Archive: Opinions

I like order in my life.  Having a family has forced me to be somewhat more flexible in that, but it hasn't changed my fundamental nature.  So I would have been outraged by last week's graffiti attack on the school and town parks in any event.  But the extreme vile and violent nature of the graffiti  as well as the large scope of the damage in this particular town has really raised my hackles, and I am not the only one.

One of the things that makes Lansing unique is the extraordinary level of community participation and pride in our collective accomplishments.  The dedication, sacrifice, time and skill that made our remarkable, beautiful town playground possible was inspiring.  I have seen the same level of buy-in when the Lion's Club built the band stand, or when the girl scouts built a park at the town Center Trail entrance.  Or when the library was formed.  And at the schools.  This town is reeking of community spirit, volunteerism, doing what's best for the whole community with little money and a lot of what television building personality Bob Vila calls 'sweat equity.'

When someone steals something from you it is a violation.  But when someone desecrates something you have helped to build with neighbors and fellow townspeople it is an act of war against the whole community.  These things have value that goes way beyond their monetary value.  They are deeply embedded in the souls of Lansing residents as symbols of a community that is tight knit and always looking to make things better for all its residents over and over and over again.

Clearly the terrorists who vandalized our two town parks and school property are deeply troubled.  I hope they are apprehended and punished for what they did.  If they don't live in Lansing we'll never understand what made them do what they did to us.  If they do live in Lansing it is hard to understand how they could have so profoundly misunderstood the tenor of their own community.

To start with, the perpetrators should be made to reimburse the Town and the School District for repair costs.  After they are fined or get out of jail they should be made to do many hours community service.  Make things better to begin to erase how much worse they made them.

That's the thing -- they didn't do this to stuff.  They did it to every single resident of this town.  It was an attack that was personal and vile.  The Town cannot sit still for this kind of behavior, and I applaud town officials who stated this week that they will pursue the vandals to the fullest extent of the law.

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