Home > Gwinnett > Rick Badie / My Opinion > Archives > 2006 > January > 25 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USSpooky and Kelor
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I got an e-mail the other day from the teens who have made a habit out of spray-painting property along Jimmy Carter Boulevard.
“Spooky” and “Kelor” —- members of the so-called SK (Silent Kids) crew —- admonished me for “talkin’ bad” about them and their work.
And get this: They claim that the mess they left on a dozen or so buildings a few weekends ago serves a purpose.
“We want to make you realize we don’t wanna live in a place where going to work and then coming back to sleep is life,” Kelor wrote. “We need some kind of hang-out place where everyone can come and do recreational activities. I know you are going to try and follow up where and who I am. You can do it. I don’t care.”
Actually, he did. Seems homeboy and his buddies don’t want the cops to learn their real names and addresses. Kelor and I exchanged several e-mails this week before he reneged on a face-to-face interview tentatively planned for Wednesday.
You can justify just about anything if you think about it long enough. Kelor and Spooky may truly believe they’re right to deface property.
Or maybe they’re trying to play me. It’s hard to justify what they’re doing, and for residents who are tired of seeing scribblings on buildings and signs all over the county, their explanations don’t fly.
For sake of discussion, though, let’s look at what they said. They want a teen recreation center, or something like that, for youngsters who live in neighborhoods in and around Jimmy Carter Boulevard. Sure, there are parks in the area, but most times the fields are taken up with league play.
“There is no way around it —- our area is underserved with parks and recreational activities,” admitted Sen. Curt Thompson, who’s working to revitalize JCB and other declining corridors. “But they need to realize that tagging is illegal, absolutely illegal. I am quite certain that if a group of teens signed petitions or conducted a sit-in about their concerns, the county would take notice. Those are legitimate ways of expressing a need.
“Painting graffiti is not telling the county we need more park space or a teen rec center. That’s telling the county to hire more police officers.”
Via e-mail, Kelor told me about his life. He’s 16, and claims to be an “A” student and a rising junior at a local school. He likes to break dance, draw (imagine that), read and plan his next graffiti hit. Dad designs pipe structures for a living. Mom works in a factory. He’s got a brother and a sister. He’s been a tagger since he was 13, but only recently took up the admittedly “ugly and bad lookin’ ” scribblings occasionally visible along JCB.
Spray-painting graffiti isn’t something you do in broad daylight. What does Kelor tell his parents to break free at night?
“There is always a new excuse to stay out late,” he wrote. “I might tell them I am spending the night over at my friend’s house, or just tell them I am going to another concert.”
I asked Kelor what would make him and Spooky stop destroying property that costs hundreds and, in some cases, thousands of dollars to paint over or chemically clean.
“All we are askin’ for is a sane place” to hang out, he wrote. “Try and use your skills to [write] something that will make a change.”
Too bad this kid and his friends don’t take their own advice.
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By Becky2
January 25, 2006 12:15 PM | Link to this
I’m sorry that these teen think that they can justify what they are doing. I bet they wouldn’t like it if someone tagged their property.
By Michael H. Smith
January 25, 2006 06:07 PM | Link to this
Reading this kid’s comments/demands really makes me want to give up some more of my heard earned tax money. Can you add an extortion count on this Kelor kid Mr. DA Porter? On second thought I’ll gladly give him a “Park�. He can Park his butt in a boot camp and hang-out there for about two years!
By Commissioner Gordon
January 25, 2006 11:25 PM | Link to this
You should’ve chummed these suckers better, Rick. Then, at the show-up, Gotham City PD snaps on the bat-cuffs!