Ugh. Whenever I see some spray-painted images imitating real art, I can’t help but silently rage at the fact that someone doesn’t take pride in their community.
Some images spray painted onto a wall might seem like a small issue, but what it communicates to the outside world is something anyone who cares about Green River should worry about.
I’ve written about graffiti before. Driving down Flaming Gorge Way and seeing something like the pistol and heart-shaped shot group painted beneath the bridge or MS13 painted on the side of the Sweetwater County Library building is something that hurts our image as a community.
Even as the tourism season winds down, these sorts of displays make Green River look like a city with problems that don’t exist here.
The MS13 tag is a good example. The tag references a gang that is considered to be one of the most dangerous gangs in the world. Yet, we don’t think there’s anyone in Green River who can say they’re afraid of walking around the library at any time, day or night.
That might not be the case for someone unfamiliar with the area.
A tourist, especially someone from an area where MS13 does operate, may see that tag and decide to pass through Green River without stopping, not wanting to chance an encounter with gang members.
Even without that fear, someone driving through and seeing that or some other form of street “art,” a person wouldn’t be faulted for thinking the city’s residents don’t have pride in their community.
To their credit, people have cleaned up the spray paint tags fairly quickly once they’re spotted. The tag on the library’s wall was gone within a few days and some spray-paint artwork on a pillar beneath the overpass spanning the railroad was covered up recently as well. However, the act of spray painting something on a wall is a problem itself.
The issue that some people don’t have pride in Green River and don’t respect what others are attempting to accomplish through beautification efforts is the root of the issue.
It’s hard to say what would cause the kind of behavior beyond boredom and a general lack of respect for anyone else, but it’s an attitude that should be combatted.
It’s up to us to decide if we want to live in a beautiful or trashy environment. Thankfully people are willing to step up and clean up after someone else’s “artwork,” but we need to somehow instill more community pride in some of Green River’s residents.
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