Graffiti vs. vandalism
...y for gangs to communicate to one another. Gangs began to paint large murals on street walls to represent themselves and show to the world they were there. Other rival gangs would see this and cross the names of the rival gang to show disrespect. Sometimes they would only cross out certain names to provide a type of hit list and let the rivals know they were out to get them. Yet, people think that most graffiti is done by gangs when in fact gangs are responsible for less than 10% of graffiti. What people don’t realize is that at the same time that gangs are marking up the walls to mark their territory a kid is out on the streets without nowhere to go, because he can’t stand to be a home. His only escape is his imagination and so he paint on the walls. In the ghetto, the kids can’t afford oil paints and canvas, so they look for another way to express themselves and create art. It costs America more than $8 billion per year just to clean up graffiti. Imagine what we could spend that money on if graffiti wasn’t as bad as it is. There are four primary motivating factors for graffiti vandalism: fame, rebellion, self-expression, and power. Yet how can graffiti really effect us? First, graffiti is a drain on your tax dollars. Money that could be used for schools, roads, parks and other community improvements are used for graffiti clean up. Second, graffiti decreases a resident’s feeling of safety in a community. Neighborhoods with graffiti see a decrease in property values and loss of business growth and tourism. Finally, graffiti sends a signal that nobody cares, which attracts other forms of crime and street delinquency to the neighborhood. Even though graffiti is a crime, it is also an art form and will continue to be one. If something is not already an example of art (statues, murals, beautiful buildings) or of some historic or substantial value (museums, old schools, churches, etc.) then why not put art on it, why not make it beautiful? If the government is having problems with graffiti popping up on "its" walls, then why...