By Jon King, Michigan Advance
If sidewalk chalk now qualifies as “vandalism,” then every Michigan kid with a box of crayons better lawyer up.
Last Friday, U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett — the Republican congressman for Michigan’s 7th District — sounded the alarm, claiming his office in Lansing was “vandalized by a group of trespassers during a political rally of political left-wing activists.”
While images of broken windows and spraypainted graffiti come to mind, the “vandalism” in question appears to mainly consist of sidewalk chalk.
Costumed protesters outside his office Thursday evening used sidewalk chalk to write messages like “one term Tom,” “Don’t let kids starve Tom!” “grow a spine,” and “help us afford to live!” These so-called vandals also strung a heart-like shape on a string with a note that said “I found you a heart, Tom!”
Let’s pause here: That is not vandalism.
That is chalk on a public sidewalk and outside walkways, and a note of political discontent.
What Congressman Barrett’s breathless release decried as “harassment” and a “failed attempt to intimidate” him, was essentially not much more than performance art.
But by calling it “vandalism,” he’s now performing politics.
And that’s the problem. Because while Barrett is busy crying foul over chalk, the larger story is that he and his party in Washington are refusing to step up on what truly matters. Namely: negotiations on extending the Affordable Care Act subsidies, reopening the federal government, and safeguarding food aid and nutrition services for millions of Americans.
What if Tom Barrett spent as much energy negotiating on behalf of his constituents as he does wringing his hands about chalk?
Because while he frets over scribbles, Barrett’s party — which holds majorities in both the U.S. House and Senate, as well as controls the entirety of the Executive Branch — has engineered a situation in which millions face rising health care premiums, an ongoing government shutdown with no end in sight, and a hold-up in food-aid programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
Chalk is symbolic dissent. The real damage is silence.
The decision Barrett faces is simple: continue playing the victim for chalk messages, or step up and do your duty as a congressman for the people you represent, whether they voted for you or not.
Until he (and his party) chooses the latter, the real damage will keep happening, not on a sidewalk, but in our wallets and family’s health.
Jon King is the Michigan Advance’s editor-in-chief, having previously served as the outlet’s senior reporter, covering education, elections and LGBTQ+ issues. King has been a journalist for more than 35 years and is the Past President of the Michigan Associated Press Media Editors Association who has been recognized for excellence numerous times, most recently in 2022 with the Best Investigative Story by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters. He is also an adjunct faculty member at Cleary University. Jon and his family live in Howell.
Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jon King for questions: info@michiganadvance.com.
