Graffiti has its roots in the 1960s, but it's becoming an epidemic lately.
So theorized a Chicago police sergeant who spoke at a community meeting in my neighborhood this week. He delineated two kinds of graffiti—gang markings, used to claim territory, and tagging, which is an artistic expression, a la Banksy, et al.
The gang stuff is a constant annoyance. But it's the tagging that's gotten out of hand.
Why?
"Your little Facebook," the sarge said. "Everybody wants to do something these days" to express themselves. They take pictures of their work and post it online.
He said a tagger had been recently caught and convicted, partially on account of he included his Twitter handle on his tags.
"Thank God not everybody's smart," the sergeant said, with chuckle and a shake of the head.
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