George,

I never said wealth is wrong, or that private property is wrong. I actually would like to have a little more of both.

Grafitti is wrong because it is the imposition of one person's will upon another. In this case, it is a kid with spray paint inflicting his idea of art on another man's warehouse.

But my main point is that corporations and government inflict their will on people all the time, but they're protected by the law. As examples, I cite advertising, which is designed to teach children the value of instant self-gratification through wasteful consumption of manufactured products. Another example, as I said before, are drug laws which make use of street drugs punishable while protecting corporations who push behavior modification pills on children who don't behave the way their parents would like.

When the poor inflict their will on the rich, it's with a spray paint can or a pistol. When the rich inflict their will on the poor, it's throught the proper legal channels and "for their own good". But my point is that both inflictions are still wrong, no matter what the law says. In America, the people with the most freedom to pursue their happiness are typically the people with the most wealth and property, and I think there's something wrong with that. Unfortunately, I have no solutions to offer.

I'm not saying rich people are bad...although some of the rich folks I know were born on third base and walk around acting like they hit a triple. Many, though, like my uncle, are beautiful, hard-working people. I'm not saying vandals are good. Personally, I'd rather see a spray-painted butterfly on a factory wall than a naked model asking me to buy cigarettes. But most grafitti is just "fuck you" on somebody's small business, and that is only spreading hate, not beauty.

So listen you property owners and rich folks out there, some of whom are already jumping down my throat...before you get all defensive, re-read my comments and realize I'm not criticizing you for being ahead of the game, no matter how you got there. Congradulations. Please put your feet up, admire your bank account, and enjoy it while it lasts. If anyone spray paints your front porch, I hope they are arrested. But I believe that as long as too few of us have much more than we need, and too many of us don't have enough, you and your families will never, ever be totally safe, no matter how many prisons or gated communities you build, or how "tough" you get on crime.

John Borgmeyer (electronic mail, April 12, 2002)