Walls and Graffiti

I enjoyed reading "The Writings on the Wall." When I think of graffiti, I remember the city where I grew up. Graffiti was everywhere, drawn on every brick wall available. The drawings had no meaning to me. They were just a bunch of illegible words that were probably the names of dangerous street gangs. I would see men on the streets, walking around with wife beaters and baggy jeans looking like they were about to cause trouble. I always attributed the people behind these drawings as rebellious men, who used graffiti as a form of vandalism.

However, the article depicts a different picture of what graffiti is on the walls. It is still holds the same sense of rebellion, but uses this kind of rebellion as a way of free speech. It’s rather remarkable that people would sneak around in the night to paint their voice onto these walls. It’s rather cool that graffiti is used as a medium to inform, to resist, and to criticize. It’s like a batman symbol flashing in the night. It inspires people to take action; to still up conversation and believe in a unified body that is willing to stand up for what is right.

Klein's article was interesting as well. I appreciate that it gave me a better idea of what the wall was meant to do. From what I've gathered, the Israeli's have used it as a way to keep the "other" out for issues of security. These walls physically block the mental barriers that the Israelis have construed.