Spray-paint ban won’t solve problem
Let’s see: we have a graffiti problem – what should we do? How about we ban spray paint in the hands of teenagers, that should make it go away.
Come to think of it we also have an obesity problem, so let’s ban bacon and throw in butter for good measure. That should take care of those extra pounds and heart disease, too.
And there’s that meth problem that refuses to go away, so let’s make meth illegal now that we’re at it.
You say what? Meth is already illegal? But then the meth problem should be gone – or I don’t understand the reasoning behind a ban at all.
Spokane City Councilwoman Mary Verner is proposing an ordinance that would ban the selling to, or possession of, spray paint aerosol containers by anyone under 18. It’s going to curb our graffiti problem, says Verner, a candidate for mayor. I have a hard time believing it’s that simple.
Other municipalities have these ordinances – some ask businesses to lock up spray paint much like cold medication is locked up in our stores; others ban possession and sales, but it’s difficult to get a read on whether this actually affects graffiti.
Some years ago, I came out one morning to find my brand new, white garage door tagged with bright orange spray paint.
The porch light had gotten a blast, too.
Of course no one had defaced the old, stinky garage door.
I guess there’s something about a clean, virginal surface that’s irresistible if you are a spray-painting fool.
Was I mad? You bet I was mad.
Just recently, a friend’s house got tagged and a few days later I recognized the same tag, down the street, in my own neighborhood.
I would never defend the act of graffiti – it is destruction of property and perpetrators should be persecuted, end of story – but the act in and of itself is deeply ingrained in human nature. Think of how lovers and loners for centuries have carved their initials in trees, fences and wooden doors. Or think of how some of us wrote on our desks in school, using a pencil to trace the heart and those two letters, every day, to get it to hold up against the efforts of the cleaning crew.
I know we have a graffiti problem, but it’s the symptom of a much larger problem: a gang problem. Banning spray paint will have the same effect as giving a cancer patient Tylenol – initially everyone will feel better, but in the long run the patient remains deadly ill.
What about equal enforcement? If this ban passes, a police force that is already telling us it’s understaffed and overworked will soon have to cite people for MPSP – minor in possession of spray paint – or spray-paint trafficking, for those who will leave the city to get their hands on the cans.
Where we need to focus is on the gang issues we have. I know there’s a gang task force out there, and I know Mayor Dennis Hession and Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick just proposed to continue to fund it. Hopefully, that’ll take us beyond cosmetics to the actual root of the problem.
The other thing that bugs me to no end about this proposed ban is that once again we are demonizing teenagers. I realize that spray-paint tagging gangs rarely include raving senior citizens with the baskets on their walkers stuffed with spray paint, but still.
No, I’m not worried about the self-esteem of the younger generations – I think they have plenty of that – but I do wish we’d try harder to engage young people in a different way than making them scapegoats for the problem de jour.