In My Opinion

Living in the East (Korea in my case) you sometimes tend to forget what things look like in the West. As I have traveled from east to west on this trip, I have come to realize (yet again) what a blight graffiti is on the urban landscape.

I understand the occasional need for self expression, but there are ways to achieve that which do not involve vandalizing public or private property and making the city you live in look like a wasteland.

Some may say graffiti is art. I'm sorry, but any fool can write their name, initials, or group affiliation on a wall (and many do), and that is what the great majority of graffiti is. And also, writing your name in a "funky" font generally does not qualify as art either.

If you feel you must take pen or spray can in hand, do something creative with them. Use your imagination; show some originality instead of just the alphabet; create art. Believe me, you'll be remembered much longer for creating something rather than just writing your name. And if you feel you must see your name, sign your art rather than the wall.

When I was a young kid and happened to mention that I wrote my name in some wet cement, my mother said something to me, as mothers do, that I have remembered ever since.

"Fools' names and fools' faces are always seen in foolish places."