Thursday, July 2, 2009
Crime Delightful Damage
Posted by Charles Mudede on Thu, Jul 2, 2009 at 8:25 AM
Walking down the street, I come across this: 
Yes, it's ugly and meaningless, but the raw attack on private property gives me a shot of pleasure. All of the rage against graffiti is so middle class. Our graffitiless city is so middle class. How I hate middle-class values.
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3
Charles, the values that are held by some one that would deface and attack another's property by spray painting it, what are those values? We know they're not Upper middle class? What are they?
5
Dude, you are middle class values. For example:
1. You're inarticulate.
2. You feel entitled to tell everyone what is right and what is wrong.
3. You speak, when nobody cares what your saying.
It doesn't get more middle class than that.
1. You're inarticulate.
2. You feel entitled to tell everyone what is right and what is wrong.
3. You speak, when nobody cares what your saying.
It doesn't get more middle class than that.
6
Charles:
I'm reading a great book on graffiti called Sreet Art by Johannes Stahl. Great pics and interesting commentary on graffiti ... check it out. The author talks about the history of graffiti; why art historiography has a such problems with it; and the political purpose(s) of graffitti. I think you would enjoy the book too.....and yes, middle class values seem to be derived straight from the Victorian British obsessiin with respectability at all costs. All typos due to lack of coffee ...
I'm reading a great book on graffiti called Sreet Art by Johannes Stahl. Great pics and interesting commentary on graffiti ... check it out. The author talks about the history of graffiti; why art historiography has a such problems with it; and the political purpose(s) of graffitti. I think you would enjoy the book too.....and yes, middle class values seem to be derived straight from the Victorian British obsessiin with respectability at all costs. All typos due to lack of coffee ...
7
Yeah. Middle class. That's it. I used to live in the Mission in San Francisco, a very, very poor neighborhood. I can tell you that the wrong graffiti on your building could get it shot at in a drive-by. It was hardly a bourgeois desire that led a bunch of us renters to regularly paint over the "masterpieces" of the local kiddies.
9
What is more middle class than writing for the on-line supplement to an alternative weekly newspaper?
10
You guys need to grow up and start listening to Mr. Mudede. Look, all he's saying is that fucking up other people's private property is cool, and if you care about YOUR property being fucked up, well that's just square.
You see, if we were all enlightened beyond the physical realm, like Mr. Mudede, we could transcend these corporeal indescretions. Obviously, you middle class white folk are spiritually and mentally defunct, since you don't support vandalism.
VANDALISM IS COOL AND SPIRITUAL LETS ALL DO IT! We should all embrace the culture of the Meth Addict.+-
You see, if we were all enlightened beyond the physical realm, like Mr. Mudede, we could transcend these corporeal indescretions. Obviously, you middle class white folk are spiritually and mentally defunct, since you don't support vandalism.
VANDALISM IS COOL AND SPIRITUAL LETS ALL DO IT! We should all embrace the culture of the Meth Addict.+-
12
"What is more middle class than writing for the on-line supplement to an alternative weekly newspaper?"
And being the only real African-American in the room full of guilt-ridden white liberals.
And being the only real African-American in the room full of guilt-ridden white liberals.
13
Idiot.
It is vandalism not art.
There is certainly graffiti art, but this is selfishness.
Asshole
It is vandalism not art.
There is certainly graffiti art, but this is selfishness.
Asshole
14
Is graffitti art? Sometimes, but I suspect Mudede doesn't think so...he calls it "damage." I'm all for getting rid of stodgy, post-Victorian values, but is creating "damage" the way to go about it?
16
I tagged that building. Also, I often spit on the sidewalk. Until I received a pay cut, I never engaged in such lower class shenanigans.
17
I've got an idea Chaz: give us your address, and we'll make sure you get a little anti-middle class frisson every day.
18
Property is theft. Meat is murder. Sex is rape. Pie are squared. Any other revolutionary slogans we can use to make fun of the middle class?
20
someone should set charles' house on fire. he would embrace your rage gleefully! attacks on private property really make him giddy!
*disclaimer* don't actually do this.
*disclaimer* don't actually do this.
