I hate graffiti. Big time. Loathe it. Despise it. Wish it gone. Wish I never ever had to look at it, ever again.
I think we erred when we started being calling them “graffiti artists.” Artists? Give me a break!! It is not art. It is messy, juvenile. ugly, silly, dumb. It is not ART! To spray paint anything on other people’s property is vandalism, pure and simple. They don’t own that wall, building or train, therefore it is not theirs to ruin with their ugly childish scribbles. Ever watch a dog mark its territory by doing you-know-what on something? Same thing. They need to get up off their lazy backsides, buy a wall or building or train, then, and only then, can they deface it. They would then have the right to call it “art”. They could call it George for all I care.
Rome was full of graffiti — so much so that our tour guide apologized as we drove into Rome. Couldn’t miss it. It was everywhere.
The police here say that if someone sprays graffiti on your property, you should clean it off or paint over it as soon as possible. Get rid of it. Don’t let it stay. If you do, they win, it’s their wall, not yours. If they do it again, clean it again. Keep at it until they go away. I think I’d put a large mean dog on a long lease out next to the wall too. A little added persuasion to go far, far away, and not return.
So I wondered. Why doesn’t Rome, a lovely city, not fight it? Buy up lots of stone colored paint and paint over it. I’d much prefer that. We can’t let the punks win. Only punks ruin something they’ve not earned. I don’t care where they live.
