RFP Staff
♦ Only two weeks ago, Salisbury gang activity landed in the news with the gang related shooting at Salisbury High School. Saturday morning, the RFP received information about the upsurge of gang tag graffiti on South Main around the Kress Building and Hometown Furniture. Recently, much graffiti was cleaned from area walls, only to return within days.
RFP Photo Tour of Downtown Salisbury’s Gang Tag Surge
The following slideshow features RFP staff photos of the surge of gang tags and graffiti in Downtown Salisbury, NC. Use the arrows for one-at-a-time navigation:
New Discoveries in Tag Meanings
New York police noted that tags may be more than territory claims. They may be guideposts to locations where persons may purchase illegal narcotics. They discovered that graffiti surged when they removed it but that diligence pays off, as discussed in the following video. Click on WATCH ON YOUTUBE in the video’s center.
Information on new breakthroughs in deciphering gang tags and graffiti can be found in the following articles:
http://discovermagazine.com/2012/sep/25-the-graffiti-code-breaker#.Uwmg8_ldWSp
http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/general/2011/110818DelpGraffiti.html
Grand Theft Auto’s Tagging Thrill-Seekers
Graffiti crews and artists have made the tagging culture intriguing for young folks who enjoy thrill-seeking against possible arrest. Grand Theft Auto (GTA), however, takes the player on a thrill ride of gang tagging that is a far more risky adventure in real-life. Gangs do not take lightly when anyone, novice or not, defiles their turf markings and guideposts. In the video below, a GTA player tries to cover or ”diss” other gang tags with his own. When he completes his task to tag 100 times, he wins an AK-47, a tec-9, a sawed-off shotgun, and a Molotov cocktail as his in-game rewards. Video follows:
See RFP’s initial Pictionary on gang tagging in Salisbury here, or click http://rowanfreepress.com/2014/01/20/pictionary-of-gang-graffiti-downtown-salisbury-gang-turf-tags/ .
