(Image credit: CFJC Today/File photo).

By Aaron Schulze

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Make no assumptions about what a vandal looks like

Jul 20, 2022 | 4:51 AM

I WROTE YESTERDAY about the bull sculpture that has been removed from Riverside Park because of ongoing vandalism. The patina has been worn down from repeated scrubbing to remove graffiti and other paint, and it has to be restored.

As everyone knows, we all tend to place our own interpretations on the words of others to suit our own beliefs. There were some thoughtful responses to the editorial, but there was also a broad assumption that the vandalism has been committed by what many like to call “creeps and lowlifes.”

Sure, street crime is part of the issue but that’s too narrow a view of it.

You don’t have to have a mental illness or an addiction or be poor or homeless to commit vandalism. Neither do you have to be young or old or unemployed. You just have to not give a damn.

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Vandals, in fact, come in all shapes and sizes. Some think they’re being hilarious when they paint the testicles on the likeness of a bull pink. They get some kind of sick fun out of breaking school windows, slashing tires or busting streetlights — a sort of variation of soaping windows and tipping over outhouses on Hallowe’en.

A vandal is happiest when damaging somebody else’s property, whether private or public. Some vandalize out of boredom, some for political reasons, some out of anger, some because they’re drunk and lose their common sense.

Mostly, the act of vandalism gives them a feeling of power, sometimes revenge. Mob psychology is often part of it.

One thing that’s certain — vandalism is on the increase. It’s a crime of opportunity that feeds on itself, and there’s an immense cost to it, not just in repairs but to our sense of personal and community well-being.

It’s a big problem with many hidden corners, too big to blame the breadth and depth of it on any one segment of society.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.