rekkidblogga

Something for Shannon

On my way home from work, sometimes I get stopped underneath this interstate overpass and stenciled on one of the concrete bridge supports in black spraypaint is this message - "SHANNON HAS AIDS" - which has been there at least since the late '90s. When it first appeared, it was painted on the overpass bridge and all of the supports. The DOT erased the most obvious graffiti, but I guess they missed that one little area that I see on the off-occasions when I crawl beneath the overpass, inching through the late afternoon traffic.

Each time I pass by the stencil, which has faded a bit over the years, I wonder who Shannon is - or was - and if he or she really has (or had) AIDS. Not that it matters. And I wonder if Shannon, too, passed by the graffiti and felt sad, angry or stunned - amazed that some bitter soul who he or she (or I) will never know felt a compelling need to spread a cruel form of anonymous hatred in a public forum for all to see.

posted by rekkidbraka @ 7:42 PM