ON a sunny, spring Saturday morning, ugliness could be found in downtown Columbus.
Weaving in and out of the darkness in the early hours of April 3, an individual spray-painted a white supremacist logo — which included the hate group’s web address — in multiple areas throughout the city.
This individual did not randomly tag walls, but targeted organizations that have strongly spoken out against racism and other places that have symbolized unity.
Among the areas hit were the Cummins Corporate Office Building, First Presbyterian Church, and Friendship Way between Fourth and Fifth streets.
Both Cummins and First Presbyterian have spoken out about racial injustice on numerous occasions, including just a couple weeks ago at a local rally supporting Asian Americans, and Friendship Way was created with extensive help from Columbus’ sister city of Miyoshi, Japan.
Thankfully no persons were physically harmed over the weekend, and the markings can be covered like they were never there.
At the same time, it’s concerning that symbols of hate are popping up in our diverse community — especially ones explicitly trying to recruit more members.
Whether this is an isolated incident as suspected, or the work of a group of individuals, this type of ideology and behavior should be condemned.
This type of intimidation isn’t welcome in Columbus and Bartholomew County, and shouldn’t be tolerated.
Hopefully the suspect is apprehended soon and there aren’t any similar incidents in the future.
