Okay, most of us have lost friends and family, so we tend to cut people a little slack when their expression of grief also happens to be litter.
You would think that previous observation would tell them that even if they considered that flowers, stuffed toys, photos, and letters, duct-taped to a utility pole, to be an appropriate tribute in the first place, after forty-eight hours the whole mess is going to be covered in no-longer-suspended particulate, the flowers will have died, the felt-tipped obsequies will have ran in the rain. In short, they’ll be responsible for marking their loss with a monstrous eyesore.
Way back in the 1970’s, I remember being introduced to the concept of an improvised roadside memorial. It was a utility pole beside a particularly bad stretch of highway, to which were affixed a number of three-inch-high crosses. A new cross was added for every fatality on that spot. I’m not sure how this unobtrusive reminder has evolved into the ubiquitous gaudy shrines we see today.
Anyway, here’s what we get for our grudging acceptance of poorly-conceived personal memorials in public places:
Removal of crash site memorial stirs up trouble
Road crews, unable to remove the paint with a pressure washer, covered it up with heavy black primer.
Bullshit! It’s vandalism being repaired at taxpayers’ expense, for which nobody has even received a slap on the wrist, because people have a natural tendency to give grieving people a bit of slack. That doesn’t mean that they’re obligated to extend their tolerance for you fucking up public property so far as to not clean it up.
Because I haven’t had my coffee yet, I’m going to say something over which I might ordinarily bite my tongue:
Your ‘memorial’ was not only ugly and profoundly stupid, it demonstrates utter self-absorption and lack of consideration of the possible impact of your actions on other people.
Sort of like seven drunken youths in an SUV.