U.S. Campus Life Graffiti police By Masako Yamada	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
落書きを取り締まる 壁や建物などへの落書きは、町の景観を損なうだけでなく、立派な犯罪です。ある夜、雅子さんはボーイフレンドの家の近くで、若者がフェンスにスプレーで落書きしているのを目撃しました。トラブルに巻き込まれるといけないので、相手に気付かれぬようボーイフレンドの家に入り、警察に通報しました。

I was walking toward my boyfriend's apartment one evening when I noticed a hissing sound.

ケンブリッジ市のホームページ (http://www.ci.cambridge.ma.us)。

To my dismay, I saw two of the guys go inside a laundromat and spray-paint the walls and the front window. It was obvious that they were going down the street, spraying their names wherever they could. They weren't particularly stealthy. They lumbered along in a large group, going from wall to wall. If I were going to do such a thing, I would try to be quick and quiet so I wouldn't be noticed. But they seemed oblivious to the fact that people were watching.

I was afraid that they'd notice me walking into my boyfriend's apartment, and when he opened the door, I told him that some guys had been graffiti-ing the street. He quickly looked out of the door so he could identify the vandals. He then went to the Internet to look up the phone number of the "Graffiti Hotline" sponsored by the Cambridge Police, and he gave them a call. We were directed to call 911.

Since he wasn't able to get a good look at them, I had to give details of what I remembered. The thing is, I hadn't taken any mental notes as I watched the vandals go about their business. I didn't remember much, and what I did remember, I couldn't describe well: "Uhhh, I saw two youngish white guys painting the laundromat." "What do you mean by young?" "I would say about high school."

I could only remember certain details, such as the baseball cap that one of the guys wore. But I couldn't remember whether he wore the cap backward. I remembered that one of the guys spray-painting the laundromat was a bit overweight and had on a black T-shirt. One of the guys had red spray-paint, and another had black spray-paint.

My boyfriend seemed exasperated that I hadn't been more vigilant. But it didn't occur to me that this is the sort of thing that one reports to the police, so I wasn't inclined to observe details and rush to a phone. If anything, I wanted to act like a wall so I wouldn't incite them. I suppose that in a way, this was irresponsible of me, but it's not as if I were watching them from my living room. I was on the street with them.

There are different kinds of graffiti out there. One of my friends, a quiet but very opinionated person, told me that she feels it's a legitimate form of self-expression, since it's the only way that the voiceless can have their voices heard. She has felt inclined to spray-paint political messages in public places.

Keith Haring is one of the most famous graffiti artists, and one could argue that his bright, colorful works actually contribute to the public scenery. One guy I met at a summer camp told me of the thrill of stealing spray-paint and scrawling his logo in city subways. He hinted at how possessive people are of their logos, since it's their mark on a territory. I think the guys I saw on the street were in this category, since they were painting neither deep messages nor beautiful images. They were just writing their names.

I don't know how effective my descriptions were, but several hours later, we got a call from the police. They had caught them. Apparently, the group had gone up and down several streets spray-painting their logos, and several people had called to report the crime. Although I had witnessed only two of the guys painting, the police has arrested all of them.

I felt confused. I was angry at their disregard for shared space. I was insulted by the sheer ugliness of their scrawl (I wish they had at least chosen more meaningful logos). I felt a bit sorry for them that the police were pressing charges. I was afraid that they'd come back to retaliate for our turning them in. I was relieved that I didn't have to go to the station to identify them.

Shukan ST: Aug. 9, 2002

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