Blog Post #4
Cam McNearney
Dr. Jenkins
PS 101
April 28, 2022
Blog Post #4
In the last blog post, I talked about the crime in Atlanta and how that crime in Atlanta has spread into surrounding sub-cities like Kennesaw. This has been affecting the locals in a negative way and crime rates are hard to see by the naked eye. This is only something you realize when you look at the new, statistics, or are around the crime itself. More than just violent crime occurs in Atlanta and the main one is Graffiti. Graffiti is a type of writing or drawing done illicitly on a wall or some other surface on public property. Graffiti, in the state of Georgia, breaks the Georgia law and falls under Vandalism. Graffiti causes damage to decorative and delicate surfaces of all kinds. Even if the surface is not delicate, it is very hard to cover up or remove, especially if the building is one that might be considered historic. Graffiti has a negative effect on incoming customers for the area, businesses, or companies that may have graffiti near it or on their building. Graffiti has, at times, been an issue of being offensive, threatening, gang-affiliated, racial, or inappropriate. Graffiti can be seen all over the city of Atlanta; from road signs to buildings, there is hardly a trip taken to the city where one would not encounter some form of vandalism. Many people have begun to notice it does not even take a trip into the city, as vandalists have begun to take their craft to the outer limits. Having known that Atlanta’s crime has bled over into Kennesaw, it has also caused its graffiti issue to bleed over.
The city of Atlanta is a very large and diverse city. With a population of over 490,000 people, the streets of Atlanta have many different types of people and emotions roaming around them on a daily and nightly basis. Nowadays, people tend to express their emotions, feelings, and thoughts through virtual forms of expression like social media, or physical forms of expression like art. Atlanta is known for many types of expression, but one that is popular is graffiti. Graffiti covers the walls of buildings, doors, street signs, and bridges across the city. Often, graffiti is known as “street art” and is professionally done for murals, special occasions, etc. Examples of this could be pictures of Martin Luther King Jr. on MLK Street downtown. Yet it is important to note that graffiti and street art are not classified as the same thing. Street art is typically a form of storytelling or peaceful protest. The issue comes when people begin to vandalize these murals, walls, budlings, etc. with vulgar images and profanity. In Midtown Atlanta there is a large population of LGBTQ+ citizens and this area is often vandalized with homophobic slurs. An example of this is the famous pride-themed crosswalks getting vandalized with derogatory wording and inappropriate sexually targeted innuendos.
Much like the crime rate of Atlanta leaking into the city of Kennesaw, the same thing can be seen with graffiti. More and more we are seeing racial slurs and vandalism occurring throughout this suburban area. What does this mean for Kennesaw? This means that the graffiti is creating a less than optimal atmosphere in which families would want to raise their children. It is exposing young minds to a new form of discrimination through sexually and racially targeted slurs that are open for public viewing. Consequently, this has negatively affected the housing market in Kennesaw. As discussed in previous blog posts, Kennesaw is an upcoming family-friendly neighborhood. With these undesired graffiti artists vandalizing public property, it is obvious that this deterred future homeowners. A recent incident in one Kennesaw neighborhood included families waking up to a swastika and racial slurs in bright orange paint across the street. Many neighbors were outraged to see this and shocked that this has occurred in their neighborhood. Some even wondered if there was a problem that they were unaware of. Situations like this have affected these neighborhoods for the worse. This idea that Kennesaw is a family-friendly place to move has been altered considering recent vandalism. Citizens of Kennesaw are outraged that children must witness the atrocities of racism and discrimination in their neighborhood where instead they should play outside. Many families have worried that these acts of graffiti will decrease the value of their homes in Kennesaw and prevent new and diverse groups of people to move there.
While some people may view graffiti as harmless form of self-expression, it is clear now that this is not a victimless crime. The city of Kennesaw is the victim, and with each incident, the city hurts more. While vandalism and graffiti may not be solely to blame for issues occurring in Kennesaw relating to its future prosperity, it is more than certainly a contributing factor. As stated above, families have been hurt and the city’s reputation has been altered.
https://patch.com/georgia/kennesaw/cobb-county-neighborhood-scarred-racist-graffiti-report