I share the concern of many residents over the increased volume of “tagging” that mars our neighborhoods and signals a likely penetration of our community by gangs, or (perhaps?) gang wanna-bes. But the article posted in the Enterprise last Friday, Aug. 8, about the city of Lynnwood “clamping down on graffiti” disturbed me as it recounts the wrong-headed method being applied by the city of Lynnwood to hold the victims — whether local businesses or ordinary citizen/householders — responsible to clean up the graffiti in rapid fashion at their own expense or pay a substantial fine. I concur with the comments of Paul Vezetinksy, who said “It’s punishing the victim.”
Tagging is not an accident; it is a one-way crime against a property owner. It is simply unjust to make the victim accountable to pay the cost of rapid removal or be subject to a hefty fine. I would rather see a fund created within the Lynnwood Public Works budget to cover the cost of removal — yes, allocate a tiny portion of our taxes so that the cost is spread over the entire community rather than specific victims. And make use of members of the community who are ready and willing to volunteer to remove graffiti.
But even more importantly, may I suggest that we all begin to work at the root of the problem of “tagging” and similar gang or gang wanna-be behaviors that are impacting our neighborhoods? Just a few months ago, the city of Lynnwood joined the Edmonds School District, Edmonds Community College and others in bringing Azim Khamisa to our city to speak on the theme of dealing with gangs via training in nonviolence and other techniques that give our youth new life purpose beyond drugs, violence and gang-related activities. Khamisa spoke of a complete curriculum that is being used with success in locales across the USA.
We need to move beyond words to action. Who on the Lynnwood City Council can we count on to take the first steps to implement the Azim Khamisa program, or something like it, in our community?
John Berg
Lynnwood
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
