The mural in question.
A West Roxbury resident filed a 311 complaint yesterday about what he or she considers a completely "woke" graffiti mural that just went up on the side of the Joyce Kilmer School on Baker Street, in one of the largest spleen ventings we've seen on 311 in many a year:
This is a Disgusting [piece of vomit] ! I have lived here all my 58 years and my parents and Grandparents grew up in West Roxbury over 175 years ... We the the community was never informed. ... You have to go in front of a board of Select men and city council! This Is illegal . We don't want this !!! Get rid of it !! Our Relistate just Plummet Down ! We pay taxes to the city of Boston and our tax money is going to this painting! ... this is Illegal and it is Graffiti. This is West Roxbury Massachusetts. Suburban of Boston . Not Down town Boston . Graffiti .
This morning, though, another Killmer neighbor filed a 311 compliment - and the photo that tops this post:
No issue. Just wanted to compliment the artist and say that as an abutter to the school - we will enjoy looking at this art every day. Thank you Mayor Wu, for supporting artists!
The Kilmer hasn't seen this sort of brouhaha since the Great Robotic Goose controversy back in aught-five.
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Comments
I'm lost here
By anon
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 2:13pm
Anyone with a brainworm to English translator care to share what is wrong with this mural?
Side note - the new bike lanes on Centre St in WR are a huge improvement and have had zero impact on parking.
The only issue I can see
By Waquiot
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 3:00pm
Did they really paint the windows? That does seem bad.
Otherwise, it's a nice freshening up of the side of the building. When we have the town meeting next spring, I'll be sure to mention it to the selectmen.
Maybe it's the kind you can see through
By lbb
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 3:55pm
Maybe it's the kind you can see through, like the ad wraps on MBTA buses?
About the bus ads… I know the
By Frelmont
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 4:32pm
About the bus ads… I know the city is hard up, but one of the pleasures in life is to look out of windows. See the Charles and the skyline crossing the S&P shaker bridge. I’d pay extra to avoid the indignity of riding in an ad-wrapped bus or train. Plus, these ads are a safety and ADA issue.
Quick Boston lesson
By Waquiot
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 4:58pm
The City doesn't run the buses. The state does.
But yeah, ads are great for revenue, but stink for passenger experience. Surely one can wrap a bus without blocking the windows.
Thanks. I knew that. It’s
By Frelmont
Sat, 08/03/2024 - 11:33am
Thanks. I knew that. It’s right there in the name: Mass Bay TA. I was thinking in city terms. All levels of government are hard up fighting for scraps.
Are you sure...
By lbb
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 6:32pm
...that you've ever been on one of these buses?
You can see out of these windows. I just explained that.
"indignity"? That's...pretty fragile.
How?
Barely. I don’t have great
By Frelmont
Sat, 08/03/2024 - 11:42am
Barely. I don’t have great eyesight and the adwrap makes the view worse. I don’t have my head buried in my phone and life is short, I like to look out the window. I’m a day dreamer. Sure, when the busses are coated with roadsalt it’s hard to see as well and doubly obscured both salt and crap ads.
Yeah, it is an indignity living in the world’s wealthiest country and our public agencies like the MBTA have to shuffle up to the private industry hat in hand begging for scraps.
I really hate the ad-wrap on
By FiorLabhair
Sat, 08/03/2024 - 7:23pm
I really hate the ad-wrap on windows! Maybe maybe I can see through it well enough, on a sunny day, to not miss my stop. At night it’s impossible, and I agree it’s a safety concern for some of us at least. I don’t think that covering windows is a good idea—on buses.
The school mural is awesome, so I hope the windows are admin offices, or the custodians supply closet, or something like that!
If you’re on a bus
By Ari O
Sat, 08/03/2024 - 10:03am
Crossing the Longfellow … either there’s a red line diversion, or you are very lost.
They said "bus or train". And
By anon
Mon, 08/05/2024 - 11:40am
They said "bus or train". And the Longfellow Bridge was just one example of a transit ride with a view.
I think they put paper over
By Kathleen
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 4:04pm
I think they put paper over the windows before painting, and they will remove it when painting is done, leaving the glass unpainted. Masking off the windows is much easier than carefully avoiding them.
No sun on that side
By 02132
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 6:56pm
Just an FYI, that's the NW side of the school, no sun is getting anywhere near those windows during a school day, if that's any concern.
The windows have paper that
By Tabitha
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 8:25pm
The windows have paper that will be removed when he’s done.
175 years in 3 generations is
By MattyC
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 3:53pm
175 years in 3 generations is certainly a datapoint
Translation:
By TiminSouthie
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 4:35pm
Scene: Boomer/ late GenXer with NewsMax or Fox on, bleating about stuff,
yelling in a thick accent:
" No that's my fahkin privilege to decide what change is allowed and I don't like change! Go fahk yahself. Follow the law! But not against Donald Trump!"
