The Inmates are Running the Asylum

 In Greece  the city of Athens fighting a graffiti war

In the center of the Greek capital there are two spots that indisputably make it prettier: the Roman Agora on the north side of the Acropolis and Eleftherias Park on Vassilissis Sofias Avenue, between the NIMTS naval hospital and the Athens Concert Hall. While very different, these two sites are both particularly elegant and in synch with the urban environment.
Perhaps it is these elements -- good taste and a clear identity, so hard to come by in the sprawling city -- that have made the areas surrounding the Roman Agora and Eleftherias Park such popular targets for self-proclaimed street artists, who litter their walls with graffiti and tags, or spray-painted

The fact that the park is especially popular with skateboarders and that graffiti comes almost part and parcel with the tagging culture has turned Eleftherias Park into a mess.
“We clean up there at least twice a month,” Varelas told Kathimerini. “The problem is that there is no security in the park and it is always open to the public.”
Designed by landscape architect Panayiotis Vokotopoulos in 1960, Eleftherias Park is both symbolic and widely used by the public and the Athens Concert Hall, which screens foreign opera productions there in the summer. But its greatest virtue -- the fact that it is open to the public around the clock -- has made it a target.
A third battlefront that has opened with the graffiti gangs is the wall surrounding the Ancient Cemetery of Kerameikos on Pireos Street. “There are signs that our persistence there is paying off,” said Varelas, though he admits that the battle is still far from over at the Roman Agora and Eleftherias Park.

    We are also subject to this mess in America. This might be a small story in light of the decline of the world economically,  but it is the sign of the times as to civility and the right of respect property that does not belong to you.  Since when did it become "okay" to allow defacing of public or private property?  Is this art?  Why too is it the cost of the public to waste time and money on continually cleaning when catching should be top priority? I can just imagine going next door as a child, with paint brush and bucket in hand, and indulging my artistic whim on my neighbor's  house or fence!  Or being out in the middle of the night under a bridge indulging myself in artistic expression!  If I even thought of doing such a crazy stunt it would be my last.   Where are the parents? Should the money be used to catch and punish these criminals or to keep cleaning up after them???   Is there no taking responsibility for bad behavior?  Closing the skateboarding would just punish those who conduct themselves in a respectful manner.  Maybe it is not even young people who are doing this damage but grown people that once were at work and now have nothing to do. Jobs gone, dignity gone, hope gone.....


GUADALAJARA, Mexico — A newspaper in northern Mexico announced today it would no longer cover “violent disputes” after a second grenade attack against its office in as many months.
El Mañana is based in the border city of Nuevo Laredo in Tamaulipas state, which has been the scene of bloody battles between the hyper-violent Zetas drug gang and the Gulf Cartel as they fight for control of drug smuggling routes into the United States.
An editorial published in the newspaper today said no one was injured in Tuesday's attack.
"We ask for the public's comprehension and will refrain, for as long as needed, from publishing any information related to the violent disputes our city and other regions of the country are suffering," the paper said.

 
Did these criminals start as graffiti artist?  Who cares, they are now running the show. This is the outcome when no one speaks up and society gives up and the inmates are allowed to run the asylum.