Graffiti

Like most sane people, I am not a fan of graffiti. Graffiti looks bad and, unless it's not dealt with swiftly, it can grow like a fungus. Thankfully, graffiti doesn't seem to be a huge problem like it was back in the 70s and 80s (at least not in any place where I've lived over the years). However, it still rears its ugly head from time to time. I'm taking weekly classes as part of my local citizens' police group and each week we have law enforcement speakers and representatives come and talk to the group about topics such as domestic violence, financial crimes, etc. During our class this week, a youth advocate rep talked to us about "restorative justice" programs that help wayward youth get back on the right track after they've gotten into trouble. Rather than throw these kids in a juvenile facility for misdemeanor crimes, they're given the chance to redeem themselves through group and family counseling. The youth services woman who spoke to our class talked about two 14-year-old boys who'd spray painted some graffiti on the wall of a condo building in town. Both went through this restorative justice program and, rather than having them do something constructive in reparation for their crime (like clean up the graffiti they caused), the youth services people decided it was better to let them attend art classes so they could use their "creativity" in a positive way. I sat there stunned by this. I don't care if one or both of these kids end up being the next Picasso, rewarding them with art classes after they've committed a crime is simply ridiculous. When kids or adults graffiti someone's property, they need to be held accountable and punished for that. This goes for famous graffiti artists like Banksy also. If you want to spray paint all over your own property, go right ahead. But when you do that to someone else's property, you need to be arrested. I really couldn't believe the 14-year-old "artists" didn't have the book thrown at them. I'm not saying the kids should have been locked up, but they should have been made to do some community service picking up trash or, as I said, cleaning the wall they covered in graffiti. No wonder so many kids are coddled and irresponsible. Ugh. (By the way, the picture below is NOT graffiti. The business owner approved this artwork on the building.)