EDITORIAL:Damaged sign sends bad message

Who took a cement block to the sign advertising the new home of the Huntington Beach Senior Center?

We’re pretty sure it wasn’t a group of renegade Gray Panthers. And we’re reasonably confident it wasn’t a gang of jealous youths wishing that voters last year had approved a teen center instead.

It’s pretty obvious the culprits are disgruntled voters who didn’t like how last year’s referendum on the senior center went. They were obviously angry enough to go at the sign twice.

To those who would argue that it could have been random vandalism, we must acknowledge the possibility. But as the authorities pointed out, there are many other signs nearby that went untouched. And the senior center sign was destroyed twice.

If it was done by some angry resident, please try to calm down for a moment and think about what you’re doing. You’re not just creating a mess for public works officials to clean up — a mess we feel compelled to point out that is being fixed with your tax dollars, by the way.

You’re sending a message. Oh sure, you think the message is: The senior center is a bad idea. But it’s really: Hey, kids, if you’re angry about something, just throw a tantrum and wreck it.

At a time when we’re still reeling from police reports that a retired sheriff’s deputy was stabbed after confronting a youth about alleged graffiti, it’s especially wrong to see this sort of vandalism from adults.

And if anyone out there has any information about who vandalized the signs, it’s your public duty to report it to the authorities, reward or no reward.

Please, folks, if you’re upset about the senior center vote, put your frustration to better use. We live in a democracy, and the majority vote rules.

How about writing or calling the City Council instead? Or, better yet, go to a council meeting and tell your elected representatives in person. And if you still don’t get any satisfaction, the next election is Nov. 4, 2008. Maybe you can start organizing that campaign for City Council now.