I can imagine Chris from Painted Black as a young boy, sitting in front of his house drawing on the sidewalk with chalk while waiting for his mother to come home exhausted from her second shift. Maybe chalk really is a gateway art supply.
One of the main characters in Painted Black is a graffiti artist and perhaps because of this I admit to having a tolerance and, in some cases, even a fondness for graffiti.
When is art art and when is it vandalism? Can it be both? I know only a little about the graffiti culture, but I do know there is a difference between tagging (marking your symbol/initials) and burning (a large, elaborate painting, usually applied legally.) Just as there is a difference between free speech and vandalizing property. If I see either painted on fences and walls in my neighborhood it doesn’t bother me at all and may even, if well done, be admired.
The article below further blurs the lines between what is legal and illegal when the “graffiti” in question is applied with the easily washable application of sidewalk chalk. The article primarily talks about chalking protest symbols…
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Numbers Don’t Lie
But like words, numbers can be interpreted to serve a person’s agenda. When confronted with the news that New York families are staying in homeless shelters 30% longer than they used to, the city mayor took a rather large leap of illogic. Living in a shelter is “much more pleasurable” these days he’s quoted as saying in the article linked below.
Unfortunately, Mayor Bloomberg isn’t the only powerful, rich person who is out of touch with reality when it comes to homelessness. That misconception is shared by way too many.
Read the article below to hear more about Bloomberg’s example of politicians putting a spin on facts to further an agenda outside of reality.
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