|
Graffiti. Is it good or bad? According to most police departments, graffiti is an act of gang members. They paint on public places, so that everyone can see. People paint graffiti for different reasons. The lettering of graffiti which can probably be found on any graffiti art usually distinguishes whether or not it is gang related. If it is gang related it will probably have the gang's motto. When graffiti victimizes buildings such as government buildings or schools it is offensive. Daniel Fonseca, a habitual offender analyst of the police department, says that the gangs want to get the public eye., They want the citizens to fear them. Some buildings are painted just because they are located in the middle of town. One solution mentioned by Fonseca was to monitor the selling of paint to kids just like the not selling of alcohol to minors. Whether grafitti should be tolerated or not may never be decided. I think graffiti is okay if there are spcific areas that are allowed to be defaced, but when venerable sites are targeted it has to be stopped. According to Martinez's discussion on graffiti, the multi-colored graffiti known as "wildstyle" was born in the late seventies and early eighties. It did not take long and graffiti was catching on all over L.A. In 1984, a youth club named "Radio Tron" was born in Los Angeles. It was a cultural center where people could go and practice drawing whatever they wanted. It was a way for kids to express themselves legally. Kids from six to early twenties were a part of the graffiti club. Then in a couple of years the club shut down causing the kids to turn to gangs. Graffiti continued with a vengeance. It was said it was more intruiging now that it was illegal. Then graffiti started to gain respect, and it was questioned if it should be considered art and not vandalism. Some said it was respected more because it became fashionable to whites. It was observed by Martinez that the controversy was class and race based. I think it would be benificiary to have a club of this sort. It would not hurt to have a place to go specifically to practice graffiti. Yet, I don't agree in vandalizing government buildings. |