N.D.G. war monument defaced

[MTLskyline]

N.D.G. war monument defaced

Anti-tagging initiative coming: councillor

 

By Anne Sutherland, The Gazette

May 11, 2010 10:03 AM

 

A cenotaph in NDG park in Notre Dame des Graces area of Montreal was defaced with spray paint and graffitti, photographed on Monday May 10, 2010.

Photograph by: Vincenzo D'Alto, THE GAZETTE

 

MONTREAL -- Graffiti has become a scourge in the city, and a beautiful war monument in Notre Dame de Grâce has not been spared.

 

“I am outraged,” said Robin Debled, who took a photo of the defaced stone cenotaph in Notre Dame de Grâce Park. “This shows a total lack of respect for veterans and, for God’s sake, some things should be sacred.”

 

Debled said he passes by the memorial often and yesterday morning discovered that it was covered with black and brown scribbles and squiggles.

 

“It’s just awful, the front and back are covered, and in N.D.G., the graffiti is pretty bad all over the place,” Debled said.

 

The majestic stone and iron monument that stands “To Her Sons Who Served and Fell” has a place of prominence in the park at the corner of Girouard Ave. and Sherbrooke St. All four facets of the stone have been defaced by vandals.

 

Brangwyn Jones first noticed some marker pen graffiti spelling out “I don’t give a s--t” on the monument the weekend before last and called 311 to complain.

 

On Mother’s Day, he saw that the spray-painters had tagged over the previous scribblings with their incomprehensible symbols. To add further insult, the monument appears to have been vandalized the same weekend that the world was remembering the 65th anniversary of Victory in Europe.

 

“I’m a soldier with the Canadian Forces and this insults me even more because I understand the sacrifices the veterans made,” Jones said.

 

“I have noticed that there has been more and more tagging,” said Susan Clarke, the Côte des Neiges-Notre Dame de Grâce borough councillor who was recently handed the anti-graffiti portfolio.

 

Banning the sale of spray paint, which has been tried in Chicago and recently proposed in the Beaches area of Toronto, would appear to be an easy fix, but municipalities cannot pass a bylaw banning a product. That falls under provincial jurisdiction, Clarke said.

 

“What we found in the past is when a business removes graffiti very quickly it discourages tagging. We also found that most of the tagging done on apartment buildings were on those with absentee landlords.”

 

Clarke said she hopes to have a multi-pronged plan to combat graffiti in place by August.

 

After police complaints from residents, police Sgt. Pascal Gosselin with Station 11 confirmed that a city inspector went to the monument yesterday to evaluate what kind of cleaning method would be most effective.

 

The first application of a solvent to remove the paint is to be applied to the cenotaph today. It could take several applications to get all the marks off.

© Copyright © The Montreal Gazette

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/monument+defaced/3012787/story.html

 

Whoever did this should be sent to Guantanamo.

[jesseps]

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/monument+defaced/3012787/story.html

 

Whoever did this should be sent to Guantanamo.

 

Screw Guitmo. Bring back public hanging.

[blue_dragon]

who does these things??? they must suffer from a severe form of mental retardation

[identifiant]

Man, they really have some start cracking down on graffiti, the situation is getting ridiculous. I'm tired of these "bien-pensants" who defend taggers and claim that "they're just expressing themselves"... they can express themselves in other ways.

 

Just like blue_dragon, I'm wondering: who does this? Is it pre-teenage kids, gang-members, or older people with psychological problems?

[Cataclaw]

I think I'll go urinate publicly and use my urine to create a smiley face on the pavement. Please don't arrest me, I'm just expressing myself.

 

My view: you deface a public monument, you get 6 months in jail and 500 hours of community service time to be spent cleaning up graffiti and picking up trash.

[JFrosty]

I have to say that the part where he said "I don't give a shit" was tagged got me. At least they're sending a message, though I don't necessarily agree with the way they're doing it.

 

And Guantanamo? Seriously?

[MTLskyline]

^Yeah someone who defaces a WAR MEMORIAL is pretty much showing complete their lack of respect for this country and everything it represents. They are traitors, and should be treated as such.

[steve_36]

Il est temps d'etre plus sévère sur ceux qui ''dévisagent'' le mobilier urbain. Le maire et/ou le chef de police devrait passer un message clair. Je vois trop souvent de beaux édifices avec des graffitis très laids et qui ne disent absolument rien, que du barbouillage.

[JFrosty]

^Yeah someone who defaces a WAR MEMORIAL is pretty much showing complete their lack of respect for this country and everything it represents. They are traitors, and should be treated as such.

 

Oh what the fuck, really. Traitors? Ils ont bien le droit d'être contre ce que la guerre représente et tout ce qui s'y rattache.

 

Envoyer quelqu'un à Guantanamo parce qu'il exprime son opinion (d'une manière peu convenable, comme j'ai déjà dit)? À Guantanamo? Tu fais exprès pour être aussi stupide ou c'est naturel chez toi?

 

I don't give a shit if you're saying I'm getting personal. Anyone saying stupid stuff like you deserves that.

 

War memorials don't represent this country. They're a great way to show respect to those who fought in the war, but they also show, to some, how stupid war is. Maybe instead of saying they're traitors and should be sent to Guantanamo, you should try and understand their motivations, even if you don't agree with them. Maybe then you would become a little bit less extreme when it comes to patriotic subjects.

[Cataclaw]

Defacing a war monument is not an anti-war statement.

 

Defacing a war monument is spitting on the graves of those who died to protect us during past conflicts. (Say, for example, World War 2 and the defeat of Hitler.)

 

Defacing a war monument shows a lack of respect, a lack of understanding, a lack of pride and a poor knowledge of history.

 

On top of it all... it's defacing public property.

 

If you want to make an anti-war stand, you don't desecrate a monument to past heroes. You find another way. Doing this sort of thing is incredibly cowardly.

 

6 months in prison, 500 hours of community service and a public apology. No less.