May 19, 2010 · Derek

Making a Statement: Tacoma Says "Enough!"

Tacoma faced a difficult decision this week. Will we confront injustice head-on, or allow it to dwell unchallenged in our society? In the end, we chose to drug the rogue bear and escort him to his natural habitat.

Of course, the bear had adequate notice he was trespassing into our ecosystem, but chose to ignore every opportunity we gave him to swim back home to the Key Peninsula. Instead of legitimately entering our culture of hard work and free enterprise, this bear attempted to break into our homes. He resisted arrest for hours, leading police on an expensive moderate-speed chase through a green belt area.

The bear’s crime spree lasted at least 24 hours. When it became apparent that the Federal Government did not intend to come dispense of the bear, or prevent future ursine beachheads, local officials felt their hand had been forced and relocated the animal.

Their bold action is a significant triumph of grassroots code enforcement. The bear’s family could not be reached for comment, but is believed to be squatting in the forest near Penrose Point.

Filed under: City Government, Public Safety

6 comments

Jenny J August 7, 2014

I think a lot of it is content and context. "Tags" are just like dogs marking a fire hydrant - no value there. Graffiti, when done artistically, can be very interesting, but the context has to be right - it should be done somewhere it's wanted, or at least not unwanted. That's why it's such a shame the graffiti garage is closed.
- Art Lover August 7, 2014
  
  I agree. I hope they're able to find another space to replace the garages.
Jesse August 7, 2014

Has permission = art Does not have permission = vandalism
thackerspeed August 8, 2014

If a form of graphic expression defaces public property, say hosing City Hall with Silly String, then the Fab 5 gets a $10.00 commission to hose Starbucks corporate headquarters cubicles with Silly String, could a case be made that the Fab 5 are influencing the culture to a significant degree?
thackerspeed August 8, 2014

Whatever one wants to call/name the graphic expression accomplished at the Broadway Garages, or call/name whatever the Fab 5 accomplished in a likewise private setting, the consequences of those actions have nothing to do with graffiti, as the term is commonly understood. It's important to make a distinction between form and content, and furthermore distinguish the sphere of operations.
thackerspeed August 11, 2014

August 11, 2014. Detroit Free Press staff writer Robert Allen. Three suburban teenagers accused of spray-painting downtown Detroit buildings were arraigned today in Wayne County Circuit Court...The three teens are accused of spraying images such as hearts and the words “Welcome to Detroit” on buildings June 22 at Michigan Avenue and Griswold Street... Each of the defendants is charged with one count of malicious destruction of a building $1,000 to $20,000, a felony that carries up to five years in prison, in connection with the alleged vandalism, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office. August 10, 2014. The News Tribune/Tacoma News Inc. staff writer Rosemary Ponnekanti. A graffiti artist "works on shading skills" with black and white spray paint as she depicts an animal skull on the base of the Yakima Street bridge over Buckley Gulch.--caption under front page photograph by newspaper staff photographer Peter Haley. -------------- Ladies and gentlemen, the reality warp in Tacoma is real. The empirical evidence is indisputable. Are the actors in the The News Tribune report, the graffiti vandal and the newspaper staff, promoting a doctrine of self-interest--all of us should do what we think is best for ourselves? What has yet to be determined from the empirical evidence is that the actors are either practicing or promoting willful disobedience, or they are mentally ill offenders.