Hate crime in Shohola

Looking for a way to respond

By FRITZ MAYER

SHOHOLA, PA — On Sunday morning they awoke to find a stuffed toy gorilla with a rope around its neck, hanging from a tree in the yard; a pen had been shoved into its rear end. A fake turkey that looked as if it might be worn on a hat as a decoy was perched on a fence post; an arrow had been shoved through its neck.

A picture of a penis had been drawn on one windowpane, the word “fag” had been drawn on another and a third word was illegible.

Arthur Smith-not his real name-and his partner were unsettled to say the least. The air conditioning had been running so not even the dog heard the activity going on in the middle of the night.

Another similar incident happened last fall near Halloween, or perhaps it was the year before, Smith couldn’t be sure. But someone, presumably children or a child, had gone onto the property. The perpetrator spread toilet paper and wrote gay epithets. But on July 29, the level of violence was noticeably greater.

“What do you do?” Smith asked. “Not feeling safe in your own home, in your own community-it’s not a good feeling.”

Smith called the state police and an officer showed up to investigate. But he was not particularly comforting when he explained the options available. He said his office would not try to get fingerprints or DNA from the materials left by the perpetrator, to track down the suspect. The officer said arresting anyone would be difficult without some evidence such as a picture of the crime being committed.

Smith told the officer about a neighbor boy who lived nearby that had been hanging around the property recently. There may be a connection, but there was no way to prove it. The officer said he would talk with the boy’s family. He then left Smith with a pamphlet for victims and very little faith that there was any good way to respond to the incident. (The officer did not return a call from The River Reporter seeking comment.)

It seemed to Smith that an incident like this wouldn’t really get much attention from the authorities unless someone was seriously injured or killed. Smith agreed to talk to The River Reporter because he wanted others in the community to know that this kind of activity had happened here.

Smith said he is still dealing with an inner “flight or fight” struggle, but that he was increasingly coming up on the side of fighting.

One of the options he has is to purchase a rifle, which Smith said he is considering. That would be a marked change for him because he said, “I swore I would never have a gun in my house.”