Maintenance

In an elevator someone scribbled, "I wrote on the wall. Take that society!" I burst out laughing, and the other people in the elevator gave me looks. I liked the writing, but disagree with it's more subtle meaning. I think that graffiti is more than just a pathetic swing at society and it CAN change things.

For example, the longest recorded piece of graffiti was a 4,000 character essay written in the bathroom of a Chinese college in 1915. The artist criticized the college and the state of Chinese society. He turned himself in, was paraded around the school, and was threatened with expulsion. The student was Chairman Mao, who later founded the People's Republic of China and was responsible for the deaths of 30 million people.

How about a more personal example? The communal bathroom in my dorm used to be a women's room. It's now shared by 70+ men, and has only two stalls. No urinals, and only four showers. The people in my hall enjoy missing the toilet, no matter what they expel: piss, shit, or vomit. The lock on one of the filthy doors was dismantled, providing no privacy for that stall. It's been that way for two months, and I finally got sick of it.
I wrote with my left hand, (to disguise my handwriting), "What are we paying you for? Fix the fucking door!"
I wrote the date, to see how long it took to fix. Less than 24-hours. [SEE PRETTY PIKTURES].

If you still need proof that graffiti changes things, read Daniel Chapter 5. Probably one of my favorite stories in the Bible, as you probably already know. But I don't want to spoil it. Read it.

I don't think graffiti is all that wrong. To a certain degree, it's disrespectful, but not sinful. My actions do raise some questions however.

1. Why didn't I just report the broken lock? Oh, that would have been easier, and far less effective. If you've had to deal with NAU administration the way I have, you'd already know this. If you want to be listened to, you have to shout. Which raises the next question.

2. Is the word "fucking" necessary? Oh yes. Very. I pondered this act for about two weeks before I did it. Word choice was not an accident. Personally, I never cared. I poop on the second floor anyway. It's a more private, clean and quiet bathroom. I only wrote this to see the effectiveness of my message, and to prove the point in this blog. I could have been polite, but that would lessen the notice's potency. That is why no one gives a "shit" about the "PEACE PLEASE" sticker campaign all over campus. It's too nice. If I had wrote, "Please fix the door LOL" I can guarantee you that door would still be busted. Your message has to be strong to get attention.


There are two parts to graffiti; the message and the medium. My medium was permanent marker, which is easy to remove. It's gone with a daub of nail polish remover. Other mediums are stickers or wheatpasting which you can remove with water and a blow dryer. Spray paint is probably the hardest thing to remove, second to engraving. You either have to paint over it, or powerwash it off. Both the message and the medium are equally important. Neither one can be weak or inappropriate.

3. Who exactly are you arguing with? Good question. Am I banging my head against a brick wall or debating with scribbles in an elevator? I'm really just tired of those pathetic people who won't stand up for themselves and say they can't make a difference in the world. I want to prove to those poor saps that you can change something, all you need is a wall and a paintcan to be your voice. The question is, what are you going to write?

The last thing was this: An idle warning. But as I already said, I don't even poop there. And I won't write on anymore walls, because my message has already been delivered.