Hate "Graffiti"

Graffiti as a tool of opposition can be appropriated in any context - regardless of moral context. In a previous post, I posted an article on how graffiti has been used as a tool of political opposition in Egypt.

While graffiti began as "writing" and inner-city kids "bombing" their names on trains and walls of neighborhoods, it has also taken on ways to indicate "turf" or territory in certain areas. Graffiti was a way to represent one's neighbor-"hoods" and gangs. Graffiti can be said to have seen a shift from "bombing" trains to gang-affiliation and the delineation of groups.

One of the ugly extensions of this is the use of graffiti to convey and vocalize hate. The most recent example, which I only know because of the press coverage, is the racism tagged on a 13 year-old teenager's home in Massachusetts (article: here)

Simply typing in 'racist graffiti' in google images raises uncouth images targeting blacks, muslims, asians, and the promotion of nazi symbols and 'white power' fills the screen.

While it is easy to see the positive and glorified aspects of graffiti - its place in hip hop culture and its elevation as a style of art - the ugliness of hate-filled graffiti, and the negative stereotypes of all graffiti as gang-affiliated, is the ignored elephant in the room.