# I pit the bastards who tagged Mulholland Fountain. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 18, 2010, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-bastards-who-tagged-mulholland-fountain/557542 "2010-10-18T09:14:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-bastards-who-tagged-mulholland-fountain/557542/21 "2010-10-19T07:59:08Z")
[This](http://www.cliffwatson.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/DSC1092.jpg) is the best picture I could find. It is the area between the circular pool and the shrubbery where the walkway was tagged. Anyone know how hard it is to get that stuff off of brick and concrete? I imagine they will have to break out the ol’ sandblaster. Probably cost the taxpayers a few thousand dollars, but what the hey, they can just move to closing the libraries three days a week instead of just two. Not like most of the degenerates that inhabit LA these days ever pick up a book anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Khaki\_Campbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Khaki\_Campbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khaki_Campbell)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-bastards-who-tagged-mulholland-fountain/557542/22 "2010-10-19T09:05:21Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > No. One is something you don’t like and the other is defacing walls. The former is done with permission, the latter is just destruction. With permission ? Come again ? As if taggers needed a permission. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-bastards-who-tagged-mulholland-fountain/557542/23 "2010-10-19T09:13:23Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > Oh, come on. There are taggers, and there are graffiti artists. Taggers are just attention whores who want to put their tag everywhere, but graffiti artists (who might also be attention whores, but not necessarily) are providing commentary, wit, and whatever else it is that art is supposed to provide. Think “Kilroy” here. > > The light rail trains in Denver now have advertising on them, and it looks like utter crap. I’d much rather see an honest work of art on the train. Would you feel the same if they painted honest art on the side of your house or car? Stan, why not just post a pic of the offending tag? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-bastards-who-tagged-mulholland-fountain/557542/24 "2010-10-19T18:01:53Z")
I don’t get into Los Angeles much lately. Is the fountain kept running 24/7? And does the graffiti say “There it is. Take it.”? Or “It was here. I took it.”? ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-bastards-who-tagged-mulholland-fountain/557542/25 "2010-10-20T00:17:32Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > Would you feel the same if they painted honest art on the side of your house or car? > > Stan, why not just post a pic of the offending tag? I don’t get down there every day. If I get the chance, I will. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-bastards-who-tagged-mulholland-fountain/557542/26 "2010-10-20T01:47:13Z")
Tagging is art. So what? Just because something is art doesn’t mean it’s okay. Tagging is not good art. Tagging is a criminal act. Therefore, despite one’s ability to appreciate and / or analyze the art, the crime outweighs the merits by a lot, and tagging is not morally justifiable. Graffiti is sometimes good art. Graffiti can be morally justifiable,\* but not usually. I can see positive functions for graffiti, and I sometimes enjoy individual pieces, but I still don’t think artistic merit can excuse crime. I used to live about a block from this fountain. It was nice, and there was almost always someone enjoying it, if only for a backdrop in their quinceañera photos. Sad but not surprising. \*Both can be a means of communication for oppressed groups: I think everyone would agree that coded tags showing waystations on the Underground Railroad are a different category from fucking up a nice fountain. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-bastards-who-tagged-mulholland-fountain/557542.md?page=1)