One was for Vonnegut, the other Nick Lowe.

holy shit rob best comeback ever

seriously.. why does everyone in 'blog town' hate on graffitti so hard? i don't see what harm it causes...

Jamfry, I'm generally with you. I think graffiti has it's place in an urban environment.

It doesn't have a place on people's vehicles. My van has been vandalized repeatedly, most recently by a somewhat well-known Portland tagger calling himself "Value Horse."

"Value Horse," if you are reading this, let me catch you scribbling on my ride again, and I'll break your fuckin' hands. I put a lot of work into that Biodiesel Bus, and I mean every letter of that last sentence. I'll just kick your skinny little hipster butt down on to the pavement and stomp right on your fingers with my steel-toed Redwings.

Even if you are a Vonnegut fan, as am I, like most of Portland is...

watch out, Ben might get angry with you for promoting criminal behavior on your blog:

http://portland.metblogs.com/archives/2007/04/early_may_day_t.phtml

See comments.

your van is a cab right? so you're a driving advertisement anyway? plus i don't know about you, but i'd much rather have a graf writer than a vigilante hand breaker as my neighbor... you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who equates writing 'value horse' on a van with aggravated assault.

ps: do you get sick of writing that same shit over and over and over? this is like the third time i've read that complaint...

"All the animals come out at night - whores, skunk pussies, buggers, queens, fairies, dopers, junkies, sick, venal. Someday a real rain will come and wash all this scum off the streets. ... Listen, you fuckers, you screwheads. Here is a man who would not take it anymore. A man who stood up against the scum, the cunts, the dogs, the filth, the shit. Here is a man who stood up."

Right, Cabbie?

I get sick of cowards writing their names on my personal, not work, van over and over, and then having to scrub it off with toxic chemicals, ya fuckin' knuckleheads.

Believe me, if I knew where to find "Value Horse" and his pals, I wouldn't have written that on here three times...it would be a lot simpler to just TCB, no ?

As it stands, there are actually internet forums these uncreative little vandals use, and I'm more than sure that they are savvy enough to google their own tags from time to time, so this is just "fair warning." The brats tag everybody's shit up here around 17th/Dekum, and I'm not the only one fed up with it.

That DeNiro reference is what is really getting old. I mean, come on, of all the movies about the profession, that is the most dull and painfully obvious one to pull quotes from.

How about quoting Mr. T in "DC Cab" ?

Amy, what--exactly--is graffiti's place in an urban environment? I am very curious to hear your official take on it as an employee of the Portland Mercury. I look forward to your reply.

I guess I have a libertarian stance on it. Urban areas are always going to have some drug use, some prostitution, some graffiti, some raucous nightlife, noise, litter, etc. It all contributes to the urban feel, and trying to eradicate it is futile—so I get pretty annoyed when a city takes a hard line stance against any of those things. You're not going to win—and frankly, a little bit of each of those things is pretty damn great and keeps it all interesting. Do I want a prostitute to turn tricks in my yard? Maybe not. Do I want someone to tag my car? Not so much. But if they do—I tend to shrug and give thanks that I don't live in a sterile suburban town.

That DeNiro reference is what is really getting old. I mean, come on, of all the movies about the profession, that is the most dull and painfully obvious one to pull quotes from.

Yeah, except that you sound EXACTLY like Travis Bickle. And it has almost nothing to do with your occupation. That just makes the allusion really convenient. I mean, are you sure you're not him?

Hey, Amy, lets see you put your money where your mouth is. What is your address, and your car's make and model ? I'll drop by tonight and spray paint some insipid scrawl in silver or black paint right on the side of your vehicle, as has been done with mine a number of times in the past few months.

You, of course, will promise not to get angry or call the cops, and instead will

"tend to shrug and give thanks that I don't live in a sterile suburban town."

Deal ?

NB, I'd really prefer to be made fun of and ridiculed in a more creative, well-researched fashion. Come on, there are a lot of ways...

Thanks for your thoughtful response, Amy.
ONE of the three main reasons I find your attitude very frustrating is that you report that $150,000 is being cut from the Platinum Bike Master Plan at 10:40am, and then you post that you can tolerate vandalism at 2:11pm the same day, despite the fact that graffiti costs the city of Portland $2,000,000 anually--enough to fund the Bike Plan thirteen times over and then some.

