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SEP 21, 2003 08:52 AM
mc_thoth said:
I'm surprised at all the anger directed at the graf artists. I guess I never thought much of the presence of graffiti. Skaters, punks and even racial minorities have been accused of lowering property values and being bad for business. I understand that graffiti artists are in violation of the law, which is frustrating to those of us who scrupulously obey every law (like me). I understand that tagged building owners incur the costs of repair. But can we say that it is also the fault of the local government for failing to address what appears to be a persistent problem effectively? Dumping money into surveillance and enforcement is more expensive (and arguably less effective) than coming up with a community based, mutually beneficial (not to mention permanent) solution to the problem. Oftentimes community members must take the initiative. Where I used to live, people had a major nuisance problem with skaters damaging public buildings, private stairwells, curbs, etc. So the people asked the local government to consider turning an empty lot into a skate park. Of course not all skating in public areas stopped, but it was drastically reduced.
The same could be done for graffiti. Give them a wall somewhere that they can paint. have tournaments. Have local shipping businesses give out waste cardboard to practice on. Maybe this is an exercise in wishful thinking, but I think it could probably be done with minimal organizing. Regardless, I'm sure there is a better, less wasteful way to deal with graffiti that hopelessly trying to stamp it out with force.
let's hug 
Eep. I'm getting into this...
I really agree with what was said above there. Personally, I think well-done graffiti looks cool, but there's a tough line to walk on when it's ok and when it's not. Is it OK to tag a large business but not a small business? A business vs. a home? A public bridge or signpost? How do you draw the line?
If I had more money, one of the things I'd be donating it to would be places for kids to publicly display their art without having to do it on the side of someone's building.
Last note: when I lived in New Orleans, there was a guy who would go around painting over all the graffiti he saw with the same color of gray paint, no matter what color the building/sign actually was. To me, that was uglier by far than the tag, not to mention, he was also painting on others' property...
Just something to think about. I'm gonna go eat some donuts and write for real now. 
Nimh
Tempe, AZ
October 2002
SEP 20, 2003 08:46 PM