Racist Graffiti - Harcourt St.

by R. Isible Mon Feb 13, 2006 18:58

probably more people saw it as a result of your post on indymedia.ie than saw it on the street...

by Joe Mon Feb 13, 2006 21:59

Yeah but the reason some racist numnut sprayed up this graffiti was to try and create a racist atmosphere not because they thought someone would read if an be convinced.

So the public removal of it isn't just about hiding something objectionable - it is also creating an anti-racist atmosphere where the racist ends up loooking over his shoulder rather than his intended victim.

Plus posting this encourages others to do the same with other racist graffiti rather than just walking by and leaving it to someone else to deal with.

by Coilín Tue Feb 14, 2006 02:43

While I salute your multi-ethnic intention, it seems to me you have defaced a very witty comment.

The graffito in black is big and illegible and seems to be intended as a territorial marking - a work of propertarian vanity, in other words - rather than a work of art to delight the spectator in the art gallery of the street. And it looks a bit like something from an Arabic or Persian manuscript. So it was appropriate for somebody to take the mickey.

But presumably it was precisely because the person with the pink crayon did NOT want to stir up racist hatred that he/she chose not to write "Arabs go home" or "Iranians go home".

So, while I detest racism, I think the comment in pink should have been let stand.

Even if the comment had been intended to cause racist offence, I don't agree with the idea of censoring graffiti. Surely graffiti, of all media, should be permitted to be a free-for-all.

And, sincerely, I don't think anarchists should adopt an authoritarian role as self-appointed censors.

Certainly, denounce racism, but don't destroy the work of others in the process. Why not produce your own, original creative work to promote a multi-ethnic urban space instead of defacing the work of other graffiti artists? - Be they racist or no!

Best,
Coilín.

by Idontthinkso Tue Feb 14, 2006 02:49

Whats this? A case of anarchists deciding what graffiti is Ok and what isnt. Its ok to deface peoples property with anarchist slogans but racism is not and must be removed by anarchists?

"Hello Kettle your African-American."

by John - ISN personal capacity Tue Feb 14, 2006 11:48

Taken two weeks ago in Finglas South

by gurggle Tue Feb 14, 2006 12:03

Irish come home!
a lovely gaff there.

by Censored! Tue Feb 14, 2006 14:46

Wow thanks! I'm so glad that bad graffiti isn't there anymore!

Thanks for deciding what I should and shouldn't see on the street!

!CENSORED!

by calvin Tue Feb 14, 2006 15:16

Good work guys, keep that racist shite off our streets!

by pat c Tue Feb 14, 2006 16:06

well done comrades. as for the squggle in pink, it was possibly/likely done by the same person who wrote chinese go homw in pink.

by R. Isible Tue Feb 14, 2006 19:42

I hadn't considered the issue clearly enough and was just thinking about it as a way of removing something that would be disquieting to the target. This completely turns the tables and indicates to the racist that there are people willing to do something about their behaviour. I remember being very irritated at seeing Combat18 anti-Irish graffiti in N.London in the 80s and a couple of days later it was painted over by RedAction. Very heartening.

by Gay Geori Thu Feb 16, 2006 22:57 gaygeori at graffiti dot net

There is even more racist graffiti on camden street in dublin - this time, anti-Polish sentiments. This is an utter disgrace, given that there are loads of Polish construction workers up and down that street all day, on their way to buy breakfast rolls in Spar and so on.

Why can't Dublin City Council show more concern that worrying about posters about corruption. Jesus, come back Royston Brady. This needs to be removed immediately.

Anti-Polish Graffiti on Camden Street

Nice of Dublin City Council to Provide a Canvas

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, It's Off to Buy a Breakfast Roll We Go

by Mully - Gappy foundation Fri Feb 17, 2006 01:56 paulhmull at gmail dot com 18 gray st, D 8 0872766101

I dont think there being racist If there using the word " plumber " in the sentence. Lets not get carried away.

by Gay Geori Fri Feb 17, 2006 02:31 gaygeori at graffiti dot net

"Polish Plumber" is a racist, stereotypical labeling of a nationality, just like "Paki Corner Shop", "Chinkee Laundry", or "Paddy's Motorbike" (pneumatic drill to Londoners). So everyone in Ireland from Poland is a plumber? Does a pregnant protestant pope in a bearskin shite in the woods?

