Columbia Citizens

In the night, somebody leaves bigoted and hateful messages, singling out a few members of a community. How does the wider community respond?

This news (KING5, P-I) is making the rounds through neighborhood email groups. Someone has spray-painted cars with racial slurs and a Star of David.

Several years ago, my wife and I lived in a town where similar attacks happened. Maybe our community was inspired by the spirit of this powerful legend, but their very real response has become something of a legend in itself.

From the news report, immediate neighbors have apparently stepped up to demonstrate their solidarity.

Is there a role for the wider community? What do you think it should be?

This just in from the SPD blog:

Sometime overnight or in the early morning hours of September 13th “swastika” graffiti was painted on two synagogues, on the driveway portion leading to a synagogue, and on the sidewalk in front of private residences in the area. The synagogues are located in the 6500 block of 52nd Avenue South and the 5100 block of South Morgan Street. Officers responded to the various crime scenes and are actively investigating. All information gathered is being forwarded to our Bias Crimes detective. This is an active Malicious Harassment/Property Damage investigation.

The private property owners are currently removing the graffiti from their property while SDOT is removing the graffiti from the public areas that were defaced. The Seattle Police Department treats this situation very seriously and encourages anyone who may have information about these incidents to call our Bias Crimes Unit at (206) 233-3898 and refer to these incidents.

What does a community do?