SUKHUMVIT  1  PLAZA

SUKHUMVIT  SOI  3

SUKHUMVIT  SOI  3

SUKHUMVIT  SOI  3

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VICARIOUS ART CRIMES   # 22 MIDNITE HOUR's Graffiti ARCHIVES <link>        Graffiti's HISTORY <link> GRAFFITI IN THE NEWS Psychiatric Revelation SHRINK SAYS TEEN TAGGERS ARE PSYCHOLOGICALLY DISTURBED Professor Graham Martin, Director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Queensland, (& colleagues) have, they say, studied more than 2,600 thirteen-year-olds.   Their findings are, we find, quite remarkable. Of the teenagers studied, about 12% of boys and almost 11% of girls had done some graffiti.   (That's about 300 kids....)   "These young people ... were very antisocial on a range of other factors.   They weren't just mildly conduct-disordered, they were scoring to the extreme range of antisocial behaviour," Professor Martin says.    He says his study found adolescent graffitists had also already done from six to eight other acts, such as setting fires, beating up people and stealing.   They also had higher rates of drug use, academic failure, physical and sexual abuse, depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts.   Martin also said (graffiti) tagging conveys ".......an expression of rage against authority". And here's where it gets really juicy: Professor Martin underscores the importance of early intervention.   "You can pick many of these young (children) somewhere around the age of three," he says.   "The average kindergarten teacher will tell you, 'I don't like that child, I can't work with them, they spit at me, they spit at the other kids, they hit people, they won't learn'.   .... You can certainly predict which ones will go on to antisocial behaviour (such as) graffiti.......", he stated. Professor Martin says conventional handling of young graffiti artists by dealing with them under the legal system will not work.   One of the ways he suggests to help them is for someone in the 'community' to "sit them down ...and say, "Listen, you've had a bit of a shit life haven't you?" Well, Professor Martin, open your mind, because here's what the MIDNITE HOUR has to say about that:   First of all, Professor Martin, where are your references to your scientific study - the histories of these 2,600 children?   We expect to see that there has been review and approval of your methodology, all the while under independent university supervision, of course.   And we would like to see who did your peer review.   As this is 'science', you of course know that such an outrageous claim that approximately 12 percent of the (young) population are "'antisocial', and 'rage against society', etc ", would require not just casual concurrence, but rigorous verification.   Anything less, Professor Martin, would be just so much psychobabble, wouldn't you agree? Of particular interest to all of us, of course, is the proof that these thirteen-year-old spray-can vandals did in fact grow up to have the deep psychological problems you so boldly proclaim.   We would likewise much like to see the proof that those spitting 3-year-olds grew up to rage against society through graffiti, etc......   (Ahennnnhh....)   And while some may not have picked up on it, we have noted with extreme interest that you have been most circuitous; would you have us believe graffiti writing produces antisocial behavior, or are you trying to show that it is the other way around?   We are reminded of the old joke - where the authorities outlawed making love standing up because it would surely lead to dirty-dancing.... Suffice it to say, that the typical person-on-the-street would say that such unfounded and entirely outrageous claims, were coming from the mouths of "a bunch of shit-spouting charlatains".   However, we wouldn't put such a fine edge on it ourselves - being the gentlepeople we are.   And as strong as the urge may be to round up all of your ilk and tar-and-feather you and run your useless pseudoscientific butts out of town on a rail, we would prefer to take a different approach:   We suspect that, like ourselves, most thinking people will read your swill and get one heck of a good belly-laugh.   So, then, Professor, do your best to keep us laughing. - And now to Bangkok's own brand of Graffiti.... Graffiti #155 Warriorsan 7 ft high x 8 ft Graffiti #156 Toys-R-Tags 3 ft. high x 4 ft. Graffiti #157 Motor-City 8 ft. high x 16 ft. Graffiti #158 Shake-N-Bake 8 ft high x 18 ft Graffiti #159 Hello-Hands 8 ft high x 15 ft. Graffiti #160 Bug-Splat 6 ft high x 9 ft Graffiti #161 Geomatrix 8 ft high x 15 ft GRAFFITI ARCHIVES : Graffiti, graffiti , and more Graffiti - Bangkok's original and ONLY graffiti Site ! Graffiti ARCHIVES <link> Graffiti's HISTORY <link>    The M IDNITE HOUR Graffiti Page is prepared by Staff Contributor "Boge" Hartman . (Boge's photo, above, is not a graffiti per-se, although there are those who have insinuated....)

  --- Datzit Fernow
            
               William R. Morledge

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