There are formerly pristine wildernesses that I liked to visit that are now vandalised with the scratchings, paint and even nailed-on rubbish of attention-seeking ferals who must leave their mark and spoil things for those who follow them.

I would say without any fear of reasonable challenge, that it is the very same ferals who also vandalise by dumping their rubbish, for example by wedging refuse in crannies and filling outback toilets with their rubbish, causing possible withdrawal of the facilities and camping areas by the responsible Councils.

It would be throwing the B.S. javelin a record distance to call 99.99% of urban graffiti art. Most would fail the first test without looking, which is that no self-respecting and community-respecting artist would destroy or deface to make his point. Nor would an artist be selfishly promoting himself and his gang. Since when were artists gang members anyhow? That all goes completely against the grain.

What grubs who vandalise do is put more restrictions on privacy and freedom of movement, as well as causing our taxes to be diverted from much needed services to security, surveillance and repairs. They are losers who are oppositional to authority, reject the opportunities that are available to them and who bite the hand that feeds them. Most likely they are raised in welfare dependent households where education, work and duty are dirty words.

Doubtless the 'Housos' feel obliged to spread their DNA the way they spread their paint. More minimum care 'kids' and the cycle continues.

I was watching the construction of beefed up security to prevent knuckleheads from being killed while tagging a railway bridge. Apparently the ferals don't realise that the wires for electric trains really do carry electricity. The previous not unattractive fencing has been adequate for a hundred years, but now hundreds of thousands of dollars are required to make caging to keep criminal idiots safe.

Pedestrian overpasses are now mesh tunnels to prevent ferals from dropping half bricks on traffic. Is that 'artistic expression' and 'legitimate protest' too?

Hoping that police get dozens of quality drones soon.

Can't stand the stuff.

It is of course down to our bleeding heart magistrates & judges, that this sort of antisocial behaviour grows. No real penalties encourages even more growth of such ferals.

Still I must admit, about half of it is superior to most of the submissions for the Archibald prize.

@atb and Hasbeen

i must say we do share much in common on many of the issues raised thus far

australia will be cleaner, richer and better with less poirotism

Here's something you might enjoy. Taken from
the Sunday Telegraph 1974:

"Guess what's the latest status symbol
among freedom-loving, fair-go-young Australians?
Going on the dole, that's what mate. Some young
blokes who have just finished their Higher School
Certificate examinations are making less than
token efforts to get jobs. Then they show a lot
more energy in dashing off to the dole queue. I
know one young bloke, normally industrious enough,
who went to work for a day, sacked himself and told
his father he would be better off on unemployment relief.
His reason was that 10 of his mates had gone on the dole.
After stern words from his father he starts a new job
tomorrow, in a brewery.

And yet there are those among us who think making them wait 6 months to be eligible for the dole is an outrageous attack on their civil rights.

No one under 21 should be eligible for the dole. Let them work and pay some taxes before they start bludging.

How can anyone expect young people to be
normal, balanced and healthy-minded when
their elders persist in setting them a
less then favourable example to follow
in adult delinquency in so, so many ways,
including - making
weaponry - for the destruction
of their fellows ...