Wednesday, April 17, 2002
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Wednesday, April 17, 2002 |
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Graffiti vandals, you will be caught and punished I got an e-mail the other day from a constituent who was concerned about not only the increased amount of litter strewn about our beautiful city (a very legitimate concern, indeed) but also about some offensive graffiti which had been written in a prominent location on a cart path. It turns out that last Monday night I took my boys for a walk after a golf cart ride down to the nature trail behind the amphitheater, and saw the very same highly offensive graffiti the citizen who wrote to me had seen. Our top-notch public works department took care of the problem the first thing Tuesday morning. Now that you have the facts, please eavesdrop of the rest of this letter, which is directed to the mindless idiot who wrote the vulgarity on our cart path. I get annoyed when I see trash thrown carelessly anywhere in the city, but it is especially bothersome when I see it on the cart paths. There are plenty of trash receptacles along the paths, and it is plainly nothing more than carelessness and laziness that causes the problem. Your offense, however, is a good deal more serious than being careless or lazy. Your offense is repulsive, sickening, and downright evil. There are plenty of people who enjoy using our paths, and that includes senior citizens, who are among the Greatest Generation, whose members fought and died such that you might enjoy the liberty you have today. Your liberty, however, does not include your selfish, childish, offensive, and illegal destruction of city property. So you have offended a lot of older folks with your spray paint can. But wait, let's make sure you ruin it for the kids, too. I had the distinct honor of having to explain to my 9-year-old son and my 4-year-old son what your extreme vulgarity meant. So instead of blushing and ignoring them, I sat them down and explained that there are sick, selfish people in this world, and sometimes we have to live with the offenses of others. At least for a while. You see, I also told them a little bit about justice. About how when you do mean things to other people, and their property, there is a price to pay. No question about it, you may well have gotten away with it this time. But criminals are dumb, and you'll probably do it again. And when you do, the rest of us will be waiting. And watching. And when you are caught red-handed (and you will be caught) I hope you enjoy the harshest sentence possible. If it were up to me, you'd be scrubbing cart paths with steel wool until your fingers fell off. One last thing. If you're under 18, have a talk with your parents or your pastor. It's not too late to right your ship. If you're over 18, do us all a favor and move to New York with your spray can. And if you do, and if you can't seem to keep your spray paint can under control, I hope you wind up scrubbing subways til your fingers fall off. Dan Tennant Peachtree City Councilman DanTennantPTC@aol.com
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