War memorial in Regina vandalized

[Ron in Regina]

War memorial in Regina vandalized


By Heather Polischuk, Leader-Post June 16, 2009 (Cooment at bottom of Link)
Source: War memorial in Regina vandalized

REGINA — Just weeks after city crews had to scrub graffiti off the cenotaph in Victoria
Park, the war memorial next to the Legislative building has been vandalized.

A black marker or a grease pencil was used to scribble a racially offensive message on
a section of the war memorial, following the words "They sacrificed all that we may
have freedom."

Members of the Saskatchewan War Memorial Project committee came to the
memorial on Tuesday to survey the damage.

"It really saddens me to think people would do this to a memorial of this nature,"
committee chair and Second World War Army veteran Lloyd Jones said, holding a
camera to record the words defacing the stone. "They're all Canadians and they all died
for a purpose . . . I wonder if the person who was so cruel as to put that on our
memorial realizes the disrespect that he's paying to the families of these people
that have sacrificed their lives. They gave up their children in the cause of freedom and
they were sacrificed for freedom and to have something like this indicated now after all
these years, you really and truly pay little respect to the families and you certainly
disrespect the people's names that are on here."

Committee secretary Gord Goddard — a peacetime operations veteran — was equally
offended by the graffiti, not least of all because of the racial slur it contains.

"People that think that it's only about white people, it just really bothers me," he said.
"People that go to war or go on these peacetime operations such as Afghanistan, it's
not about your race or your colour or your creed. You're representing Canada. And I find
that really offensive that people think that way or write that way."

Carissa Robb with the Wascana Centre Authority said their police noticed the graffiti on
Sunday and that authority staff tried to remove it on Monday, but were unsuccessful.
The authority was to bring in a company on Tuesday afternoon to power wash the
graffiti away. She and Jones each said this is the first time they can recall graffiti being
placed on the memorial.

Jones wondered why anyone would see fit to deface either the memorial or the
cenotaph, as they honour those, including thousands from this province, who gave their
lives for their country — regardless of race.

"I think it's a matter of people not really understanding or maybe more that they don't
give a darn about what has happened in the past," he said. "All they're concerned about
is their own little narrow-minded world and if we don't fit into their concept of what they
think is right or wrong, we don't belong. I'd hate to think that is the case but the more
you see these memorials and that being vandalized and defaced, it makes you
question just what are they thinking about? Do they really understand the significance of
these things?"

He said students need to be taught more about Canada's role in the wars, since that is
a significant part of our nation's history.
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______________________________
The Fences & Garage Doors & Garage Walls are Graffiti'd and we clean them
up. The City Garbage Bins and such are Graffiti'd and may or may not eventually
get cleaned up. I don't know if anyone is ever caught, and if they are caught, if
they're ever punished for this crime. Property damage is an inconvenience to
the property owners, caused by idiots that have yet to work for a wage and pay
to own and upkeep things....and don't understand (or give a rat's backside) about
the damage they're doing or the hassle & cost they're inflicting on private citizens.

Defacing a War Memorial is a different situation all together. It is just so wrong on
so many levels. If this hateful person who defacing a War Memorial is ever caught,
there is a special place called Afghanistan that they can be released to after they've
cleaned that memorial top to bottom with their own toothbrush, under the watchful
eye of several current members of the Princess Patricia Royal Rifles, while they
listen to Veterans explain what that Memorial is, and why it's there in that park...

 

[Hazmart]

I fully agree with you Ron. It is just disappointing that a person would choose to do this. However, chances are that they won't find out who did it. I just hope they get everything all cleaned up as soon as possible.

 

[lone wolf]

Sometimes, it really sucks that someone died so these morons can live with as many rights as they do....

 

[Dexter Sinister]

...chances are that they won't find out who did it.

