Michael Atherton wrote:And, if you want to see how much graffiti can lower the quality of our neighborhoods just try visiting some large cities on the East or West coasts.
Please offer some specific examples of this claim. I understand that
many people do not like seeing graffiti in their neighborhoods, some
however do. It's a big stretch to assign a cause of "lower quality of
life" to graffiti. Even a correlation with quality of life seems hard to
come by in our city.
Like Michael, I've lived in and visited other cities where there is a lot more graffiti than here. Universally, areas with large amounts of graffiti are run down, and often unsafe.
It's no stretch to say it causes a lower quality of life. Although I can't quote you chapter and verse from any study that you'd believe, the fact is it is generally accepted that graffiti makes a neighborhood look more welcome to the criminal element. In other words, large amounts of graffiti make a neighborhood look like it is run down, neglected and therefore a place where street criminals will less likely be harassed, by police or residents. It looks like the residents don't care. Once the street criminals move in then more crime follows.
The "some" who do like seeing graffiti are an extremely tiny minority, equivalent in size to the numbers of those who like things such as shooting people they disagree with, pimping, complete anarchy, burning down buildings for fun and profit. The day something you worked hard and long for is vandalized by a tagger or other miscreant may be the day you change your tune.
I see this as mainly an aesthetic issue, especially on public property.
Conor Donnelly WaitePark
Gosh, it's so aesthetic to see graffiti on street signs, power pedestals, city vehicles, the backs of city bus seats, playground equipment (my son today asked what one such tag said -- try explaining an obscenity to a 2-year old), and park benches. 99.9% of the taggers out there are not motivated by an artistic sense.
The taxpayers own that public property, and the vast majority of us don't want to see graffiti on it.
Chris Johnson Fulton
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