EDITORIAL
The hammer and sickle have long been a symbol of communist regimes and revolutionaries, appearing on the flags of the Soviet Union, the Communist Party of China, and the North Korean Workers’ Party. Now, that same symbol graces Austin City Hall.
On the night of April 27-28, vandals spray-painted the hammer and sickle on the side of City Hall, while also splashing red paint across the building’s glass doors.
Across the building’s theater-style limestone steps, which evoke both the Greek civic assembly and the balcones rock formations of the Texas Hill Country, the vandals scrawled in huge letters, “U.S. IMPERIALISM IS THE VIRUS, SOCIALIST REVOLUTION IS THE CURE.”
This is unfortunate for the city workers who must now clean up this mess. And it’s a setback for civic pride and participation at a time when many Americans already believe that their voices don’t matter in politics, whether local or national.
Similar graffiti has appeared before throughout the city, including on the campaign offices of Michael Bloomberg, the former Democratic candidate for president.
Lest we overreact, however, let’s remind ourselves that Texas is a long way from “socialist revolution.” What this vandalism symbolizes is not a society on the brink of revolution, but rather a City failing to adequately enforce the rule of law.
Austin faces a critical shortage of police officers, yet the city won’t hire more. Misdemeanor crimes are rarely being enforced in local courts, and when arrests are made offenders are released immediately on personal bond.
That’s fine when the offense really is a minor one and the offender poses a minimal risk of re-offending. But that’s not always the case.
In one recent incident, a man with 38 prior convictions struck a female passerby on the Congress Avenue bridge and beat bloody a man who came to her aid. He was tried and sentenced, but then let out of jail within three months.
Rising street violence in recent months could have a number of underlying causes. Liberal city leaders have blamed easy access to illegal guns, while conservatives have pointed to the city’s recently relaxed homeless ordinances and the epidemic of drug abuse and drug trafficking.
Whatever the causes, Austinites of all political stripes should be able to agree that the protection of life and property is a fundamental responsibility of government. And it doesn’t inspire confidence when the government can’t protect even its own headquarters.