You may be right, but there's an interesting clue in the words defacing the monument. The message is partially visible in the photo on page A3 of today's newspaper. It says, "OUR LAND OVERUN BY..." The rest of that line is hidden behind the man in the foreground, but it looks like the first letter of the next word is M. MORONS perhaps? Second line is "A WASTE, " third line is "STUPID WHITE MEN." I think that narrows the range of potential suspects a bit.

 

[Niflmir]

Things contrast here in Berlin.

I live about five minutes walk from the Mauerpark (The wall park) where a large section of the Berlin wall still stands, covered in graffiti. Recently I walked by it and witnessed people chipping stones out of it... that was the defacement.

Of course it was only the west side where graffiti was possible. I think some Germans have come to see graffiti as a political expression, maybe due to this. I cannot really say.

I have yet to see graffiti on other historical sites, however. There is a lot of graffiti in Berlin.

 

[Ron in Regina]

You may be right, but there's an interesting clue in the words defacing the monument. The message is partially visible in the photo on page A3 of today's newspaper. It says, "OUR LAND OVERUN BY..." The rest of that line is hidden behind the man in the foreground, but it looks like the first letter of the next word is M. MORONS perhaps? Second line is "A WASTE, " third line is "STUPID WHITE MEN." I think that narrows the range of potential suspects a bit.

Dexter, what you see as maybe part of an "M" is part of an "N" and is a
racial slur against Negros. I know this due to discussion about this on
AM980 this morning. Hate directed against that ethnic group as well as
the "STUPID WHITE MEN" narrows the range of potential suspects down to
a very large segment of the population still.

I doubt anyone will ever be caught, but I'm crossing my fingers and hoping
some disgusted person will report the culprit(s?) bragging about this...just
in case.

 

[Socrates the Greek]

Who ever did that is a person who still lives in a cave mentality, I hope a big Saint Bernard dog and his Saint Bernard buddy’s would stop and take a giant piss on the grave hole of the one that did this stupid demented act.

 

[Dexter Sinister]

... what you see as maybe part of an "M" is part of an "N" and is a
racial slur against Negros.

Ah, the "N" word, is it. Well, that's a bit of a surprise. There aren't many black people in Regina, hard to see how the place is overrun by them, except for a person for whom "overrun" means he saw a couple of them a block away once. I guess that broadens the "most likely" field to white racists who think the stupid white men are the ones who haven't joined them, and disaffected young aboriginals. Plenty of both types around, alas.

 

[Niflmir]

Ah, the "N" word, is it. Well, that's a bit of a surprise. There aren't many black people in Regina, hard to see how the place is overrun by them, except for a person for whom "overrun" means he saw a couple of them a block away once. I guess that broadens the "most likely" field to white racists who think the stupid white men are the ones who haven't joined them, and disaffected young aboriginals. Plenty of both types around, alas.

I do wish they would have passed on what was written. If my life has taught me anything it taught me not to trust the press.

 

[Dexter Sinister]

I do wish they would have passed on what was written. If my life has taught me anything it taught me not to trust the press.

Good point. Now that I know the word was nigger, a closer look at the newspaper photo suggests it was deliberately shot from an angle that hides it, leaving us to wonder what it actually said. But political correctness wins that one, apparently. No doubt if it HAD been shown, or the full text given in the article, there'd have been letters from people claiming to be deeply affronted by the newspaper's lack of good taste, or something stupid like that. In fact it wouldn't surprise me to be berated for using it here.

 

[Niflmir]

Good point. Now that I know the word was nigger, a closer look at the newspaper photo suggests it was deliberately shot from an angle that hides it, leaving us to wonder what it actually said. But political correctness wins that one, apparently. No doubt if it HAD been shown, or the full text given in the article, there'd have been letters from people claiming to be deeply affronted by the newspaper's lack of good taste, or something stupid like that. In fact it wouldn't surprise me to be berated for using it here.

Yes, but I find it hard to be outraged about something that I am still very in the dark with.

Of course, graffiti on a monument is a crime in and of itself.