Show IT The he writings writing's on the wall Art of the poor Anabel r- r Aguilar Contributing Writer r I r l Graffiti what many consider as disrespectful and vandalism only few view this as the art of the poor I. I Sprayings of related gang gang i elated material is is not new nor is IS it ceasing Writings on walls have been prevalent since the age of our predecessors the Cro md nd early Egyptians Although this form of communication was vital and acceptable in times of fold old doing so in the modern modem ages age's age is is s frowned upon in most societies W hiie ife e graffiti spreads it would be beVery bevery bevery very surprising for foran an individual to know that according to Bureau of Justice only ten p percent of graffiti nationwide is gang related So what is the main reason reason behind these creative v vandals Greg Grea 0 Wright a caring West Valley community member believes that I boredom along with other things could be a key factor to the man behind the spray can Wright is a family man who Stands for truth and righteousness f i He is also a scoutmaster who strives to instill the proper education of respect and responsibility to his fellow scouts If there is something Wright wont won't stand for it is graffiti especially when this type of vandalism takes a toll on his community His vinyl fence to this day has taken up to four related gang-related tagging Now he along with sever several l other civilians joins the tainted homes of West Valleys Valley's growing graffiti As a service project Wright and his scouts decided to clean up neighboring areas that have fallen victim to numerous tagging Coming home from ITom the activity Wright found his own fence was preyed upon with the same type of graffiti After clean cleaning ng up someone else's mess he was d determined t to stir up awareness awareness' to his neighbors and try to set up up a neighborhood watch Unfortunately apathy still lies in the hearts of men Few have shown interest while others just simply didn't want to lift a single finger Ill take on anything said a I I I f i a iJ d t c f t 1 t r e Q I I I Courtesy photo by Kenny Smith Graffiti is a form of part art that seems very common in everyday life Service projects are coming together to clean up areas that have fallen victim to tagging Wright I dont don't care really what the consequence is but I want to do it in the best way possible Well I think that other people in inthe inthe inthe the world because of the increase of violence would much rather consider themselves safe than being involved What happened in December 2007 began when Wright had forgotten his house keys keys' It left him to do nothing but sit on his Graffiti Continued on AS I Graffiti i Huts Hurts Continued from Al AlIi Ii l front porch and wait forI for I I his his' wife to come home I An intuition to check his property led Wright to J 1 find two adolescent boys identification not open to toi I i the public starting to walk walkin in the opposite direction j of where they had marked their gangster territory on oni j i Wrights Wright's fence 1 After making note of this Wright started towards the 1 vandals who at this time noticed they were caught I and started to run away Then after a few seconds Wright was on a hot running pursuit One vandal after 1 losing his shoe while on the run was cornered into a neighbors neighbor's back yard Wright responded to random adrenaline thinking and tackled him to the ground Wright sat on him for two hours until the police could finally arrive While the vandal was being pinned Wright thought it was the opportune moment to ask questions The adolescent was asked why he had sprayed other peoples property the hoodlum replied with I Iwas Iwas Iwas was bored To add to the unexpected event the boys boy's mother came on the scene that's when things turned from bad ad to worse for the juvenile delinquent Once his Mum got word of her herson's herson's herson's sons son's newfound hobby it was surely downhill for the poor making decision-making teen After the police arrived on the scene they took care of the rest And the boys boy's mother made sure that her herson herson herson son would stay and clean cleanup cleanup cleanup up hi his disrespectful mess When the cat is away the mice will play Wright wasn't out of the woods just yet for crime is a guest that seldom leaves While he went on a cruise vacation for mid January the Wright came home to a welcoming that homeowners dread of The fence was tainted once again The culprit remains unknown According to the f named Graffiti Hurts also known as GH Immediate removal removal 48 within 4 24 8 hours Arrest data from 17 maj major r cities shows show th that toi 70 of all street-level street graffiti is created by s si suburban u b adolescents predo predominately males between th the a ages ages of 12 12 and 19 j v i About graffiti is hip hop or gr graffiti Another 5 are pieces threatening Non messages like Bobby loves S Suzy zy or Class CI s of 2003 Nationally gang graffiti makes up about 1 10 0 of graffiti Community paint-brush paint l' l murals are rarely defaced by graffiti and instill a sense of those who live nearby i. i 1 R is the key to successful graffiti prevention is what could be helpful against street vandals Until parents take the initiative to teach today's youth better principles defacing of property will continue By showing respect for others' others property along with an initiation for crime prevention awareness for defacement consequences would be benight High night and apathy would go down The world may mayg g get t worse day by day but that doesn't mean that our suburbs and cities require needless disrespect and suffering from a simple thoughtless instigated action i |