The Hurler On The Ditch

Disfiguring the Countryside

Graffiti is a blight on our whole environment and a rapidly spreading epidemic. I have watched as the city (Dublin) has become disfigured over the past few months.

Recently I travelled on the motorway to the Midlands and found that elaborate 'tags' as this graffiti is known sprayed on the concrete pillars supporting the flyovers. Many of these 'tags' are very elaborate and took several hours to spray. As they are on concrete they will be difficult and expensive to remove. Street furniture has also been widely attacked and it is distressing to see lovely redbrick walls disfigured.

Passing motorists must have see the vandals at their work. A quick call to the Guards (Police) would have been the civic thing to do. I know that the Guards have lots of things on hand but Malcolm Gladwell's analysis strongly suggests that tackling this level of vandalism is one of the ways that more serious crime is prevented.

This was a major problem in New York and the 'zero tolerance' approach which they took is well reported in Malcolm Gladwell best-seller 'The Tipping Point'. We are going to have to take the same no nonsense approach here in Dublin.

posted by Hurler @ 5:20 pm