by iosaf Sat Feb 18, 2006 13:18

I wonder at the wisdom of bringing attention to racist graffiti in this way. (putting up photos of it).
Its a bit like over here on bcn imc people like to report what españa 2000 are up to with photos and stuff, and then the site comes under attack, and members of our fellow collectives get attacked.
One of valencia imc almost got beaten to death. & if it is foolish or counter-productive to display the "offence" corrected (quoting risible from memory "perhaps more people saw the graffiti here on indymedia ireland than on the street") i wonder is the reporting and quotation of fascists without equally balanced arguments obviously and emphatically exposing their lies as just that lies where contributors ought be going.
In the real world every day extremism is now seeing young men get shot at and killed. Thats what 2006 seems to have been about. And ever more extremist parties are entering into positions of government, and more than ever before, we in europe are being cast as an enemy. There have been more european flags burnt this year than US or Israeli ones.
In fact, there have been more European flags burnt in the last two months than in the previous ten years. Over here ( & know barcelona is not ireland and we do a different kind of indymedia, & I don't want anyone thinking I'm presumptious enough to lecture the people in Ireland or dublin on how to do things, and perhaps if I wrote less in english and ireland was less important to me I wouldn't post here as much ) we term the emotional response periods when our newswire (which is very lightly edited) fills up with abuse and insults "background noise". Its very useful to see and read "background noise". You get a better idea of where the thermometer is actually at. Because it can get very very hot, and with sanitised and partial attempts to "hide" those exchanges, many people don't realise how hot it may be getting.
In June 2005 I wrote here, and on bcn imc and on london and nyc that we had just seen one of the most important "pole shifts" in the XXI century. And it meant the new geo-political importance of Africa. Within 5 weeks 3 african born survivors of forgotten wars, educated by the british state as refugees from those wars, had strapped on explosives and tried to blow themselves up. The pole shift occured. One of the first "global leaders" to note it was colonel ghadaffi at the africa union conference. I believe he is the only world leader who has lost a child to the USAF. Of course Sadam Hussein lost both his sons, but "ahem those two Hussein boys were one of the reasons for the war" and he's not a world leader. I'm not sure people are seeing the real effects of the pole shift. Its pernicious. Rather like the curious fact that there have been more street attacks and murders recorded on mobile phones by teenagers in europe since the introduction of "snuff" by the iraqi insurgency. (emergent effects no-one dots the dots on). The TV analysts just talk about "Iran" in the samew superficial way they talk about "left south america". But neither iran nor south america are poles of the global paradigm. They are burning our flags kids. How many years do you think we have before all the shit hits our fan? I hope the new african indymedia centres figure out how to deal with their "background noise" and how to report "racism" and "holocaust denial" and stuff like that. Because honestly if things continue the way they are, within ten years we are going to see the blue white flash, (& so far we have no idea of who is going to use the blue white flash first) and by then all our clues along the way will have been removed or edited.

good link on polish plumber-
http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissinfo.html?siteSect=10...41000
don't forget they are burning our flags kids.

by redjade Sat Feb 18, 2006 13:52

Iosaf: 'The TV analysts just talk about "Iran" in the samew superficial way they talk about "left south america". But neither iran nor south america are poles of the global paradigm. They are burning our flags kids.'

———

The trick these scary times is to not let the Masters of the World define how we think of the world.

Why is it that your average Irish Lefty knows more about the current politics of Iraq than Poland or Nigeria? Certainly we all have more day to day contact with Poles and Nigerians than Iraqis.

The map below is how the Neo-Cons think of the world - the dark blue is Them and the light blue is Us. (led by the US)

Is it accurate or misinterpreted?

Interpreted with whose values and visions and interests?

———

Map from:
http://www.thomaspmbarnett.com/published/pentagonsnewma...p.htm
'DISCONNECTEDNESS DEFINES DANGER Problem areas requiring American attention (outlined) are, in the author's analysis, called the Gap. Shrinking the Gap is possible only by stopping the ability of terrorist networks to access the Core via the "seam states" that lie along the Gap's bloody boundaries.'

Do we have to think of the world this way? (would Ireland have been Dk Blue 25yrs ago?)

by iosaf Sat Feb 18, 2006 14:41

most people mightn't know but redjade has a wonderful collection of maps. Its something we both have in common. I had one of the best map rooms ever seen in a squatted house in london together with hammond organ it proved a popular meeting place. Left it all behinf though. Redjade's collection of maps though are free to see at his blog http://allotherplaces.org/ you'll find davy carlin there too, and a collection of titbits from me.

what redjade says is true. and that map illustrates it is so well.
the software of indymedia ireland (oscailt 3) is being prepared by a collective in africa who want to launch an african imc. I'm looking forward to how their stuff may be linked and reflected here. & I also want to say I feel a wee bit guilty for not writing the sundaypapers "house arrest" edition the weekend i had planned. Instead of reporting on the zapatista other campaign and whats going on in Peru, I got caught up in the cartoons and who is more fascist ( mad iranians, mad mullahs, mad israelis, mad europeans, mad americans ) question - while we have time before one of the madsers use the blue white flash lets remember who we really are. There are indymedia people who came from the same disgust, and the same horrible "awakening" at the same horrible gigs - all over the world.
Don't let the "masters" divide us. anyone can use HTML check the HTML button when you enter a comment or article.

by pat c Sat Feb 18, 2006 14:48

ah they even attack poles now! racists are so dumb. next poles wont be able to get a job in ballybrack.

by linguist Sat Feb 18, 2006 19:32

is "polaco" (pole) its also their slang for "catalan". the root of the slang word is found back in the days when not many polish people went to spain, and the english used "scotch" the same way.

lets play with html sure we're testing the software