Let's Do Something Goofy and Develop a Consistent Position on Vandalism
It's so crazy it just might work
Spokane, Washington — the town where my dad grew up, and where I spent many deeply-boring summer days as a kid — recently saw a controversy that gained national attention. Here are some headlines:
There’s a lot to talk about here, but I don’t want to zip past the fact that Spokane has a Pride mural! Before we get to the bad news, let’s marvel at the progress that has been made in our lifetimes. Here are some statements that I would have deemed equally likely in 1990:
The City of Spokane will approve a public installation celebrating gay pride, and most people in Spokane will think that’s great;
Two large orbs will be built at the base of the Washington Monument to symbolize George Washington’s balls;
“Running” will come to be called “Fast-o leg jazzling”;
Snakes will evolve thumbs and the ability to say “What has two thumbs and likes mice? This guy!” But they will not evolve the ability to realize that the two things can be used together.
Bill Cosby will turn out to be a prolific rapist.
Two out of five. What a world!
I’ll return to the Spokane pride mural in a minute, but first I want to touch on a similar story from Washington, DC:
These stories have some things in common. In both cases, a public installation that carries symbolism was vandalized. In both cases, the perpetrators expressed views that some people interpret as hateful. So, we could do two things here: 1) We could breeze past the facts and use each case as fodder in the ever-widening culture war that is doing to our society what acid did to Syd Barrett’s brain; or 2) We could try to develop a consistent and defensible position on vandalism. I have an inkling that social media will thoroughly exhaust Option #1. So, let’s throw caution to the wind and explore Option #2.