Chile Forum

Chicago got smart and doesn't sell spray paint anymore. If you have a DIY project, you have to go to the suburbs and few teenagers have the mobility and desire to cruise out to the suburbs to get a few cans to come back and tag an underpass.

It's a shame there are some gorgeous old buildings in Santiago with some ugly scars.

satellite wrote:Chicago got smart and doesn't sell spray paint anymore. If you have a DIY project, you have to go to the suburbs and few teenagers have the mobility and desire to cruise out to the suburbs to get a few cans to come back and tag an underpass.

It's a shame there are some gorgeous old buildings in Santiago with some ugly scars.

Come to think of it, in Denver and the suburbs, the spray paint is locked in cases now. I agree that it's sad to see the graffiti on the old historical buildings in Santiago especially.

I have two pet peeves about Chile: The graffiti and the dogs. Otherwise, it's my paradise.
The best solution I can see is to "lock up" the spray paint and sell it to individuals over 18. It seems logical but, I don't think it would get a lot of support from shopkeepers. The other part would be to create and/or enforce laws against vandalism. This may be "too much" regulation for some on this forum but in my humble opinion, if government would put some teeth into the matter, people would be motivated to obey the law.

admin wrote:yea, sometimes the original wall was uglier than even the ugliest graffiti.

OK, nothing like a newbie on the forum to resurrect a long dead discussion.

Not that I am an advocate for any sort of antisocial behavior, mind you... I could not help but share some graffitti from Sevilla, Spain, 2002. Maybe Chile just needs more ugly blank walls and inspired, confident miscreants?
[img]http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2650809850041574560vQUZsO/[img]
[img]http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2003663650041574560YxNlyS/[img]
[img][http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2111522980041574560HjPTAyi[mg]

hmmm... it appears my attempt to post photos went bad.. any hints as to how best to post photos here will be appreciated.

Pat

It's not the juveniles who are the graffiti artists. It's the 25 year old college graduates who can't find work in their profession due to the lousy education they received, the amistocracy in existence, and their unrealistic expectations.

scrjnki wrote:hmmm... it appears my attempt to post photos went bad.. any hints as to how best to post photos here will be appreciated.
Pat

I think you must end each quotation with "[/img]", not simply "[img]". But don't take my opinion as gospel: matters electronic fall into lacunae in my education (I'm over forty).

MikieO wrote:. . . . I didn't know that in addition to the difficulties of finding good construction help here I'd be trying to outfox vandals. . . .
at the root is lack of respect for private or public property IMO of course . . . .

I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment, Mike. I'd even expand that to suggest that lack of regard for the property rights of others (and this, from one who is not rich) is an extension of disregard for the humanity of others.

But the problem -- of disrespect -- is widespread, almost universal (from what I've seen, heard, and read) outside northwestern Europe and the English-speaking lands. Trying to change that, at least by example, is one of the best actions that immigrants can bring to Chile, I think.

RWS wrote:. . . . the problem -- of disrespect -- is widespread, almost universal . . . .

I've quoted myself (a first!) to add that I think disregard for the property of others stems, too, from a resentment of the wealth that others hold. As the general level of prosperity in a country rises, so, often, does respect for others' property. Perhaps we'll see less vandalism as ordinary Chileans acquire more -- if growth in population doesn't outstrip growth in prosperity.

As the general level of prosperity in a country rises, so, often, does respect for others' property

This is an interesting direction and concept. Those among the struggling classes are often the hardest hit by the actions of their own (disrespectful) people hence the widespread use of car alarms, another pet peeve of mine.
We work (here in Ca) in several of Ca's most exclusive gated communities, yet the Mexican contingent among our workers insist on setting and resetting the most obnoxious of car alarms on the most disreputable looking of vehicles. I have complained (along with residents) to their superiors, uniformly I was given the explanation: "When these guys get here they have nothing, a pickup is usually the first purchase and they will protect what they have acquired, no matter what!". The fact that Warren Buffet is unlikely to come out and steal the stereo while they work is lost on them.
So what to do? Severe punishment for those few apprehended might be a start. I generally tell the boss "he resets it again, don't bring him in here again" and I have followed through.

MikieO wrote:So what to do? Severe punishment for those few apprehended might be a start.

A seven-day waiting period on the sales of spray paint?

Seriously, I doubt much of the tagging is intended as a disrespect for property or a show of resentment for the "rich". I think it's mainly punk kids playing out gang/territory fantasies as in "this is my hood". Like dogs pissing on bushes to mark their territory.

In Singapore, they use caning as punishment for these type of crimes. Having your buttocks whacked with a bamboo pole and sore for two weeks probably makes a kid think twice about tagging. Here in the States, we either put the kids in some kind of juvenile detention where they can brag about it to other punks, or we wag a finger and send them home to mom, who is probably glad when they aren't home. Singapore has very little graffitti...

Whats wrong with the graffitti, it reminds me of home, driving down south auckland, new zealand.... actually, what i find amusing is the gated communities down by work in quilicura just outside of santiago, they have more graffitti inside the gates than outside!, was rather amusing!!!