Martin, that's part of my point. I think that $2m on the city's part is a HUGE waste of taxpayers' dollars. Instead of the city being super anal about documenting, cataloging, and then sending out a team to deal with every little tag, they could concentrate on the "worst" of it, or offer neighbors paint to deal with stuff on their own property if they want to. I think that's a much cheaper and rational solution.

I'm not sure the city is "being super anal about documenting, cataloging, and sending out a team to deal with every little tag." I report graffiti at least once a week, and it seems like the system they have in place works pretty well: I take a picture and email it to Marcia Dennis, she asks if I need help removing it. If I don't, great: She saves the photo and pulls it out again if and when they catch the guy. If I do need help (like on some of the larger tags), she'll offer to help pay for the removal. And they do offer paint to property owners that have been tagged. I don't know how practical that is, because matching color is a difficult job. So I'm not sure how you could come up with a cheaper or rational solution. Therefore, I don't think graffiti has a place in this urban environment other than an illegal one that costs me, as a taxpayer, a LOT OF MONEY.
The SECOND reason I am frustrated is that I am siding with Cabbie here, and he's kinda psychotic. He really sounds like he's going to hit one of these graffiti kids over the head with a pipe, and I honestly can't say that I'll feel bad when he does. I know a few graffiti kids, and they are generally nice people when they're not causing so much damage. But they do cause damage, and it takes up a lot of my time, effort, and money. So it sucks that they have actually made me hope that a guy named Cabbie that drives a van on 7th and Dekum catches one of them and breaks their collarbones.

you paint the outside of a building you own in the beginning right... and so i'm sure there's extra paint laying around right... if not, i'm sure you remember what the paint was called. it doesn't take a whole bucket of paint or that much time to cover up graffiti. i am doubtful that 2 million dollars goes right to "fighting" graffiti. i bet most of that gets tied up in bureaucracy. but this all beside the point. you will never ever no matter what you do stop graffiti. it's a product of the urban civilization. it's one of the original elements of hip hop along with breaking rapping and cutting records. it's here to stay. just like file sharing. i'd rather have basquiat and style wars than more pearl district and clear channel ads. and why react violently to a non violent crime? graf writers don't break windows or burn things. they write their name. they wouldn't beat you up for taking it off. they would probably go some where else if you just told them to fuck off. i don't like telephone solicitors, i don't think you should cut out their tongues. you don't want to sound like a psycho? don't be a psychopath then. culture changes, and when enough time has passed, the 'system' will have to adapt to it. it's inevitable. look at places decriminalizing pot, for example. look at the defeat of prohibition. obviously graffiti isn't something that just a few people do. there is a lot of graffiti in any given neighborhood. a lot of people are doing this. chill.

you paint the outside of a building you own in the beginning right... and so i'm sure there's extra paint laying around right... if not, i'm sure you remember what the paint was called. it doesn't take a whole bucket of paint or that much time to cover up graffiti. i am doubtful that 2 million dollars goes right to "fighting" graffiti. i bet most of that gets tied up in bureaucracy. but this all beside the point. you will never ever no matter what you do stop graffiti. it's a product of the urban civilization. it's one of the original elements of hip hop along with breaking rapping and cutting records. it's here to stay. just like file sharing. i'd rather have basquiat and style wars than more pearl district and clear channel ads. and why react violently to a non violent crime? graf writers don't break windows or burn things. they write their name. they wouldn't beat you up for taking it off. they would probably go some where else if you just told them to fuck off. i don't like telephone solicitors, i don't think you should cut out their tongues. you don't want to sound like a psycho? don't be a psychopath then. culture changes, and when enough time has passed, the 'system' will have to adapt to it. it's inevitable. look at places decriminalizing pot, for example. look at the defeat of prohibition. obviously graffiti isn't something that just a few people do. there is a lot of graffiti in any given neighborhood. a lot of people are doing this. chill.

Fine, go and tag all the vacant buildings and BNSF freight cars you can find, I could care less.

Legalization of weed is one thing...it's slowly happening here in Oregon, anyway...painting your name on other people's private cars, homes, and garages is quite another. You are splitting the premise, which is an elementary debate diversion technique mastered by the likes of Noam Chomsky.

