In J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, what does Holden’s reaction to the graffiti indicate ?

In Catcher in the Rye, by J.D.
Salinger, Holden finds graffiti in Phoebe's school. He is concerned that the kids will
see the nasty words and that some "dirty" kid will explain it to them, and that they
will think about it and worry about it. It seems he is concerned for the welfare of the
younger children.

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I thought how Phoebe and all the other little
kids would see it, and how they'd wonder what the hell it meant, and then finally some
dirty kid would tell them—all cockeyed, naturally—what it meant, and how they'd all
think about it and maybe even worry about it for a couple of days. I kept wanting to
kill whoever'd written it. I figured it was some perverty bum that'd sneaked in the
school late at night...

The
importance of Holden's reaction is that it reflects his concern for children, as seen in
the conversation he had with Phoebe about the "catcher" in the rye…even though he had
misremembered the quote from Robert Burns' poem.

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"You know that song, 'If a body catch a body
comin' through the rye'? I'd like—"

"It's 'If a body
meet a body coming through the rye!'" old Phoebe said. "It's a
poem. By Robert Burns."

...She was right, though. It
is "If a body meet a body coming through the rye." I didn't know it
then, though.

"I thought it was 'If a body catch a body.'"
I said. "Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big
field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around—nobody big, I
mean—except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I
have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff—I mean if they're running and
they don't look where they're going. I have to come out from somewhere and
catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd be the catcher in the
rye and all...

Holden's
concern for children who cannot take care of themselves is attached to the threat he
perceives in the ugly world portrayed by the vulgar graffiti. Overall, the idea of
children being caught before they can fall is something that applies to Holden, though
he is unaware of it. Mr. Antolini alludes to this when he speaks to Holden about
"falling" because he commits himself to a useless cause or doesn't find out what really
matters to him.

Holden really does care for the young in
need of saving. And his love for kids seems obvious by his deep attachment to his sister
who he sees as untouched by the ugliness of the world. In a sense, though, he
also is a child, struggling with the ugliness of the
world.