Graffiti along the camino "Christie and Hughie Ireland 27 Ma

[aw1234]

Graffiti - "Christie and Hughie Ireland 27 May"appears all along the last leg of the Camino Frances. What would possess someone to do this? Christie & Hughie - if you do read this I would love to know the reason. To me defacing property in this way, is extremely disrespectful and unnecessary.

 

[Lydia Gillen]

I feel ashamed that this couple came from Ireland.
They are not representative of us all.

My father used to say,
"The names of fools are like their faces,
They are always seen in public places"

 

[Mysticl]

Not to defend graffitti but isn't it something man has done ever since they had the means to make a mark? Ancient petroglyphs are in fact a form of graffiti and they give us a precious glimpse into our past and the culture of the day. Modern graffiti is much the same thing even though we may not particularly like it in the present. I am not a particular fan of the "Christie and Hugh were here" type of graffiti but it seems to me that they were driven by much the same mentality as an ancient artist making a mark in a cave ... they are saying I existed ... I was here ...

Just a thought ... my daughter chastised me the other day when I bemoaned some rather ugly graffiti I had seen ... and this was her argument ... I think it has merit and it made me look at graffiti in an entirely different light.

That said ... I guess I am not the graffiti type myself. I feel no such need to make my mark so there will be no graffiti left by me ... but I will be looking at the graffiti on the trail with an eye to why people feel the need to leave a marker of their passing and I will do my best to look past what I always thought of before as offensive vandalism and try to see the inner beauty or at the very least the symbolism of the marks.

 

[skilsaw]

Mystic1,
I have used the same argument about graffitti.
While I don't need everybody to agree with me, it is nice when a person can see the other side.

I can't understand the need for profanity in our current genre of graffitti.

 

[vagabondette]

Not to defend graffitti but isn't it something man has done ever since they had the means to make a mark? Ancient petroglyphs are in fact a form of graffiti and they give us a precious glimpse into our past and the culture of the day. Modern graffiti is much the same thing even though we may not particularly like it in the present. I am not a particular fan of the "Christie and Hugh were here" type of graffiti but it seems to me that they were driven by much the same mentality as an ancient artist making a mark in a cave ... they are saying I existed ... I was here ...

This reminds me of when I was in Egypt and we toured the temple of Karnak. Our guide pointed out some roman graffiti carved into the walls of the temple from when they invaded in around 30 B.C. They also showed us where the invading army had carved out parts of the walls to make places where ropes could be tied as they stored their cattle in the Temple.

Just goes to show that yes, graffiti and defacement have been around for ages.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

they are saying I existed ... I was here

That is important to the universe, why?

Comparing animal paintings in caves to tagging things with your initials is inaccurate. They arise from completely different motives.

Actual art graffiti is encouraged in a number of cities, then is vandalized by the spray paint initials of small minds.

Yes, the vandalism springs from ego, as does theft, lying, and sexual assault. I find nothing laudatory in graffiti, but maybe it is just me.

 

[wayfarer]

It amazed and puzzled me as to why anyone going on the Camino would go to the trouble of bringing spray cans and large permanent markers with them to leave graffiti and messages along the way. Several words spring to mind to describe these people but I will not print here.

 

[Thornley]

Here in Oz , Wayferer we have the saying,

****You can't put brains in a monument.

With Karma, maybe one day these people will own a home and some hooligan will draw on and deface their property .Whilst cleaning and repainting their thoughts might return to the Camino in May 2012.

 

[wayfarer]

Ahh Karma..... How many times has she bitten me on the ass.
You are right Thornley, let Karma see to them.

 

[Abbeydore]

Ahh Karma..... How many times has she bitten me on the ass.
You are right Thornley, let Karma see to them.

Or JW if he looks up May 27th for their compestella's :wink:

& a polite letter to come & clean their mess up & a donation too help the Spanish economy too

your sins will find you out

 

[PeregrinaIR]

I feel ashamed that this couple came from Ireland.
They are not representative of us all.

Just to say Lydia, that 'Ireland' is also a surname. They may not be from Ireland at all.