Proposal naysayer edit

Proposed Research

One issue that Maxine brought to my attention was the continuing vandalism of and around the tree. People try to cut down the tree, burn down the tree, and other destructive activities to the tree. Maxine and her brother continue to try and put up signs explaining the landmark and history of the tree. Then, someone always tears it down not long after. Maxine has also tried putting up signs saying no vandalism and signs of that sort, but they always get torn down as well. I noticed the spray paint on the log at the site, but could not know of the other issues just by looking at it.

People know about the vandalism, but since it occurs in a rural community people take a different attitude toward the problem than people in other types of communities tend to. The most common thoughts seem to be “what else are they going to do out here” and “that is just how it is.” This includes Maxine. I found this fascinating that people just do not care.

Destruction of the tree has consequences. This tree is the only tourist attraction located in Milltown. This tree brings tourists who bring money to the small businesses. Without this added revenue, the businesses would struggle even more. The loss of the tree would hurt people as well. This tree is very special to the community, especially Maxine. While not all towns’ people think this way, many might say that it cannot be fought because a place so secluded cannot be monitored. While it is true that vandalism would be difficult to stop if the movement was so localized, the focus should be put on stopping vandalism throughout the county to hopefully see improvement in that area as well.

My goal is to research criminality of rural communities focusing on vandalism. I hope to change the minds of the people in Milltown to believe that it is not acceptable for people to vandalize anything, especially something so important to the town’s community and already struggling economy. Most resources will be from the internet. This is because people who research and collect information on criminality tend to focus on urban communities, but rural communities have problems as well.

Questions

I adressed two likely objections but I am sure I will come accross more with more research. I attributed objections to some  people throughout the county. I believe I have represented them fairly. I believe I need to qualify my argument with research on how other rural communities have dealt with a similar problem. I used a version of the templates for naming your naysayers. I used the one that prevents stereotyping. It does strengthen my argument because many people might think this way and it gives them credit because in my second example they are right to think that way. I just offered a different type of solution.