3 June 2009

Tagging churches?

| radonezh
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I turned up at the Russian Church in Narrabundah two weeks ago and a large graffiti tag had appeared on the front entrance.

Clearly this artist was looking for somewhere to express him/herself, but it would’ve been nice if he/she had’ve found somewhere else.

I must admit I’m a fan of calligraphic art, but not when it disrespects something else that is also an artistic expression (such as an architectural piece of cultural or spiritual significance).

It’s a real pain to have to remove this stuff and to be honest, reporting it to the police is tiresome and likely to get someone in trouble that they don’t want or need.

A bit more cultural sensitivity by the street artists out there would be wonderful.

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Woody Mann-Caruso said :

Tagging churches is the same as tagging anything that some people place significance on. The OP refers to things that are significant, not just churches

So you missed the title of the post then? “Tagging churches?” Complete with incredulous ending-a-sentence-by-going-up-with-your-voice question mark? The OP has a beef with people tagging churches – specifically, his/her church.

If the post title had been “Tagging Caravans ?” would it have got the same reaction ? My mate was just as mad about his Caravan as this bloke is about his Church being tagged.

The thing about taggers is if you catch one and spraypaint his shoes, tracky daks, hoodie and hair they get really angry. Why is that?!

You could be onto something here.

The thing about taggers is if you catch one and spraypaint his shoes, tracky daks, hoodie and hair they get really angry. Why is that?!

Holden Caulfield5:31 pm 03 Jun 09

Keep on digging Woody.

Woody Mann-Caruso5:07 pm 03 Jun 09

Tagging churches is the same as tagging anything that some people place significance on. The OP refers to things that are significant, not just churches

So you missed the title of the post then? “Tagging churches?” Complete with incredulous ending-a-sentence-by-going-up-with-your-voice question mark? The OP has a beef with people tagging churches – specifically, his/her church.

The amount of sandy vags on this site is astounding.

I thought the thread for AFL players was over there near the ladies toilet?

Spray on your own walls to “express yourself”

VYBerlinaV8_the_one_they_all_copy4:25 pm 03 Jun 09

A mate of mine caught some young vandal tagging the rear wall of his house. Steve’s a big guy. He removed the aerosol from the teenager, and tagged him, including his “Kappa” jacket and hair.

Perhaps if a few more of us did this, the little fcks might get the message.

UrbanReality4:02 pm 03 Jun 09

My parents are Russian, and as a kid was made to go the Russian church in Narrabundah, and I always saw graffiti drawn up the walls. I remember when we had “p*ofters home” (or something along those lines) on the gate for months and it kept going up every time the church took it down.I think most people learned to live with it, you can’t really stop them and considering where its situated its no surprise.

peterh said :

If it was ok to deface a building, public or privately owned, canberra would look like a ghetto. it isn’t, so they shouldn’t. I don’t care if it is a church, house, pub, etc, it is wrong and they should be stopped.

perhaps the act govt could create big white backed walls around canberra and allow taggers to knock themselves out – filling in the white with their tags. (they may also be knocked out after turf wars erupt over which tags are better, and why did you tag over mine??)

+ 1

Few people here would accept that it was OK for people to express themselves by keying your car, throwing stones through your windows or blowing up your letter box. All of them repairable but a some cost and inconvenience to you. So what is so different about vandalising other peoples’ property by tagging.

King Oath HC – People just like to argue a point.

I am sure they would get their neck out of joint if their house was tagged a lot more than their local shops, but they are both just buildings right?

Tagging the taggers.

A mate of mine caught some young vandal tagging the rear wall of his house. Steve’s a big guy. He removed the aerosol from the teenager, and tagged him, including his “Kappa” jacket and hair.

The kids mother came round to complain that; “He’s a good kid, just having some fun, and that you’ll have to pay for his clothes and for his hair, and if you don’t we’re calling the cops and taking you to court!”

Steve then pointed out that before he paid a penny towards anything, she could pay to have his wall cleaned.