22
TAGGING IS NOT ART
...you fucking moron. Go read "Subway Art" and see some real bombs in NYC in the 80's. This is shitty red spraypaint from an adult child. Its UGLY. Its not respectable at ALL. Its lazy, you middle class twit.
Have a great day everyone!
...you fucking moron. Go read "Subway Art" and see some real bombs in NYC in the 80's. This is shitty red spraypaint from an adult child. Its UGLY. Its not respectable at ALL. Its lazy, you middle class twit.
Have a great day everyone!
24
How about the fucking LK gang tags that pop up all around our neighborhood? No harm there, right? Let's encourage it, why not? Usually I just ignore your posts, Chuckles, but this ignorance just takes the cake. Vandalism is vandalism. It's no different than smashing someone's bike when it is harmlessly parked. So what if some fucking prole gangbanger tags the house or garage of a little old lady who is just minding her own business and has to pay for covering it out of her (government provided) social security? Who wins then? I guess just you. This post is just so ignorant I can't even believe that it exists.
25
Of course this was no doubt done by a thoroughly middle class liberal angry that his parents spawned him as a ........ Well, as a dull middle class white kid.
26
There is NOTHING more middle-class than this kind of idiotic graffiti. The "artist" gets taken to soccer practice in his mom's Audi, I'll bet you a million dollars.
28
Am I the only one who imagined Charles in a low rent drag production of Evita singing : "Screw the Middle Class, I will never accept them..."?? Ummmm... sorry havent had my meds yet this morning.
30
I'd like to see if Charles felt the same way if he staked out the scene and watched as:
1)likely middle class (just like you!) property owner/property manager/whatever comes out and sees the damage, and realizes they have a job ahead of them.
2)watch their face fall as their hearts and minds harden a little more toward their fellow citizens
3)watch them work for an hour or two cleaning up and repainting.
Watch their faces Charles. Do they look like bad, imperialistic jerks as they cleanup after these douches? Or do they look like regular harried people with one more fucking thing to do?
Perhaps you would like to live in a country where nobody respects other's property, or takes care of their own. Wait a sec, you probably don't want to live is such a place, thats why you came here, to the US. There are plenty of places in the world with more anarchy than you can shake a stick at, you could move to one of those places if you cared to. No? Heavens, I'm shocked.
1)likely middle class (just like you!) property owner/property manager/whatever comes out and sees the damage, and realizes they have a job ahead of them.
2)watch their face fall as their hearts and minds harden a little more toward their fellow citizens
3)watch them work for an hour or two cleaning up and repainting.
Watch their faces Charles. Do they look like bad, imperialistic jerks as they cleanup after these douches? Or do they look like regular harried people with one more fucking thing to do?
Perhaps you would like to live in a country where nobody respects other's property, or takes care of their own. Wait a sec, you probably don't want to live is such a place, thats why you came here, to the US. There are plenty of places in the world with more anarchy than you can shake a stick at, you could move to one of those places if you cared to. No? Heavens, I'm shocked.
31
Charles' values are upper class. He has the bourgeois leisure time to read endless tracts of philosophy and the public platform on which to promulgate his thoughts.
He just cloaks it in Marxist theory to hide his disgust with his complacency.
He just cloaks it in Marxist theory to hide his disgust with his complacency.
32
More ugly tagging... Tagging is not art, and the tagger is probably a white middle class male. How ironic.
33
I often think Charles is unfairly bashed here, but this is pretty weak - the work of a stereotypical myopic intellectual. It's the sort of mentality that finds charm, retrospectively, in places like 1980s NYC, full of decidedly non-middle-class values and "authenticity" - conveniently forgetting or ignoring the human misery that also permeated it.
I would have chuckled at this too, when I was a teenager and had less capacity for empathy. But then I grew up. Charles would feel far more differently about the "middle class values" that scorn graffiti if it involved his own property, his own lifeblood, and his own safety.
I would have chuckled at this too, when I was a teenager and had less capacity for empathy. But then I grew up. Charles would feel far more differently about the "middle class values" that scorn graffiti if it involved his own property, his own lifeblood, and his own safety.
35
Hey Charles, I know of a place where nobody respects anyone's property, and there isn't a single person who could qualify as middle class. It's called Somalia. You should go there.
