Sad Gang/Graffiti Tags in Buffalo

My neighborhood in Riverside near the Kenmore border is lovely. I wake up and generally see pleasant sights when I look out the window. But then as I travel to "Downtown Black Rock" aka Grant/Amherst I am confronted by the uglier and more sad aspects of this neighborhood, such as the Scajaquada Creek area.

This weekend I noticed the large billboard and a graffiti covered pole. The pole and its many messages in paint reminded me of the traveler's tree described by Alex Haley in his novel Roots.

Travelers to the various villages would leave flags to indicate that they had passed through the village. I suppose this video is my "flag" at the "traveler's tree" at Scajaquada Creek.

I was deeply moved (and even troubled) by some of the messages I read by fellow travelers:

"Stay safe homie"

"RIP" and "We Love You"

"Never 4gotten"

"Eva Missed and Loved"

"Cold heart."

"Team Assassin--" written on the back of a Grant Street bus seat.

There are signs at the entrance to the path directing people to the Riverwalk and bike path. How many of the bikers, walkers, and others bother to read this "travelers tree"? Exceedingly few, I would imagine. They can't be bothered with graffiti or crime. The murder of a 17 year old child doesn't concern them; the thefts of Christmas ornaments and flower baskets from their porches and front lawns do. Some call Black Rock/Riverside kids "savages."

I question who the real savages are--the troubled kids or the adults with their warped priorities? I see tenderness and heart in them; they have futures and light.

This video represents the two conflicting faces of Buffalo.

But how much will be done to help them when the adults provide such warped versions of morality and ethics ? Some quotes to ponder:

"My father did not tell me how to live. He lived, and let me watch him do it"--Clarence Budinton Kelland.

"In the lives of too many teenagers, recognition is more meaningful than accomplishment, and...recognition is available through violence. With the pull of a trigger a young person whose upbringing has not invested him with self worth can become significant and 'unignorable'--Gavin DeBecker.


"I have learned that the kindness of a teacher, a coach, a police officer, a neighbor, the parent of a friend, is never wasted. These moments are likely to pass with neither the child nor the adult fully knowing the significance of the contribution. No ceremony attaches to the moment that a child sees his own worth reflected in the eyes of an encouraging adult."--Gavin DeBecker.


"Life's miseries fall disproportionately on children"-- Frank Sulloway in Born to Rebel.

Finally and most importantly---

"We have NO spare children"--protest sign in Sderot, Israel.

Ah Buffalo:( A city with light and promise and misery and despair. What is Buffalo's future???? And what will be done to ensure the safety of those using this bike path?


Background music: Someone To Run With (from the Israeli film of the same name):

"characters deal with problems like loneliness, low self esteem, peer pressure, and unsupportive friends and family. As the book progresses, they also discover a little bit of true friendship and love.

"Added onto this is an element of danger and suspense. Tamar is forced to venture alone into an underworld of drugs and crime, to rescue a mysterious guitarist named Shai.

Asaf's story begins roughly a month after Tamar's, when the dog pound finds Tamar's intelligent yellow dog Dinka running loose in the city. Asaf is delegated to find her owners by attaching a leash and following her wherever she leads. (By the way, the author insists this is an actual method of finding dog-owners - he witnessed it and it inspired the book.)

Dinka leads Asaf on a wild goose chase through the city, during which he meets fascinating oddball characters, discovers new things about himself and the reality in which he lives, and is gradually drawn into Tamar's story.".

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Buffalo
• graffiti
• gang
• tags
• youth
• crime
• urban
• blight
• memorials

[ReviewCam]

Israeli rap has a a different sound, I poured my heart and soul into this video; the pictures are not from online image searches but my own photography so I can relate to graffiti artists.

Still, someone identifying him/herself as a graff artist on this video posted a comment offering money to basically hunt me down and assault me. The comment was removed, but not before it reached my inbox. So you can see why people confuse true art from gang stuff.

[ReviewCam]

I agree with you in general and in many cases would compare it to the work of a photographer or other creative arts. Sadly, in my neighborhood I have seen all to many people look at graff (as in the case of the memorial to this young boy) and assume graff is associated with gangs and use it as an excuse to dismiss such horrendous crimes.

It breaks my heart, to be perfectly honest. I chose Israeli rap for this video so that perhaps people might change this bias:(

[Sierra7Airsoft]

Graffiti is Art.

[171rider]

@ReviewCam back at you.

[ReviewCam]

@171rider I wish you all the best:) Stay safe, be well.

[171rider]

@ReviewCam im atheist but thank you.

[ReviewCam]

@171rider you are most welcome. I'm glad that someone was able to understand what I meant in posting this video. May God help to heal your grief.

[171rider]

@ReviewCam then all i can say is thank you for this video and i hope more than 500 people will see this.

[ReviewCam]

@171rider I can understand that. I honestly can.. And I am sorry for your loss. Young or old, family or not, when a loved one dies there is always tremdous grief.. That's what I hoped to get across in this particular video. Though the song is in Hebrew it's called Someone to Run with, all about a teen finding true friends and loyalty.

[171rider]

@ReviewCam some writers are closer than family. familys have arguments and somtimes get torn apart but writers(taggers) stay crew for life....