Build pride of places

The recent crackdown on vandalism reminded me of a documentary I watched a number of years ago.

The story went something like this: a ghetto on the outskirts of Los Angeles became an unusual tourist attraction when an accidental art installation began drawing crowds.

It all began when someone threw their shoe into a tree and others did the same, resulting in an enormous pile of footwear and clothing that seemed to take on a shape and presence of its own.

Noone really knew what drove people in the beaten down crime-riddled neighbourhood to make erratic pilgrimages to the pile and add their own contributions.

When people from wealthier neighbourhoods in search of some edgy urban ‘sculptures’ to admire began visiting the shoe pile and it attracted media attention, the ‘eyesore’ was removed by the relevant authorities.

Also removed was the strange sense of connectedness and an avenue for self-expression that the pile had provided.

The act of vandalising shopfronts and damaging the property of others is reckless, stupid and abhorrent and the energy that is driving vandals to make their mark in public may simply be childish destructiveness - but it could also be a desperate attempt to claim a place as their own and claim a voice.

Rather than harsher penalties perhaps we need to find an avenue for young people to express themselves and help them to feel empowered within the community.

They will hardly lash out at something if they have a sense that it belongs to them as much as it belongs to anyone else.

– Amanda Beadman