TARRANT RESIDENT SAYS FAREWELL THE ONLY WAY SHE KNEW HOW: WITH A MIDDLE FINGER AND A MASTERCLASS IN CIVICS

TARRANT, AL — In a political moment that will go down somewhere between "historically petty" and "God, I wish I had popcorn," longtime Tarrant activist Jackie Beltaine closed out her time in the city by offering its leaders a warm and heartfelt "F** you"* — seven times, to be exact.

Yes, folks. That’s not an exaggeration. During her final public comment at the city council meeting, Beltaine stood up, delivered a farewell speech worthy of a Netflix docuseries, and proceeded to hand-deliver a one-finger salute to every single official on the dais, including the city clerk, for good measure.

Some call it disrespectful. Others call it performance art. We at RDFC call it "Southern Local Government Bingo — Blackout Edition."

Beltaine, the founding mother of the infamous The Tarrant Tattler Facebook page (think Real Housewives meets courtroom filings), has been a thorn in the city’s side for years — and she wasn’t about to fade into the sunset like a minor character. No, ma’am. She chose to go out in full-blown grand finale mode, flipping birds like she was directing runway traffic at the Birmingham airport.

According to witnesses, the mayor laughed. The council looked like they'd just seen a Pentecostal preacher slam a vape pen. And Tracie Threadford, mayor pro tem and current mayoral candidate, clutched her pearls so hard they became diamonds.

"Has Tarrant gone this low?" she asked.

Ma'am… the train’s been in the basement for years. We’re just installing new lights.

The real kicker? Jackie wasn’t just mad. She was educated mad. She said she had to read the city code, the state constitution, and court rulings just to understand the never-ending sitcom that is Tarrant government.

“Y’all taught me more than any civics class ever did,” she said, with one hand flipping through legal precedent and the other hand slowly raising a middle finger toward municipal dysfunction.

And while some officials condemned the act, others quietly admitted she was just saying what half the town has been whispering into their steering wheels for four years.

In a shocking moment of bipartisan agreement, everyone in the room — from the mayor to the maintenance guy sweeping up broken dreams — agreed on one thing: Jackie Beltaine will never be forgotten.

The Tarrant Tattler may be winding down, but Jackie’s spirit lives on in every frustrated Facebook comment, every angry red-faced uncle at a zoning meeting, and every “Bless your heart” said with thinly veiled rage.

As for Jackie? She’s packed up her camper and plans to ride off into the dysfunctional sunset, flipping off city halls across America — one pothole-riddled town at a time.

Godspeed, Jackie. You didn’t just speak truth to power — you screamed it, flipped it off, and then probably posted a GIF about it.

P.S. Jackie, if your camper ever rolls through our neck of the woods, we’d love to formally invite you to a Kimberly City Council meeting. Just to observe, of course. No pressure… but bring your reading glasses and maybe a stress ball. We’ve got our own brand of Southern municipal theater, and you might find the sequel you're looking for.