She went on about how he couldn’t prove it was her kid that did that, Steve gave the obvious reply.

In the end they agree to disagree. (In other words, she got fed up of bitching and whining and realised she didn’t have a leg to stand on, and dragged her moaning kid away with her.)

So folks, if public and private buildings are legit to tag, then so are taggers.

I’m game.

Holden Caulfield3:45 pm 03 Jun 09

Whatsup said :

Tagging churches is the same as tagging anything that some people place significance on.

The OP refers to things that are significant, not just churches. A church was the example used which has resulted in some of you getting your knickers in a twist or jocks in a knot.

I am sure everyone would have something that they see as being special enough that they would not want to see tagged…

Exactly!

The amount of sandy vags on this site is astounding.

taggers and knitters should have a show down…

If it was ok to deface a building, public or privately owned, canberra would look like a ghetto. it isn’t, so they shouldn’t. I don’t care if it is a church, house, pub, etc, it is wrong and they should be stopped.

perhaps the act govt could create big white backed walls around canberra and allow taggers to knock themselves out – filling in the white with their tags. (they may also be knocked out after turf wars erupt over which tags are better, and why did you tag over mine??)

Tagging churches is the same as tagging anything that some people place significance on. The OP refers to things that are significant, not just churches. A church was the example used which has resulted in some of you getting your knickers in a twist or jocks in a knot.

I am sure everyone would have something that they see as being special enough that they would not want to see tagged. A mate of mine had his caravan tagged recently, man is he pissed off.

> But churches are not just a building, like Uluru is not just a big rock.

Yes, they really are just buildings…really!

& Uluru really is just a big rock (although it does have historical significance & granted, is the only place I have ever felt any real spritual presence).

Surely the solution is banning spraypaint. Only a tagger could possibly have a use for it. Large textas should be controlled too. And possibly stickytape and photocopiers. Plus, better ban flour and water – billposters are just as bad.

(Okay, that’s enough reductio ad absurdum for me today.)

“& nobody is saying that tags on churches are ok, just that they are no less ok than for any other building.”

But churches are not just a building, like Uluru is not just a big rock.

VYBerlinaV8_the_one_they_all_copy1:32 pm 03 Jun 09

And therein lies the problem…

VYBerlinaV8_the_one_they_all_copy said :

We need to find the taggers, and kill them. Taggers are a blight on civilised society.

so.. do i start sharpening the pitchforks and other farm implements and making up the torches now? wait. go to find the buggers first.

VYBerlinaV8_the_one_they_all_copy1:24 pm 03 Jun 09

We need to find the taggers, and kill them. Taggers are a blight on civilised society.

& nobody is saying that tags on churches are ok, just that they are no less ok than for any other building.

Uluru is a place of natural beauty, not a building. A “tag” on Uluru would offend me considerably.

So, if the tag had been on Uluru would it be just as non offensive ?

Your point is well made danman, of course I would be upset if a building that I cared about was defaced.

I guess we have no real way of knowing whether the offender specifically chose the church as a target though.

The point I was making was not that it’s OK to vandalise a church, just that it’s somewhat narrow-minded to assume a church is still afforded the same “universal” respect that it used to.

Hey, Im not saying how it is, I am saying that someone whose church got tagged would care more about that getting tagged than say somewhere that does not hold spiritual significance.

As Fnaah pointed out, and I have to agree, if the George Harcourt got tagged, or any heritage listed building, I would be justifyably pissed off, I dont care if a church gets tagged, I was not trying to make an example of the church being superior than any other building, what I was saying was that a church getting tagged was probably intended to hit the churchgoers where it hurts… Why chose a church over the shops ? They are all buildings? Maybe one was intended to be more emotive than another.

If I spraypainted pentagrams on a church and then on a shop – who would it offend the most ?

How can anyone who is outside the circle say a building is as significant as another.