Why not buy your own van, and do a great big mural on the side of it to show off all that talent of yours ? Yay for you...

If I catch you vandalizing my van yet again, I repeat, I will break each and every one of the fingers on the hand of yours that is holding the paint can, and then I will proceed to spray paint your entire body with your own paint.

The police will not be involved.

Count on it.

Leave my shit alone, and you will be unharmed. Simple, no ?

I love Cabbie.

Jamfry,
No matter what percentage of that documented 2 million dollars is spent on bureaucracy, the money is still spent. It's costing you money.
And I don't think it's a healthy attitude to ignore breaking the law just because "a lot of people are doing this."
There are a dozen other things wrong with your argument--and I'd love to sit here and explain each and every one of them to you if I thought it would make a difference.
Instead, I'll point out where you're right: Culture does change. Perhaps someday a person will ride down an East Burnside covered with hastily-scribbled illegible scrawl and not blink an eye. Until then: This is not 'Nam, Donny, there are rules.

Unlike many of the illegal-but-somewhat tolerated activities that Amy describes, graffiti

1.) lingers;
2.) damages individuals' property;
3.) indicates one individual "owns" property that belongs to another, but is also part of the public space of the neighborhood. If you tag my fence, you're both damaging my property and saying this area of the street is yours, not the other people in the neighborhood's.

And I'm all with Cabbie, even if I don't really want to break fingers - just pin them to the ground until the cops come. I hate the wannabe Mexican gangsters who tag the abandoned church at 8th and Dekum or the strip just to the east. Woodlawn is not your neighborhood to the exclusion of others.

go see style wars... it's a documentary from 1982 about the evolution of graffiti culture in NYC. who by the way.. STILL has graffiti post-guliani- so if toughter penalties can't stop it, you might ask yourself what the point is attempting to impose them (as matt davis suggested it be a felony)... in addition to style wars being an amazing example of a documentary, period, it should also clear up any misinformation you have recieved about graffiti's relationship with gangs. the 13th st. or 18th st. gangs mark territory. i do not. nor do i claim your property is my property... i would never tag your home or car, but i will bomb most business interests. re-painting is a ten minute job and a tax write-off, I don't feel bad for you. also see bomb the suburbs by william upski wimsatt. and "subway art" i can't remember the name of the author.

go see style wars... it's a documentary from 1982 about the evolution of graffiti culture in NYC. who by the way.. STILL has graffiti post-guliani- so if toughter penalties can't stop it, you might ask yourself what the point is attempting to impose them (as matt davis suggested it be a felony)... in addition to style wars being an amazing example of a documentary, period, it should also clear up any misinformation you have recieved about graffiti's relationship with gangs. the 13th st. or 18th st. gangs mark territory. i do not. nor do i claim your property is my property... i would never tag your home or car, but i will bomb most business interests. re-painting is a ten minute job and a tax write-off, I don't feel bad for you. also see bomb the suburbs by william upski wimsatt. and "subway art" i can't remember the name of the author.

Hey jamfry, no matter how long it takes me, I still bill an hour minimum at $26.25/hour not including supplies. This gets passed on to the consumer (you), whether it be your green beans at New Seasons, your coffee at Stumptown, or your indelible markers at the art supply store. That cost also gets tacked on to your monthly rent, as owners of residential property pass on the costs of graffiti to tenants.
The chemicals I use are not environmentally friendly, and a lot of them end up in the river. I WISH there were more regulations on graffiti clean-up, because then I would finally have reason to get my hazmat certification and charge closer to $50/hour.
Property owners sometimes attempt to combat graffiti with security cameras, which are almost as ugly as the graffiti itself, not to mention the creepy Orwellian feel they give to a street corner.
Other property owners may install extra exterior lighting, contributing to what they call light pollution.
Since Portland spends $2 million a year on graffiti, this money has to come from somewhere. Perhaps they get it by raising your tri-met fare 20 cents, or cut $150,000 from bicycle improvements, or by eliminating public safety positions. Who knows?
And really, who cares? Someday, you'll either grow out of it, or get busted, or cabbie will break your fingers. I like options #2 and #3 better than #1, but I get paid either way.