A man who has become a 'counter-culture' celebrity for scrawling the same repetitive sh*t everywhere in London for years. I think he would benefit from a years long curfew - it doesn't have to be prison - an ankle bracelet and 24 months of having to be home by 6pm might make him reconsider his life choices. It hardly seems repressive does it?
This is terrific. I'm amazed there are still politicians trying to fix blights like graffiti and haven't simply thrown up their arms in despair and given up. If only all politicians were like Neil O'Brien and Nick Timothy we might restore Britain to some semblance of law and order.
Lee Kuan Yew’s great book about Singapore's transformation “from third world to first” should be required reading for all politicians.
I first visited Singapore over 30 years ago and was warned by my colleagues that it was an unbelievable dictatorship. When I deplaned, I thought they were right because the first sign I saw was "The penalty for the possession of drugs is DEATH". The second was "Welcome to Singapore".
I had planned to meet my contact the next day, and I walked to his office, thinking it would help my jet lag. I was impressed by the happy, smiling faces I passed. When I reached my destination, I went in to be greeted by a charming receptionist. When I identified myself, she checked her messages and apologized that my contact had been unavoidably detained, and she had rescheduled the meeting for the afternoon. "Take a look around our beautiful city," she suggested. And it was. No graffiti. No sign of litter. A few private cars and many taxis. And everyone seemed to be happy.
I returned to the office in the afternoon to be met by an apologetic receptionist who told me that the man I was supposed to see would not be available for a week. When I asked for the reason, she told me that he would be in a re-education class for the rest of the week. I insisted on seeing his superior, and he appeared quickly.
He took me to the spotless cafe next door and explained the man I'd come to see had been sentenced that morning to a re-education class because he'd repeatedly dropped his cigarette end/butt in the street.
We talked over coffee about living in this repressive regime. I asked if all the smiles were genuine, and he was adamant they were. People lived in a virtually crime-free society because there were strict rules under Lee Kuan Yew. And they knew that if they committed a crime, the punishments were harsh. They also knew all their news was censored, but they were happy about that too. And cricket was their national sport!
I had come to Singapore to negotiate a 12-month assignment for one of my team members at one of their facilities (and to see if his wife and daughter would be able to bear it).
They stayed for 3 years.
I visited them several times, and they were adamant that they would no longer be happy with "freedom".
New York had 'anti-idling' laws. They issued about 100,000 fines a year.
Then, they changed the rules on evidence for this and accepted videos sent in by the public. If that led to the $300 fine being paid, the person who sent in the video got $100.
The number of fines went up to over 1 million in the first year.
Citizen reporting of grafitti, parking offences, fly-tipping etc ought to be encouraged in the same way here.
My brother-in-law was shocked when I told him Banksie uses stencils and spray cans and doesn't in fact stay up all night, carefully and silently painting his murals by hand.
By the way, you and I share the same surname. My lot came from Islington when it was poor.
I agree. Most graffiti is ugly defacement, done, I suspect, by feckless people who have never known the pride of building a new, clean brick wall or fence or bridge. They have the same social conscience as people who throw their used fast food trays out of car windows.
If you think Banksy is bad have you met 10foot?
A man who has become a 'counter-culture' celebrity for scrawling the same repetitive sh*t everywhere in London for years. I think he would benefit from a years long curfew - it doesn't have to be prison - an ankle bracelet and 24 months of having to be home by 6pm might make him reconsider his life choices. It hardly seems repressive does it?
I nearly mentioned him - just endless, mindless repetition - mind boggling costs to clean up
I feel about graffiti the way I feel about tattoos on girls: a pristine surface needlessly defaced by ugliness.
This is terrific. I'm amazed there are still politicians trying to fix blights like graffiti and haven't simply thrown up their arms in despair and given up. If only all politicians were like Neil O'Brien and Nick Timothy we might restore Britain to some semblance of law and order.
Lee Kuan Yew’s great book about Singapore's transformation “from third world to first” should be required reading for all politicians.
I first visited Singapore over 30 years ago and was warned by my colleagues that it was an unbelievable dictatorship. When I deplaned, I thought they were right because the first sign I saw was "The penalty for the possession of drugs is DEATH". The second was "Welcome to Singapore".
I had planned to meet my contact the next day, and I walked to his office, thinking it would help my jet lag. I was impressed by the happy, smiling faces I passed. When I reached my destination, I went in to be greeted by a charming receptionist. When I identified myself, she checked her messages and apologized that my contact had been unavoidably detained, and she had rescheduled the meeting for the afternoon. "Take a look around our beautiful city," she suggested. And it was. No graffiti. No sign of litter. A few private cars and many taxis. And everyone seemed to be happy.
I returned to the office in the afternoon to be met by an apologetic receptionist who told me that the man I was supposed to see would not be available for a week. When I asked for the reason, she told me that he would be in a re-education class for the rest of the week. I insisted on seeing his superior, and he appeared quickly.
He took me to the spotless cafe next door and explained the man I'd come to see had been sentenced that morning to a re-education class because he'd repeatedly dropped his cigarette end/butt in the street.
We talked over coffee about living in this repressive regime. I asked if all the smiles were genuine, and he was adamant they were. People lived in a virtually crime-free society because there were strict rules under Lee Kuan Yew. And they knew that if they committed a crime, the punishments were harsh. They also knew all their news was censored, but they were happy about that too. And cricket was their national sport!
I had come to Singapore to negotiate a 12-month assignment for one of my team members at one of their facilities (and to see if his wife and daughter would be able to bear it).
They stayed for 3 years.
I visited them several times, and they were adamant that they would no longer be happy with "freedom".
Amazing way to greet visitors - no messing about!
'Deplaned'. I had never heard that word before.
I'm British, but I spent 30 years in the US, so the odd word does still creep back into my vocabulary. I retired back to the UK, though.
New York had 'anti-idling' laws. They issued about 100,000 fines a year.
Then, they changed the rules on evidence for this and accepted videos sent in by the public. If that led to the $300 fine being paid, the person who sent in the video got $100.
The number of fines went up to over 1 million in the first year.
Citizen reporting of grafitti, parking offences, fly-tipping etc ought to be encouraged in the same way here.
Can we start with 'Banksy' please? Ruining beautiful buildings with his midwit political graffiti. Utter wrong'un.
My brother-in-law was shocked when I told him Banksie uses stencils and spray cans and doesn't in fact stay up all night, carefully and silently painting his murals by hand.
By the way, you and I share the same surname. My lot came from Islington when it was poor.
Perhaps a start could be made by the railway companies; most could do without the welcome of graffiti when entering any city by train.
I agree. Most graffiti is ugly defacement, done, I suspect, by feckless people who have never known the pride of building a new, clean brick wall or fence or bridge. They have the same social conscience as people who throw their used fast food trays out of car windows.