36
Linking to your own article to support your own point. How uninteresting. By the logic of your arguments, Chucklehead, you should view dogshit left on the sidewalk by a lazy ass dog owner as a statement against the capitalism that unjustly keeps the dog in a role of subservience.
38
Graffiti that rises to art is fine. Gang tags are problematic on several levels, not to mention ugly, and should be removed.
If you like graffiti of either type, move to Berlin.
In fact, I suspect you'd be happier in Berlin in almost every possible way.
If you like graffiti of either type, move to Berlin.
In fact, I suspect you'd be happier in Berlin in almost every possible way.
41
@38 it's funny, I actually thought of Berlin. It kind of looks like a German hieroglyphic puzzle of some sort.
43
"there isn't a single person who could qualify as middle class. It's called Somalia. You should go there."
Actually it's called Rhodesia....sorry, 'Zimbabwe'.
Actually it's called Rhodesia....sorry, 'Zimbabwe'.
44
@42, indeed, they are. It's one thing to be middle class, and proud of that, and happy with private property; it's quite another to be so ignorant that you've never even IMAGINED there could be alternate viewpoints.
47
Fuck that.
I shouldn't have to go buy paint to cover up some jackasses idea of "self expression".
I've still got a fence full of primer since last Halloween cuz I fucking hate going to Home Depot.
Stupid teenagers... they all should be shot.
I shouldn't have to go buy paint to cover up some jackasses idea of "self expression".
I've still got a fence full of primer since last Halloween cuz I fucking hate going to Home Depot.
Stupid teenagers... they all should be shot.
48
Oh and one more thing... how "middle class" is it to be pissed when I see graffiti all over public art?
That mural in Fremont gets tagged all the time and volunteers have to come around to fix it. That sucks! Right?!
That mural in Fremont gets tagged all the time and volunteers have to come around to fix it. That sucks! Right?!
50
As a renter, rising property values are of no help to me, and actually hurt me. So the more vandalism, the better. So much for the broken window theory.
54
I already skip reading any post when I see that it's by Charles, but I feel like the 500 milliseconds that I spend seeing that he is the author is wasted. Is there a filtering mechanism with which I can remove Charles' posts?
55
Someone tagged some plants near Virginia Mason. That's some revolutionary shit.
I consider tagging as a modern form of Buddhism. It reminds us that nothing is permanent, regardless of whether or not it's beautiful or clean. The tags themselves are impermanent as they will soon be painted over or tagged over.
I consider tagging as a modern form of Buddhism. It reminds us that nothing is permanent, regardless of whether or not it's beautiful or clean. The tags themselves are impermanent as they will soon be painted over or tagged over.
56
I was in Mazatlan last week, and there was graffiti almost everywhere in areas I would hardly describe as "middle class", for some reason (maybe just for maximum visibility) mostly up high on two story structures, like just below the roofline. There was no attempt at artistry to the graffiti I saw anywhere, just long sentences in Spanish (which I can't read), like the scribblings of someone having a manic episode, only everywhere.
The Mexican graffiti in those poor neighborhoods was more or less indistinguishable from the graffiti in the picture you posted. I can't imagine the residents of those neighborhoods get "a shot of pleasure" from having to see it on virtually every surface in every direction they look.
On a Slog-related note, after each of the two tropical storms that happened while I was there, I had plastic bags brush against me while swimming in the surf the next day.
The Mexican graffiti in those poor neighborhoods was more or less indistinguishable from the graffiti in the picture you posted. I can't imagine the residents of those neighborhoods get "a shot of pleasure" from having to see it on virtually every surface in every direction they look.
On a Slog-related note, after each of the two tropical storms that happened while I was there, I had plastic bags brush against me while swimming in the surf the next day.
57
Only those without an attachment to what little they have managed to scrape together could find romanticism in the value of destruction and damage of the other. Destroy something you own instead. It won't be as satisfying but just because you don't believe in property doesn't make it so. Black isn't white and your continued blather on the subject leaves us in no better position than those who would advocate celibacy as a cure all for teenage pregnancy.
