Stupid people like the first person mentioned in the article, who apparently doesn't live in an HOA and was asked by a town official to stop hanging laundry?
I don't know if I necessarily agree with that when it's someone in a position of authority like a government official who is doing the "asking" since that typically carries the implied threat of some sort of repercussions
I don't think you can assume an implied threat here.
"your neighbors keep calling the police and we have told them that it isn't illegal to hang laundry. Can you hang it in the back yard so we stop getting calls?
