Expression, beauty, and creativity are often seen in artwork which can be found on a piece of paper, canvas or a public mural. Though when illegible sketched words begin to show up on public and private property, it turns into illegal graffiti, not your typical form of “beautiful” art.
Graffiti is an ugly, damaging crime as well as vandalism.
And it should stay illegal.
Today in society, specifically in downtown Los Angeles, one will regularly come across sightings of gang names or inappropriate language drawn on a public seat in a Metro bus or on a public restroom stall at McDonald’s.
According to the article, “LA scrubs away 30 million square feet of graffiti each year,” published by radio station, 89.3 KPCC, author Aaron Mendelson writes that the cost to remove graffiti is continuously increasing.
“LA spends about $7 million per year dealing with graffiti, a price tag the city sees as a bargain but that others argue could be better spent elsewhere,” Mendelson wrote.
There is no fair point in destroying property by drawing graffiti. Graffiti is draining the city, business owners and private homeowners of their money.
Think about franchises that newly renovate their public restrooms. These fixes don’t last very long thanks to “818” being sketched onto the toilet paper holders. Because of graffiti, the business owner’s money has been wasted.
Another act of destruction is graffiti found on homeowner’s properties.
A friend of mine recently moved into a newly built home and the very first week of living there, a tagger scribbled an illegible name on the mailbox. Since then, she’s seen multiple sketches on many of her neighbors’ homes.
Graffiti instantly adds a touch of unpolished damage to a neighborhood, making it trashy.
Legalizing the destruction of a well kept home, public restroom and a playground at a park is as dumb as allowing murderers to commit manslaughter without any penalty. Graffiti is a crime that deserves no justice.
Many people may vouch for graffiti, claiming it’s a form of expression, art, or that“beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” but graffiti is an act of ugly destruction. Art is a Pablo Picasso piece found at the Getty Villa, not a cartoon figure drawn on the back of a stop sign.
Instead of vandalizing the random walls around the city, why not just take a simple art class in order to express yourself?