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From the time they can hold a crayon, children
begin to scribble, drawing on whatever is available, whether it's a
coloring book, a tabletop or their bedroom wall.
Over time, as they mature and learn to write, their scribbling becomes
legible, but throughout life, most people will doodle at times. For some
it may be drawing pictures or letters on scraps of paper while talking on
the phone, listening to a boring speaker or perhaps pondering some
problem.
Certainly there's nothing wrong with that.
When the doodler finishes, he or she wads up the scrap of paper and either
places it in their pocket or tosses it in the trash.
Sometimes people use heavy markers, even spray paint, to do their
doodling. Except instead of drawing on a piece of scrap paper, they use
the sides of buildings, stop signs, garage doors, cars and trucks, traffic
signal control boxes and whatever else is within reach as their canvas.
Judging from the height of some of drawings, the more brazen have accessed
the roofs of buildings, then leaned over to draw on the side of those
buildings. A few have glued pictures and hate messages to the sides of
buildings and to signs.
Unfortunately, removing their doodles, called graffiti by most people when
it's displayed in public, can be extremely difficult. And while beauty is
in the eye of the beholder, most of what has been drawn is unquestionably
ugly. Nor is it confined to major metropolitan slum areas. "It's
everywhere," one long-time community resident complained to this
newspaper recently, adding they found the scribbling
"obnoxious."
That it is. It's also illegal and punishable by fines and jail time.
Under Kentucky law, if the damages for defacing property are less than
$500, the action is considered a class B misdemeanor and that's punishable
by up to 90 days in jail, and/or up to a $250 fine. If damages exceed $500
but are less than $1,000, it's a class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to
12 months in jail and/or up to a $500 fine. Should damages exceed $1,000,
and that could happen if one person defaces several pieces of property,
their action becomes a class D felony, punishable by 1 to 5 years in
prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
A number of area residents, disgusted at what they are seeing around town,
and those who have had their property defaced, would be quick to say
"throw the book at 'em." Unfortunately, that's easier said than
done. Unlike artists who hope to sell their works and proudly sign them,
graffiti "artists" prefer to work anonymously and usually under
cover of darkness. Obviously they know what they are doing is wrong, but
that hasn't deterred them.
What's the answer? Increased late-night patrols of the downtown area, and
especially its alleys, could help, as could throwing the book at any
convicted. So would strict enforcement of the community's curfew law,
because of the strong likelihood that much of the graffiti appearing
around town is the work of juveniles. Respect for the property of others
must be taught from an early age, and that begins with parents.
Graffiti may never be totally eliminated, but with work, it can be greatly
curtailed, and the result will be a cleaner, more attractive community for
all.
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