07.30.11
Graffiti as Saboutage
I had a thought driving down North 1st Ave as it turns into Euclid Ave south of Grant on the way to Speedway this fine July 2011 afternoon.
First Ave to Euclid – from Grant Rd. to Speedway Blvd.
I noticed an increase in the amount of graffiti all over the walls around houses, duplexes and apartments. Why would any prospective UofA student have any desire to live anywhere along that section of Euclid? A student moving here to go to school would take a look at all the prospective separate houses and duplexes, apartment houses with walls covered in summertime juvenile delinquent grafitti and say, "No freakin' way am I living in an area filled with gangsta tags! This is so ghetto, Buffy! Oh my god!"
On the face of things I would almost agree with this fictional student. But another thought crossed my mind. What if the young, native Tucsonans decided to intentionally put up the grafitti in a play to discourage incoming residents and drive away absentee landlords? Kind of like a reverse gentrification? Drive property values down so local people can afford local housing? They have pride in the housing their grandparents and great-grandparents help to build and are tired that native Tucsonans cannot afford to live in neighborhoods they helped found and develop.
If you can get past the pathetic display of juvenile delinquency and teriitorial bullshit, you can enjoy the houses for their Craftsman style from the late 1920s through the 1940s and 1950s. Wonderful examples of truly fine design and great Tucson home building.
Of course, this argument has a flip side: if you intentionally degrade an environment to make it less attractive to others, you are also making it less desireable for your own habitation. I just don't get the mentality behind graffiti and the senseless defacing of the city. Anarchists? Frustrated idiots with out the balls to have a creative outlet for their anger and frustration? Or simply deranged sociopaths who take great joy in bringing down the quality of life for everyone. I'm voting for the latter.
