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View Full Version : Vandalism vs 1st amendment rights




tangent4ronpaul
07-08-2010, 11:47 PM
I got some books I'd ordered today about Bansky and stencil art. It got me thinking...

If a car hits a puddle and splashes mud on the side of a building, has it vandalized that building? It's just mud, it will wash off the next rain storm.

If an individual stepped in a mud puddle and scraped their foot off on the side of a building, have they vandalized that building? It's just mud, it will wash off the next rain storm.

If an individual stepped in a mud puddle and got a lot of mud on their foot, so scraped their foot off on the side of a building in the shape of a smiley face., have they vandalized that building? It's just mud, it will wash off the next rain storm.

If a bird dedicates and it lands on the side of the building and the fecal matter splatters into an image resembling mother Mary, has the bird just vandalized the building? after all it's just fecal matter. it will wash off with the next rain storm.

If an individual stepped up to the side of a building, or a utility box, say near it's street corner and unrolled a stencil make out of a file folder, held it up and applied a good coating of pumps from a manual atomizer with watercolor paint. Have they vandalized that building? It's just watercolor paint, it will wash off the next rain storm.

Where is the line here? We pit a lot of temp stuff up on all sorts of stuff. This seems like a reasonable legal argument. Doesn't permanent damage have to be proven?


Studied stencil techniques last campaign, thinking more barn painting at that time. Banskeys stencils seem to be the same mateial that file folders are made out of. It does not hold up to heavy repeated use. Art or paper companies should have it.

On banners - Coroplast is a pain to cut. Have used a razor knife and a dremal tool w/ a disk shaped cutter. Neither were very satisfactory. Anyone have better solutions?

thanks,

-t

t0rnado
07-09-2010, 12:11 AM
I'd say it's up to the property owner to decide whether or not it's vandalism.

tangent4ronpaul
07-09-2010, 12:13 AM
I'd say it's up to the property owner to decide whether or not it's vandalism.

If the property owner doesn't like it - it's water soluble - easy to remove....

-t

libertybrewcity
07-09-2010, 12:15 AM
i don't really see the connection between spray painting on a wall like banksy does and spraypainting a stencil on a banner.

I don't think grafitti on public buildings is the end of the world and charges should not be so high, but private property is private property. there is no permanent line and this is where justice is not always perfect.

libertybrewcity
07-09-2010, 12:17 AM
If the property owner doesn't like it - it's water soluble - easy to remove....

-t

if you want to spray paint a political message on the building like "ron paul for president" that may have an effect on the number of votes received because it makes the community look bad. people don't like vandalism or any form of messing with one's private property. i think the best way to go about it is asking business or home owners whether you can put something on their building.

tangent4ronpaul
07-09-2010, 12:29 AM
if you want to spray paint a political message on the building like "ron paul for president" that may have an effect on the number of votes received because it makes the community look bad. people don't like vandalism or any form of messing with one's private property. i think the best way to go about it is asking business or home owners whether you can put something on their building.

I don't agree. Most ppl that would see it would visit the area regularly and at lest subconsciously, realize that the message didn't stay. It would not propagate into votes. Permanent paint might.

This has the lifespan of a yard sale sign.

-t

libertybrewcity
07-09-2010, 12:34 AM
I don't agree. Most ppl that would see it would visit the area regularly and at lest subconsciously, realize that the message didn't stay. It would not propagate into votes. Permanent paint might.

-t

I guess it really depends on the community and message. I would be wary to put up a message for Ron Paul or something because Republican voters might not like that. As for issue messages it may subconsciously get to them but they may just be more likely to think of it as vandalism by crazy punk kids. They might not even care about the message or the type of paint used.

If you do do this I would be careful about where. Many cities have harsh laws and penalties. I would say about 4 or 5 of my friends have sat in jail for at least a week for stupid grafitti and tagging charges.

Razmear
07-09-2010, 12:41 AM
On banners - Coroplast is a pain to cut. Have used a razor knife and a dremal tool w/ a disk shaped cutter. Neither were very satisfactory. Anyone have better solutions?

thanks,

-t

We used Vinyl Sheeting for stencils for our banners. It comes in 8'x4' sheets and is about 1/8" thick. You should be able to find it near the 'Wallboard' and paneling in your local Lowes or Home Depot for about $12 per sheet.

eb

tangent4ronpaul
07-09-2010, 12:46 AM
We used Vinyl Sheeting for stencils for our banners. It comes in 8'x4' sheets and is about 1/8" thick. You should be able to find it near the 'Wallboard' and paneling in your local Lowes or Home Depot for about $12 per sheet.

eb

COOL! - THANKS!

-y

t0rnado
07-09-2010, 01:23 AM
If the property owner doesn't like it - it's water soluble - easy to remove....

-t

You still violated his property rights. Just because it's easy to remove doesn't mean it is acceptable. It would be like saying since it's easy to stand for the pledge of allegiance in school, children should be forced to do it.

Your freedom of expression doesn't extend to the walls of someone's home or building.

tangent4ronpaul
07-09-2010, 02:02 AM
You still violated his property rights. Just because it's easy to remove doesn't mean it is acceptable. It would be like saying since it's easy to stand for the pledge of allegiance in school, children should be forced to do it.

Your freedom of expression doesn't extend to the walls of someone's home or building.

Have you ever stepped in a mud puddle and scraped the mud off on the dise of a building? Think twice about it?

-t

tangent4ronpaul
07-09-2010, 05:58 PM
hmmm... what are the property rights of public buildings, bridges, utility poles, etc?

don't "we" own them?

-t