- Home
- Commentary
- The awesome power of paint and the right attitude
The awesome power of paint and the right attitude
- By Richard Burger
- Published 09/11/2008
- Commentary
- Unrated
I became convinced a long time ago that if you want to know what someone really believes, pay more attention to what they do than what they say. The truth of that was demonstrated twice just recently, and both instances, coincidentally, involved painting and churches. They both also particularly appealed to me because they were great examples of the good that can come when people aren’t content to sit around and wait for government to solve their problems and instead take the initiative to make things better. And by the way, no government grants were required.
The first example is the “Loving Thy Neighbors” ministries that will launch in Toppenish Sept. 20. In case you missed the story last week, it’s a four-month effort by local churches to eliminate graffiti in residential neighborhoods. I was at the meeting where church representatives showed up to talk with city and school district officials to communicate their desire – and their specific plans – to do something about this issue.
Usually, when that many people show up at city hall with the same purpose, it’s because they want city hall to do something – or not do something – for them, rather than the other way around.
Graffiti has long been lamented as a blight on the city, but despite all the talk, it continues to grow. Frustration about the problem seems almost palpable, among even the most even-tempered people around town. For example, I spoke with a gentleman who shall remain nameless at a recent community event who shared with me his suggestions regarding the solution to graffiti and other gang-related crime. It involved various forms of corporal “inducements” to discourage such behavior.
I’ve also heard the idea bandied about that if certain cities in other parts of the nation can declare themselves “refuge cities” and ignore federal and state law, apparently with relative impunity, why can’t a given community or communities in the valley do the same thing, only in the other direction? I don’t know what you’d call them, un-refuge cities? Anyway, the idea would be that the state juvenile justice system would simply be ignored. You commit spray-paint vandalism, or any other crime, in our town, and juvenile or not, we’ll deal with you in our municipal court and you won’t like the punishment nearly as well as you would the Yakima County graffiti pods.
It may help ease the frustration and anger to imagine that prospect, but the reality, of course, is that it won’t work. What will work is loving thy neighbors, I suspect.
The other instance of doing instead of talking was the willingness of a church group in Zillah to spend evenings and weekends painting their city hall.
These individuals saw that something needed to be done and they took care of it. No phone calls to the mayor asking why isn’t something being done about the appearance of city hall. Rather, they saw it as an opportunity to do something for the community and took it.
It’s a concept that is immensely powerful in its ability to make a difference. Actually, it may be the only concept that is.
The first example is the “Loving Thy Neighbors” ministries that will launch in Toppenish Sept. 20. In case you missed the story last week, it’s a four-month effort by local churches to eliminate graffiti in residential neighborhoods. I was at the meeting where church representatives showed up to talk with city and school district officials to communicate their desire – and their specific plans – to do something about this issue.
Usually, when that many people show up at city hall with the same purpose, it’s because they want city hall to do something – or not do something – for them, rather than the other way around.
Graffiti has long been lamented as a blight on the city, but despite all the talk, it continues to grow. Frustration about the problem seems almost palpable, among even the most even-tempered people around town. For example, I spoke with a gentleman who shall remain nameless at a recent community event who shared with me his suggestions regarding the solution to graffiti and other gang-related crime. It involved various forms of corporal “inducements” to discourage such behavior.
I’ve also heard the idea bandied about that if certain cities in other parts of the nation can declare themselves “refuge cities” and ignore federal and state law, apparently with relative impunity, why can’t a given community or communities in the valley do the same thing, only in the other direction? I don’t know what you’d call them, un-refuge cities? Anyway, the idea would be that the state juvenile justice system would simply be ignored. You commit spray-paint vandalism, or any other crime, in our town, and juvenile or not, we’ll deal with you in our municipal court and you won’t like the punishment nearly as well as you would the Yakima County graffiti pods.
It may help ease the frustration and anger to imagine that prospect, but the reality, of course, is that it won’t work. What will work is loving thy neighbors, I suspect.
The other instance of doing instead of talking was the willingness of a church group in Zillah to spend evenings and weekends painting their city hall.
These individuals saw that something needed to be done and they took care of it. No phone calls to the mayor asking why isn’t something being done about the appearance of city hall. Rather, they saw it as an opportunity to do something for the community and took it.
It’s a concept that is immensely powerful in its ability to make a difference. Actually, it may be the only concept that is.