Sign Language

I spend a fair amount of time in my car, mostly traveling along River Road to or from Bethesda / Potomac. For the most part, it's a beautiful, scenic drive through the woods and, yes, past the McMansions of the rich and well-off.

In the past year, though, a rash of rather vulgar and unsightly graffiti has popped up along my commute, and as a taxpayer I'm highly annoyed. I'm referring to the defacement of the traffic signs on River Road, Glen Road, Travilah Road, Esworthy Road, Piney Meetinghouse Road, and some other smaller local roads. Someone with a HUGE political axe to grind has decided it's entirely appropriate and acceptable to deface signs with bumper stickers and spray paint in a sad attempt to inflict their feelings on everyone else. Here's the stop sign at Esworthy and River Roads (click for an enlarged view):

I REALLY resent this sort of destruction of public property, just to make a point about a political viewpoint that may or may not be shared by anyone else. The county road crews replaced one bumper stickered / spray painted stop sign at the intersection of Esworthy and River Roads a month or two ago, only to have it defaced again almost immediately. If I had to guess, I'd say this vandalism is the work of someone living in the immediate area. It's shameful and sickening that otherwise responsible individuals would stoop to such juvenile actions to express their opinion. Would those same individuals be as understanding if the signs were being defaced by people making opposing viewpoints, or perhaps by people making sexual or racial comments? I highly doubt it.

Anyway, it's my dream to stumble upon this person or the persons in flagrante so that I can report them to the police. I like Western MoCo, I appreciate order, and would to help preserve the beauty of the area, and I resent having to waste scarce tax dollars replacing or repairing road signs that have been ruined by some thoughtless person or persons.