2008 Woodie Awards
Vandals Cause Many to Lose Christmas Cheer
Stephanie Flippin/Muleskinner
Issue date: 12/7/06 Section: Opinion
For some, the Christmas season means joyfully spending time with family members, getting the best sale on all of the presents and enjoying good food. Some people do not take the outlook. Some even take to ruining the holiday spirit of others.
Vandalism, which is defined as "the deliberate defacement of public or private property," is seen all year round. But in the holiday season, it seems to make a bigger impression, because people do not expect others to be mean-spirited this time of year. Christmas decorations seem to be on the top vandals' lists, which could end up being quite a bit of damage, since decorations are becoming more and more expensive.
Last year, in Menlo Park, Calif., vandals destroyed 11 trees on Christmas morning. The trees had been brought by private donors in honor of someone special in their lives, and the trees dedicated to them. They represent family members and community leaders and were placed in memory of departed loved ones.
For those who brought the trees, those who can no longer enjoy the trees and the rest of us who just heard about the story, it is a graphic reminder that even with all of the love and kindness surrounding the season, there is still some people who do not get the message.
No one is making you participate in the holiday season. True, it is everywhere you look, but no one is making you put lights on your house, wear a Christmas sweater and eat gingerbread cookies. So, just be mad about the holiday to yourself. There is no need to bring others down with you.
Even when the damage caused does not amount to much financially, it affects people emotionally.
Two years ago, in the Pemberton borough of Philadelphia, three teenagers smashed 15 bulbs from the borough's Christmas tree. They were charged with criminal mischief and trespassing. The teenagers were caught when police saw them leaving the park where the tree was located.
Smashing a few bulbs, totaling about $25 in damage, is not that big of a deal expense-wise, but it is in principle. First, that tree and lights did not belong to them, so they had no right to mess with it, even if it was worth less than a dollar.
Vandalism, which is defined as "the deliberate defacement of public or private property," is seen all year round. But in the holiday season, it seems to make a bigger impression, because people do not expect others to be mean-spirited this time of year. Christmas decorations seem to be on the top vandals' lists, which could end up being quite a bit of damage, since decorations are becoming more and more expensive.
Last year, in Menlo Park, Calif., vandals destroyed 11 trees on Christmas morning. The trees had been brought by private donors in honor of someone special in their lives, and the trees dedicated to them. They represent family members and community leaders and were placed in memory of departed loved ones.
For those who brought the trees, those who can no longer enjoy the trees and the rest of us who just heard about the story, it is a graphic reminder that even with all of the love and kindness surrounding the season, there is still some people who do not get the message.
No one is making you participate in the holiday season. True, it is everywhere you look, but no one is making you put lights on your house, wear a Christmas sweater and eat gingerbread cookies. So, just be mad about the holiday to yourself. There is no need to bring others down with you.
Even when the damage caused does not amount to much financially, it affects people emotionally.
Two years ago, in the Pemberton borough of Philadelphia, three teenagers smashed 15 bulbs from the borough's Christmas tree. They were charged with criminal mischief and trespassing. The teenagers were caught when police saw them leaving the park where the tree was located.
Smashing a few bulbs, totaling about $25 in damage, is not that big of a deal expense-wise, but it is in principle. First, that tree and lights did not belong to them, so they had no right to mess with it, even if it was worth less than a dollar.
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