By Hayden Seder
Hikers who make the trek up Hailey’s Carbonate Mountain are familiar with the concrete water structure that has been used as a canvas for graffiti artists of all calibers for many years, but in recent weeks it has been used as a platform for hate.
Erin Sweeney noticed swastikas painted on the abandoned cistern and took her children up to paint them over a few weeks back. But they were back again when Hallie Star and her husband Selim hiked up on Dec. 2.
“There were more of them (swastikas), and new ones,” recalled Star, who is director of the College of Southern Idaho, Blaine County Center, in Hailey. “Something absolutely had to be done.”
Star posted photos of the hateful graffiti on Facebook and the trip she and her half-brother made to cover it up the next day. The post read: “My bro Beau Stuart and I crushing hate with love at the Carbonate cistern in Hailey. Please take the time to explain to your kids, students, and everyone else who doesn’t know or understand or doesn’t remember why the image of the swastika is a symbol of hate, terror and white supremacy and why we must all fight back and take a stand in the presence of hate. Being neutral or not acting in the presence of hate sustains hate. Show up. Stop hate.”
The post struck a chord, garnering 91 “likes,” eight shares on other pages and 16 comments along the lines of “Great work!” but also “Where is this?” from those disbelieving it occurred in this community.
Stuart, who runs Crystal Clear Window Cleaning, admitted he graffitied some things up there as a teen, and he would like to believe it’s ignorant teens leaving the marks, and not a movement.
But now, as a man raising two 13-year-olds with his girlfriend, “It makes me wonder, why are they not educated on the fact that that symbol is a symbol of hate?” said Stuart. “Are they not getting it in school, or from their parents? So many people hike up there with kids and families and I don’t want them to see that.
“I think people turn a blind eye to it and that’s part of what’s wrong with our country.”
Star said it’s important to acknowledge that hate, hate groups and hate images are everywhere, even in our Valley.
“The fact that these have popped up two times within a month tells me that whoever is responsible for it feels strongly enough to come back a second time,” she said. “It’s important that in this community we don’t think we’re exempt from this kind of thing just because we live in such a safe and beautiful place.”
Stuart said the Wood River Jewish Community called to express their appreciation for what the two had done.
Hailey’s mayor, Fritz Haemmerle, a first-generation German American, had a personal reaction to the incident.
“This summer, I travelled to Germany and visited Dachau and Nuremberg,” Haemmerle said. “At Dachau, I was able to feel and sense the complete evil perpetuated by the Nazis on other human beings—all of this being done under the swastika symbol and all it represented. That hateful symbol has no place in any society.
“Unfortunately, we live in a culture where hate has been unleashed from Pandora’s box. Once unleashed, hate is very hard to contain. All of us need to fight evil, however it presents itself. I am grateful that there are people who are willing to take action on this type of thing.”
