Within this past week, there have been 2 related instances of vandalism at my seemingly picturesque suburban high school in Southern California.
These acts of vandalism were not simply ‘jokes’, but they were offensive in their content and malicious in their meaning. We have a large mural on one of the walls at our school and the vandal spray painted ” F*** N*GGERS’ in bright red text. This message was found over the weekend and quickly removed. Although I am glad that they removed the message promptly, I believe they should have addressed our student body about it on Monday, which they failed to do. There were small murmurs about the incident around school but none of the teachers or administrators addressed it in any of my classes.
Today it is Wednesday, and they have found further vandalism on the campus. Except these messages left on the walls (in the boy’s restroom), specifically named some of the African American students who attend our school. This last incident is the one that has left me so shocked and upset. It is a terrible thought, thinking that someone at my school or even in my class has ill will and prejudice against people of a certain race. If I was an African American student I would not only feel offended, but almost unsafe.
Living in the suburbs of Southern California, I have almost always felt safe and felt that our community is accepting. This incident has made me take a closer look at our community and put me on alert. It is hard for me to accept that someone in our town is racist. Are there certain societal attitudes that have promoted this act of vandalism? What could have provoked the individual to express his/her anger publicly? I always like to believe the best of people. But I need to realizing that there will always be bad people in the world. Just because we live in such a nice area with an almost nonexistent crime rate with rows of neatly trimmed lawns does not mean that we are safe from more intangible evils like racism.
I hope that the perpetrators are found and brought to justice as soon as possible….
emmatheish 