The recent acts of vandalism in both Saranac Lake and Keene Valley have a lot of people upset. Rightfully so.

This past Saturday, the town of Keene’s Marcy Field was severely vandalized after someone drove all over it, leaving deep tire marks everywhere and putting the adjoining airstrip out of service. The damage was shocking; that it was the latest in a string of vandalism on town property even moreso. We hope that whoever did this is held fully accountable for their actions. In the meantime, the town is looking for volunteers to help with some temporary repairs to the field and runway. They’ll meet with anyone interested in pitching in at 10 a.m. on Monday at Marcy Field.

Last month, after the second-annual Tri-Lakes Pride Festival at Saranac Lake’s Riverside Park, a rainbow balloon arch was destroyed. This past Thursday, a transgender pride flag at the Saranac Lake home of Adirondack North Country Gender Alliance Executive Director Kelly Metzgar was vandalized for a second time. It’s entirely possible that these incidents were the act of children, or were acts of vandalism with no malice, but it’s difficult to see both happen so close to one another and not see a deliberate effort to intimidate and target the local LGBTQIA-plus community.

This is not OK. Period.

After we published our story on the vandalism in Saranac Lake, we heard from a few readers who suggested that acts pushing against transgender and gender nonconforming visibility are somehow justified for childrens’ sake. Destruction of property does not protect children. Violence against transgender and gender nonconforming people does not protect children. Hatred directed toward LGBTQIA-plus people does not protect children. It only instills in young LGBTQIA-plus people a sense of fear, hopelessness and shame. It only works to perpetuate domestic violence against, or neglect of, LGBTQIA-plus kids, and it only works to perpetuate false narratives against LGBTQIA-plus people and spread dangerous misinformation about transgender and gender nonconforming people.

Saranac Lake is better than this. Here’s the thing about living in a small town: Regardless of how we may disagree, we still have to see one another in the grocery store, we still have to go vote in the same place, we still have to see one another on the street. We have to live with one another. Acceptance of each other’s differences makes that a whole lot easier to do.