I love artistic murals that are created with public and government support. There are also countries where extraordinary pieces of street art serve as vehicles for public protest and political speech where these things cannot otherwise occur without enormous risk---conditions that most of us have never had to contend with. Egypt in recent years and Brazil just before the World Cup are two places that come to mind, although there are many more. I won't post the images here but if you google those country names and "graffiti", you will see hugely compelling, beautiful, painful commentary on how people are living.

When I think of those things in contrast to the self-indulgent acts of Casey Nocket, it makes me more than a little sick.