Anna,
Your column about the glory of graffiti is the most thoughtless piece of writing I have seen this year. Obviously, you have not ever had to clean up, paint over or restore the childish damage to the public or private property that graffiti defaces.
How would you like someone to come and spray-paint an unintelligible message or “tag” that has meaning only to them on your apartment? Clearly, you don’t own any property. If you did, you probably wouldn’t want people spray-painting some inane message on the side of your house.
If you really like graffiti, give out your parents’ address and invite people to spray-paint on the side of their garage. Maybe your parents have a nice summerhouse that could be adorned with some wannabe gang symbols? I’m sure you could explain why they should enjoy it.
If you really like graffiti, Anna, leave Athens, go to Brooklyn, New York, and admire the view. Almost every flat surface, storefront, sign pole, train, bus and school is covered with graffiti. Take the train out to the New York Mets stadium and admire that even the rooftops are covered in graffiti.
It is a pathetic sight to anyone who values urban architecture. You could ask the poor citizens of Brooklyn if they “notice how the graffiti makes the world more colorful and a little more badass.”
Many of us backward Athenians think red brick walls are beautiful on their own and don’t need “enhancement” by vandals, delinquents or conceptual artists.
Graffiti “artists” are like burglars who break into your house and defecate to “leave their mark.” Wouldn’t it be better to confine graffiti to your own bathroom wall? If you need larger expression space, the paint wall should suffice.
Instead of glorifying graffiti, why don’t you spend an afternoon trying to get it off some of our historic red brick buildings?
The headline, “Graffiti makes its mark, leaving a legacy behind,” is certainly true. I hope your legacy is better than some crude drawings destroying public and private property.
One final suggestion, Anna: You might benefit greatly from the journalism ethics course. I sincerely hope it’s still being taught in Scripps Hall.
Bruce Mitchell is the CEO of The Athens NEWS
