From: Michael S. Lorrey (mike@datamann.com)
Date: Mon May 22 2000 - 09:00:43 MDT
QueeneMUSE@aol.com wrote:
> In a message dated 5/22/2000 6:39:08 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
> mike@datamann.com writes:
> > What's Tagging?
>
> Mike, the fact that you don't know what tagging is may shine some light on
> why you and I have a totally different world view. You are sheltered, boy.
Its funny that the gang bangers don't have the cojones to move into communities
that WILL shoot back...
> Tagging of course, is the gang names painted on (usually) city walls (though
> in beautiful nearby Vasquez rock you still see it). It is similar to the way
> dogs mark their territory. If a gang tags a particular street or neighborhood
> it means "watch out his is ours". People her in Lovely LAPD land are
> sometimes even shot on sight for this, but they do it anyway. Shootouts with
> the police are common, as well as other gangs who's name you are spraying
> over. It's more than vandalism, it signifies a whole way of life. It is one
> of the dumbest things a person can do, but it takes big BIG cohones; hence it
> is respected by street fighters.
It does go on occasionally up here, its just such a pathetically weak thing to do
though, and not at all different from any other kind of vandalism. If you are
going to spray paint on something, at least do it with a message. Its doesn't
take any cojones to do it up here either.
> I could give a shit about fur coats. Most people who feel the need to
> procalim "meat is murder" really could look into helping peolpe instead. I
> don't think they're animal lovers as much as people -haters; ). They want
> pulbcity. No on e watching, what would be the point? Plus throwing red paint
> at a rich bitch isnt really such a big crime, it's just more vandalism.
> >
> > IMHO OK Bad behaviors when nobody is watching or around:
> >
> > speeding
> > catch & not release
> > running red lights & stop signs
> > streaking
> > outdoors sex
> > billboard sabotage
> > foodfights at MacDonalds
> >
> > One of my favorites:
> > Back in college, when someone passed out at our frat house, a group of us
> > would
> > 'food' them, which entailed moving them to the banquet table, and dressing
> > them
> > up with various foods from the kitchen such that they looked like a buffet
> > spread.
>
> Ok Mike,
> Except for catch and not release ( which is more archaic than anything else),
> running red lights which could get you killed accidentally,
not with my caveat 'nobody is around'. If there is no traffic, then what is the
point?
> and Billboard
> sabotage, (which sounds suspiciously a lot like tagging...)
> ...what is 'bad' about any of those things? They sound harmless, and you
> propbably like it if people *are* watching... ; - ) ; ) : )
Sabotaging billboards with a message. I especially like the work the Bay Area's
Billboard Liberation Front has done, especially the conversion of the Joe Camel
billboard to "Am I Dead Yet?". Another great vandalism was to the "Hammering
Man" scuplture in front of the Seattle Art Museum. This sculpture is about 50'
tall, and has one arm of the man continuously going up and down with a hammer in
it, signifying the dignity of all labor. A group of Seattle artists vandalized it
a few years ago though, they clamped a big ball and chain to the leg of the
statue.
This sort of vandalism is, IMHO, 'good' vandalism. I don't even necessarily need
to agree with the message that the vandals want to get across. Its a matter of
adding to pubic discourse messages that the corporate media don't allow unless
you do something outrageous. Sasha and I used to talk about ideas like this, it
was his opinion that terrorists would get much farther in the political process
if they engaged in non-violent propa-vandalism like this. One thing he wanted to
do was stink bomb a political convention...
Mike Lorrey
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Fri Nov 01 2002 - 15:28:45 MST