I live in a city where gang affiliation confines individuals to certain street borders. The use of graffiti to claim territory, as is done by gangs, has placed a connection that graffiti is gang related. These two types of graffiti have become merged due to the public’s experience or understanding that gangs use spray cans to mark territory. The fact that community members are not informed about the difference between gang vandalism and graffiti is what makes graffiti hated by people in the community. Graffiti done by writers is full of intricate styles and shapes with colors to match, meanwhile graffiti done by gang members is done in gang colors and they lack the skill and the detail that “pieces’ done by the graffiti artist have.
The use of graffiti by gangs has criminalized graffiti by closely relating graffiti writers to gang-bangers. In the eyes of society gang-bangers are violent and ruthless therefore they believe that graffiti writers are exactly the same. “Graffiti, whether gang-related or not, has a negative effect on a resident's feeling of safety in their neighborhood” (Washington County Sheriff’s Office). Since gang-bangers tend to be violent people see graffiti as an indication that gang-members are trying to conquer or move in to the community. The close relationship that society and the misunderstanding of people have drawn of graffiti artist and graffiti as a culture as gang-related is what makes people see graffiti as a negative asset to any city or community.