I think they would be devestated, moreso than if their local shops got tagged…That was the point I was trying to exemplify (and that you all missed/ignored)

Graff the Pyramids, or the local shops…After all, they’re all buildings, it would be the same.

Could it not be that the offended did such things to get a rise out of the victims.

For the record, I am spiritual but not religious, my coincern is as much as if another building was tagged.

Don’t give in to Pascal’s wager, justbands! 😛

While I’m not a fan of Graffiti, I am even more not a fan of churches. The entire idea that religion is privileged and should warrant un-earned respect among the community is abhorrent to me.

IMHO only defective people believe in their ultimate imaginary friend, so they should be in good company with the defective people that deface public structures.

Hehe…we’re all going to burn in hell! Or not, considering it’s all just made up.

screaming banshee12:40 pm 03 Jun 09

Woody Mann-Caruso said :

So which was it:

– your omniscient God didn’t know the church was tagged
– your omnibenevolent God didn’t care that believers would be hurt if the church was tagged or
– your omnipotent God was powerless to stop it?

If it was none of the above, then He wanted the church to be tagged, and you should be grateful.

Nice work WMC

screaming banshee12:40 pm 03 Jun 09

justbands said :

+1 for fnaah.

Tagging is stupid & looks ugly…but as far as I’m concerned, a church is just another building.

+2 tagging is annoying but churches are no more special than any other building

Woody Mann-Caruso12:22 pm 03 Jun 09

So which was it:

– your omniscient God didn’t know the church was tagged
– your omnibenevolent God didn’t care that believers would be hurt if the church was tagged or
– your omnipotent God was powerless to stop it?

If it was none of the above, then He wanted the church to be tagged, and you should be grateful.

Pubs and clubs are spiritual houses for those that attend them. For many, they hold much more cultural significance than a church ever could.

Tagging anything is, as you say, like pissing on it. Expecting a tagger to value the subjective sanctity of a funnily-shaped building with public announcements of humanity’s imminent demise printed in big letters out the front, on the other hand, is probably expecting a bit much.

Isn’t it time for religious people to stop being shocked and offended when non-religious people don’t see things the same way as them? (Oh, and i’ll have a dose of gloobal nuclear disarmament, while I’m wishing for the unattainable.)

Fnaah, I have to disagree mate, Churches are spiritual houses for those that attend them, they would hold more significance to them than say…Riverside Plaze.

In my opinion, tagging one, which is the human equivalent to a dog pissing on a lamp post is volumes more disrespectful

None the less, its all black and white legally, but on an emotive scale, I would be more pissed off if (Should I attend one) my church was tagged, as opposed to say, riverside plaza (Nothing against the plaza, I spent many a shopping thrip there when living in the Q)

Furthermore, the only thing that taggers have in common with those who do full productions, is the style in whihc a full production is signed off (Akin to an artist signing and dedicating their work) – Artistically speaking, the stylised single line words is all that they have in common with “Taggers”.

+1 for fnaah.

Tagging is stupid & looks ugly…but as far as I’m concerned, a church is just another building.

A bit more cultural sensitivity by the street artists out there would be wonderful.

Devil’s advocate: why? What make a church more special? It’s a building, nothing more. Plenty of people will argue that the Cameron/Benjamin Offices had more architectural significance, and I’d bet they were viewed and used by an order of magniture more people than the Russian Church. Same goes for pubs, clubs and schools.

I’m not a big fan of tagging (most of it is ugly, imho), but suggesting that a church should somehow be any more or less “off-limit” than any other building is silly.

Pommy bastard11:36 am 03 Jun 09

A “tag” is not someone “expressing themselves,” for gods sake! It’s a piece of meaningless graffiti,the moral and artistic equivalent of a dog peeing on a lamppost.

The person who did it SHOULD be reported to the police and face the consequences of their gross bad manner, and unutterable stupidity.

The non -reporting of, and mitigation of, CRIMES like this by people who should know better, is par for the course these days, no wonder kids today have no respect for anything!

“Express themselves” my ******* ****!!!!

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