The act of tagging a name on a surface is the most direct way to engage with an environment. The reason graffiti and tagging culture is so beneficial to people who do it is that it keeps them engaged with their surroundings. It keeps them motivated, engaged and involved. For a lot of people the risk of alienation from their surroundings is a threat to their mental well being. People can become disillusioned in environments they are a part of but can’t really exist within. They may exist by default but they aren’t connected or engaged.

Mostly in a capitalist system all you can hope for are heroes who are always out of reach or symbols of wealth that don’t really exist in your environment. These are markers to a world that are mediated and mostly sold as tokens of engagement. Real engagement doesn’t really exist. The most ubiquitous of these markers is the world of entertainment that plays as though a chant of possibly being someone you are not and can never be. Phrases and ideals of knowing oneself or understanding your true nature lead you back to the same logical loop of lacking real engagement.

The reason tagging is illegal is because the individual involved breaks the chain or loop of alienated media saturated self understanding. The person involved has direct contact with surfaces that they are not allowed to own or change in anyway. Suddenly they realise they have power over their environment and can exist as someone in the world around them. They find true connection and truly nobody is allowed to be part of the larger world they live within by default. They are meant to stay within the bounds marked out by the socio-economic environment they find themselves in. There are many other ways to find one’s way out of the reality they are in. Most of these are sanctioned to create more capital.

The difference with tagging though is the equation of capital is non-existent and unnecessary to create a productive self. Thus the act is illegal and frowned upon in a society obsessed with money and ownership. To exist in a world that is mostly meaningless and makes no sense is difficult. The act of tagging a name is a small reminder that people are disillusioned with the lot they have and want to be known. Other than being known they want to engage with a world that is divided into so many fragmented parts dedicated to ownership and capitalist control.