26 March 2002 - 9:18 a.m. Taggers have declared war on Providence. There are monograms and profanity scrawled on every vertical surface that can be reached with a can of spray-paint. It goes up faster than the city can paint over it. There are arguments that tagging is an art form and a means of self-expression. However, these arguments ignore one very important fact. Before a tag is art or expression, it is an assault. Before it is a creation unto itself, ir is the destruction, or at least damaging of the surface it is applied to. Unless the tag is invited or the tagger is given permission to apply the tag, it is vandalism before it is anything else. Arguing that a tagger is an artist is like arguing that a thief is an entrepeneur, or that a rapist is a lover. Graffitti is a form of violence. It is a threat. It is a declaration of "this is mine" or, more accurately "I'm taking this." It is animalistic territorialism. It is dogs pissing on trees. The greatest accomplishments of taggers are the diminishment of beauty, and the proliferation of crime and economic depression. It is the easiest way for the stupidest people to do the most damage to a neighborhood. And, I guarantee you that the money the city has to pay to hire workers to clean it up comes right out of public assistance. It's one of the main reasons a triple decker victorian in South Providence lists for $27,000 and they can't sell it. Some people complain that they can't read what taggers write on walls because the letters are stylized and distorted. Well, it doesn't matter what the tags say because they all say the same thing, "this place sucks. It's full of punks and criminals". It's a malicious snicker. It's a middle finger thrust into the air at anyone by a mental patient. It's a live bomb with a smily face painted on it. So I'm in the copy shop, printing up bumper stickers that say, "That SUV makes your ass look big." I found this on WIL WHEATON DOT NET (0) Comments?