Wednesday 16 May 2012

Canadian Graffiti...

Today's entry is in response to the my bemusement of what has happened to the youth of today. I live in a lovely seaside, residential town that prides itself on an image of no corporate shops, well-lit streets, it's own RCMP division, and the property taxes that make all of this possible (not that I actually pay those; I have the rare joy of getting all this for less than anyone would pay in the GVA, with a garden and ocean view to boot!). Nonetheless, I admit to being shocked and dismayed when any attempt to betray this image is performed by wayward youths with too much free time on their hands.

Just such circumstances presented themselves to me on my walk to my bus stop and again in the evening on the way home. While I appreciate the artistic integrity of graffiti art, I've never been able to overcome the motivation behind the medium; anarchy with a touch of metallic paint. Without access to metallic hues, chalk would certainly suffice in the defecation of the streets of our fair cities...and this is exactly the tactics that were chosen by the unknown criminals I have uncovered on the fair streets of White Rock.

The first clue came at the footsteps of the White Rock Fire Department. I swear to you as a dear reader that I am not making this up when, at my very feet in yellow and blue chalk, were written the following words: "We Thank You Fire-fighters of White Rock." (this was followed by - gasp! - a pink heart). Two steps down, seething in positive attitude, I was greeted with (and again, I'm not making this up) "Love Yourself Because There is No One Else Like You!" How dare the hooligans of today tell me who I can and can't love?

A turn off this street got me to my bus and it was not until I came home that I - gasp! - came across more defecation: "Smile, and the Whole World Smiles With You!" was the first clue that a band of vigilante morning people are out there trying to spread their daily motivations to the otherwise sleepy seniors of this town. To make things worse? A similar expression of sentiment in Chinese was written a block down! While the average citizen of White Rock may not be able to decipher the meaning of the phrases (seriously, the banner of self-promotion for this town should be "we're old, and we put the white in White Rock"), I was disgusted to be able to pick out the characters of "fortune," "happiness", "love," "white," and "rock."

What happened to the meth labs of yore? Who is responsible for bringing such defecation to our streets?

Oh the youth of today...

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