Aquinnah neighbors are on edge after recent instances of destructive vandalism and graffiti occurred at homes, public roads, and the private West Chop Club.
Some markings — detailed in Aquinnah Police reports — on public and private property seemingly reference class tension, as well as that the vandals will strike again. One marking features an ethnic slur against people of Italian descent. The vandal’s or vandals’ exact intent is currently unknown.
Particularly alarming for some is the recent discovery of “EVERY NIGHT …” written on a stop line at Old South Road, which some have interpreted as a threat that the vandalism could continue.
Select board member Tom Murphy said that his home was damaged this spring as well, around the time of his re-election to the select board. Murphy reported to police then that a vinyl covering at his porch, a string of lights, and a plant had been slashed, and that five of his campaign signs were stolen.
More recently, on Sept. 17, Murphy reported the disappearance of the flag that he hung near his home.
Murphy was not the only resident impacted. On Sept. 16, Aquinnah Police Sgt. Paul Manning received reports that the expletive “C____” was marked on a private mailbox. A homeowner also reported to police that his mailbox was knocked off its post, and is missing, and yet another homeowner spotted dollar signs painted on their gate posts.
Public property was marked at the intersection of Moshup Trail and State Road, where “WAR” was written on a stop sign, “Eat The Rich” was marked on the stop line, and utility posts were marked.
And at a gate post at the private West Chop Club, what used to read “WCC” was painted over to form an ethnic slur against people of Italian descent.
Murphy did note to The Times that he does not know exactly who is behind these incidents, nor what their motivations were. He also said that state and local police are investigating.
He is, however, of the opinion that adults are to blame instead of any Island youth. “It appears to have been adults, in a thought-out campaign of intimidation and harassment,” he said.
The police report notes that police found no evidence or instruments.
The West Chop Club was not available for comment when reached by The Times.
“WAR”,…. has been written on stop signs going back at least, to the Vietnam War.
This one crosses generations and has some of my empathy. Yet I knowingly admit it is not right to deface town or state property as it is paid for by our personal or parents, property taxes..!
The rest I have feelings of anger towards those who are malicious in their intent to deface personal property. These properties are the ones that pay those taxes in order to allow the children of the various towns, the education they receive, the town departments to function, like snow to he plowed, the streets to he swept., the trash bins to be picked up, the police and town workers to be paid, etc.
To surreptitiously deface personal or public property affects us all creating an undue burden on each one of us. Not only do we have to look at that graffiti, or trash words, we now have to he personally more diligent to our surroundings, with unnecessary caution. Those home or property owners, now have to hire someone to repair those injustices.
If you have something against wealth, fight people like DT, or the CEO’s of large corporations believing in gread by not reinvesting in their companies and short changing their employees in order to pay the stock holders and themselves large , crazy bonuses and payouts.
If you don’t like your neighbor and have to scribble trash words on their mailbox, then I throw my hands in the air.
Just remember, there are are consequences to all of this eventually.
These are small revolutions.
The bigger one is fomenting right under our noses.
Very disappointing. Maybe it’s time for these homeowners to buy some of the great home camera systems so these people can be found to make this stop.
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