58
I'm sure you'll get plenty of pleasure out of it. Until it's your house that's defaced, your money to buy paint to fix it, your time and effort to cover it, your home value that goes down, your kids endangered by gang violence that it's symbolic of.
In short, from a homeowner who's had to paint over graffiti on his house before the city fined ME for some shitheads idea of a good time . . . Go Fuck yourself Charles. Next time I hope they paint over your eyes.
In short, from a homeowner who's had to paint over graffiti on his house before the city fined ME for some shitheads idea of a good time . . . Go Fuck yourself Charles. Next time I hope they paint over your eyes.
59
Charles, just this one time, in this one instance, I want to say this about your strange obsession with putting graffiti on other people's walls: You're a Dick.
Thanks. Other than that you're a great guy.
Thanks. Other than that you're a great guy.
61
Will: Are you a Canadian living in Seattle? It isn't important - I' m just nosy. Ignore the question if you prefer not to explain....
62
I'm in favor of graffiti in every form, and agree that it always adds a vital element to a landscape. That said, this is a pretty poor example. Lots of better things to see in the world of graff, even in boring old Seattle.
64
I agree with a lot of the opinions expressed here, and really understand the reactions, but... I feel a little weird misplaced glee at seeing graffiti too, even the bad stuff. It keeps society a little off balance, makes the culture a bit less homogeneous. Sorry.
67
@61 - I'm an American living in Seattle. And a Canadian living in Seattle.
Just like Charles has been more than one thing.
Just like Charles has been more than one thing.
69
This explains why Charles feels no remorse about defacing an otherwise interesting blog... His posts are basically the equivalent of that scribble on the wall, made by someone who believes they're 'adding something,' but are really performing the human equivalent of an animal's marking behavior.
Give me middle-class blandness anyday, instead of the uninspired 'mark' that idiots like this want to leave on the world... If the brain produced piss, that scribble and Charles' postings would be it.
Give me middle-class blandness anyday, instead of the uninspired 'mark' that idiots like this want to leave on the world... If the brain produced piss, that scribble and Charles' postings would be it.
70
Charles lives in his head. The world is a Cartesian extension of his intellect and is not otherwise real. Thus, he feels free to enjoy pleasure over the petty misfortunes of others. They are no more real to him than the kid who got his head blown off in Pulp Fiction. And that was some funny bad shit.
72
I'm impressed! This anthropomorphic use of a can of spray paint to produce a remarkable seven letters of the alphabet and a couple of wavy squiggles is some young pongo's crowning achievement, a sort of simian magnum opus, its ultimate contribution to Western Civilization.
In a couple of hundred thousand years, its descendants might even understand the concept of respecting the property of others.
In a couple of hundred thousand years, its descendants might even understand the concept of respecting the property of others.
73
charles played pretty much all ya all. IMO he wasn't talking as much about graffiti itself as the reactions to it, and his point was served well by all these mostly middle class reactive comments. Sure he pushed a few buttons, but it looks to me like he knew exactly which ones to push, and to deny that class or perceived notions of class don't play into it, is patently silly.
good jab at the sick entitled ribs of middle class values, Mr Mudede.
good jab at the sick entitled ribs of middle class values, Mr Mudede.
75
Pissy reminds me of the Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail - a humbled, shamed and defeated combatant screaming "Running away are you? I'll bite your legs off" in a lasp gasp straw clutching effort to regain some pride.
76
@74: ohhhhh, yeah, by "slapping" middle class sensibilities he was de-facto literally physically "slapping" every middle class person rather than rhetorically 'pressing his buttons"...
sure, that makes sense.
sure, that makes sense.
80
Mudede, the assumption that you made about "your" city being graffiti-less PROVES how Middle Class you are, dude. it must be nice in your "little world" that you can ignore the shootings (that are posted ON THIS WEBSITE sometimes) and the gangs and the tagging that they do in YOUR city. What could be more middle classed than a guy who's privileged enough to work for an alternative weekly, AND express a "holier than thou" attitude about the whole thing. next you'll come out and say, "yeah, i know i'm middle class, and i hate it." (again, something that ANYONE who's ever been ACTUALLY in need, would never say.) the way you write (and seem to portray yourself) reminds me of that a-hole from the movie (and book) "Into the Wild."
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