New York Times also picked up on the issue:

Inside stadiums, the phrase has popped up on banners and in chants, irking the baseball-loving Chavez and becoming a rare successful rallying cry for the fragmented opposition....

"I see faces of people in the stadium and they're annoyed, they're scared," said Chavez, who has repeatedly mentioned the baseball protests during live broadcasts. "Since when have people gone to a stadium to provoke others? They're disrespecting the sport, the players and the crowd."

And then Wednesday morning, a friend sent me this link from Stratfor.com:

The Venezuelan National Guard announced Feb. 2 that no signs not directly related to sports will be allowed into Venezuelan baseball games. The move is a response to the spreading use of the phrase "Chavez tas' Ponchao," which literally means "Chavez you've struck out" -- a slogan that has become the passphrase for the political opposition of Chavez's administration. The proliferation of the phrase at sporting events has led to violent clashes....

Let's be clear, aside from the use of the words "no signs" and "allowed," there aren't similarities in these stories. But it still sort of shows why you don't want to adopt a policy like that. Too many bad connotations.

(Also, I've heard that the people of Venezuela might get new HD big screens next offseason. Haven't been able to confirm yet.)