Note to vandals: Get a life

Shella Gardezi

The Editor's Notebook

It’s always surprising to most of us when we hear about senseless vandalism. For the third time someone has decided to destroy newly planted trees in Grand Forks. Last fall, it was a fence designed to protect Lost Lake, which thanks to dedicated people has been largely restored.

Recently, we heard in the news that someone has decided to throw an acid-like substance on cars in Trail.

Probably the only first-hand experience most of us have with vandalism is the petty teenage variety – tagging one’s name on the side of a building, for example. While, this type of thing is frustrating, we can sort of understand where it comes from.

It’s when people make a hobby out of it that it leaves us scratching our heads. Does this person have absolutely nothing else going on in their life? Walking the dog? Sweeping the floor? Watching Law and Order reruns? Playing solitaire till dawn with a deck of 51? (OK, I borrowed that last one from a song.)

This kind of vandalism has no message. It doesn’t speak of youth disenfranchisement. Nobody gets disenfranchised by trees. It doesn’t speak out against capitalism. After all, the trees were planted with government money for the benefit of all residents. The car-owners in Trail who were affected were likely mostly working class people who count every penny.

It doesn’t speak to the youthful desire for adrenalin-pumping experience. In fact, it’s hard, time-consuming work.

Some people say the erosion of the aesthetic environment causes people to act out with vandalism – for example a gritty downtown street where people start to contribute to the sense of decay with their own graffiti and litter. A park in small-town B.C. just doesn’t qualify as this type of environment.

So, what could possibly be motivating this person or persons? They say acting out is generally a cry for attention, but to whom could this person or people brag? After all, everyone in town paid for those trees. No one’s going to be impressed.

So, whoever you are, on behalf of the rest of us, I suggest getting a new hobby. I hear solitaire can be fun. I’ll supply the deck.

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