...When All is Said and Dunn

As with many good intentioned ideas, as soon as people stop complaining about a problem, everyone starts to relax. Even though the problem has not been eradicated, if headway has been made, many believe the solution to the problem has been found. Hence there is no longer a reason to be concerned.

By now you are probably saying, “Alright already, get to the point.” OK, OK, I will. A few years back everyone was up in arms about the incredible amount of graffiti that was “decorating” Los Angeles County. Promises were made, programs enacted, and we started to see less and less primitive paintings around town. Unlike so many sound bites made by the political talking heads, this one actually took shape.

But the fix was fleeting and the vaccination did not cure the disease. It just rendered it dormant until we all dropped our guard. Once we did, under the cover of night, the spray paint wielding vermin, apparently in growing numbers, began to attack our walls and businesses with increasing regularity.

Why is this? Probably because we have become complacent and our attentions have become diverted. Like a child who is distracted with a shiny new toy, we began to focus on other things. Instead of looking around, we began looking away. Unfortunately, I have been looking around lately.

I didn’t have to look too long or too far to see that “Graffiti Vandals-the Next Generation” have begun their work with a vengeance. Suddenly, I’m sure due to my inattention, I am seeing more of it. As I pass the same spot more than once, not only has the graffiti not been removed, but it has increased.

You see, part of the “solution” was not only to discourage the act, but also to have the graffiti removed almost immediately. The act of removing it quickly seemed to reinforce the discouragement aspect, and also helped to boost community morale. I don’t know about you, but nothing seems to take the wind out of my sails more than driving through my community and seeing graffiti scrawled on the walls and buildings.

We have all the support systems in place. All TV cable systems have community message boards with local information. For example, in Temple City, it’s on Channel 55. One of the things they show are hotline numbers and usually there is one to report graffiti so it can be removed. In Temple City the phone number is 626-287-5771.

One of the deterrents which we all have to deal with is in the simple purchase of the material of choice of most of these little baboons, spray paint. Ever try buying a can of spray paint? First, you have to be over 18 years old to purchase it. Then you have to find the special employee who is the keeper of the magic key that opens the Plexiglas vault that stores the prized commodity. You would think they were storing plutonium. In the days when I saw less graffiti, it was an acceptable annoyance. Now with the rise in activity, they have apparently found a way around it. Maybe they are stealing it out of their parents’ garages. Possibly as it happens at liquor stores, “taggers”, are waiting for someone of age to buy it for them.

None of these deterrents will help unless we up the ante on these badly raised future felons. Like I said earlier, there seems to be spots that they frequent and favor. Maybe it’s because of easy access or maybe because nobody is watching. Well, let’s start! With the price of security cameras being so low, I would think that cameras could be placed at some of these hot spots. We could capture these punks on tape and make their parents pay for the repairs.

I think we should put together a vigilante group like the Guardian Angels to patrol these hot spots. Maybe if they are dragged into the Sheriffs’ Station whimpering like the spineless scum that they are, they might think twice about spraying their initials into a railroad overpass.

Some people out there view these primitive markings as modern day hieroglyphics. Some people point to graffiti artists like Jean Michel Basquait and consider them as expressing themselves artistically. How about if these budding Van Goghs went out and bought a canvas instead? If you can’t seem to contain their vision to a canvas, how about containing it to their own home or their parents’ home. I’m willing to bet their parents paid for the paint to begin with.

Speaking of the parents, let me be the first to thank you for the bang up job you’re doing in the parenting department. It requires a special commitment on your part to allow your demon spawn to wander our streets in the dead of night defacing public and private property. Obviously you are far too busy watching Jerry Springer in hopes of finding a better parenting role model than to account for your child's whereabouts in the middle of the night.

If you can’t control your kids' night time activity at this stage of their lives, you can be sure of one thing: once they get to prison, their cellmate will.