Isn't it cute?
By SwirlyGrrl
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 11:01pm
I always find it amusing when random white straight men think they get to make the rules for everyone.
Amusing delusion.
Folks in West Roxbury are not
By GZ
Sat, 08/03/2024 - 10:40am
Folks in West Roxbury are not accustomed to spray paint graffiti on brick walls , it will bring riff Raff into the prestigious Boston neighborhood also take property values down.
@1st anon: Pink
By Don't Panic
Mon, 08/05/2024 - 1:32am
The color pink was used. To some people that indicates LGBTQ ideology.
“Woke”
By tblade
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 2:15pm
Anyone earnestly using “woke” as a pejorative in 2024 is a knuckle-dragging ass clown who should be laughed out of every conversation. Same with using DEI as a pejorative.
How woke of you!
By anon
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 2:41pm
How woke of you!
If "Woke" is bad ...
By SwirlyGrrl
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 11:03pm
Then being a drugged out zombie is ideal?
Looks beautiful!
By SouthBoston02127
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 2:21pm
Please paint one in Southie!
It is only fair to use West
By Rwgfy
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 2:25pm
It is only fair to use West Roxbury and Down town as pejoratives.
Select men?
By Starluna
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 2:27pm
I am genuinely curious who these Select men are supposed to be in the mind of this complainant. And how does one become one of these Select men? Are they actually only men in the mind of this person?
I also hope that this is parody.
Relistate
By mg
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 2:34pm
I guess the Select men are the ones who are devaluing all that relistate out there.
:chef's kiss:
By MattyC
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 3:47pm
:chef's kiss:
Boston used to have selectmen
By adamg
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 2:40pm
Granted, not since 1822, when Boston became the state's first official city, but Bostonians never forget.
To that point...
By lbb
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 4:07pm
...many towns in Massachusetts have a select board. A few cities do as well, but Boston is not one of them. It makes me wonder if this is one of those with, shall we say, roots in West Roxbury, but who does not live there any more.
maybe only not since 1874?
By Ron Newman
Tue, 08/06/2024 - 3:49am
since for a couple decades before then, West Roxbury was a separate town from Boston or Roxbury.
Anyone particular represented
By HPboy
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 2:32pm
Anyone particular represented or just random kids? It looks fine.
Random is right
By SwirlyGrrl
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 11:06pm
Anyone who thinks having a mural with kids who look like this is "woke" needs to look up how diverse the under-18 age group is. HINT: the youngest Americans do not have a white majority and really haven't for about 20 years now.
I feel stupider having read that
By brianjdamico
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 2:39pm
Boston hasn't had a Board of Selectmen since *checks notes* 1822?
If there's one thing you can do to your property without a building permit, it's painting.
From the photos, it's a nice looking mural. Nicer than looking at faded brick. It's what, faces of children, on the side of an elementary school? Seems appropriate.
Bigger problems
By APB
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 2:45pm
If the author of the complaint attended that school, as he or she alleges, there are clearly some very serious problems on the inside, rather than outside.
"Were", not necessarily "are"
By Rob
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 4:41pm
"Were", not necessarily "are".
But, yeah! Exhume her fourth -grade teacher and let's get to the bottom of this!
"Suburban of Boston"
By anon
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 2:48pm
Since when is West Roxbury a suburb of Boston?
Other than that, the post has something of a William Burroughs cut up technique Naked Lunch type vibe to it.
From 1851 to 1874
By Ron Newman
Tue, 08/06/2024 - 3:50am
it was a separate town from Roxbury or Boston. It didn't last very long. It included a good part of what we'd now call Jamaica Plain.
An argument can be made
By Anon
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 3:01pm
An argument can be made that was a frivolous use of tax dollars especially considering the financial landscape of BPS. I’m neutral on the mural itself. If the kids like it then wonderful. But if my child went to school there, I think I would prefer those funds be spent on furthering the education.
"use of tax dollars"
By lbb
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 4:08pm
Do you know how the mural was funded? I went looking for that information and could not find it.
Do you think attractive surroundings interfere with the educational process?
The city
By Anon
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 4:24pm
The city paid for it one way or another. I would not expect that it came from Bps budget. Probably an artist grant.
Oh come now
By lbb
Mon, 08/05/2024 - 12:13pm
Oh come now. If you can assert this with such confidence, you can bring the receipts. Otherwise you're just a cranky crusty againsty old fart.
Funding
By Andy_
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 10:00pm
There are 6 murals going up around the city this summer. The funding does not come out of the school budget, but rather the city’s arts commission which gets some funding from taxes, but also from various endowments and funds that work to promote the arts. Many states and cities have a percentage for the arts program, which have been in existence since the 60’s.
Looks fine to me
By Cleary Squared
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 3:49pm
West Roxbury had the Dapper O'Neill/Mayor Curley diptych on the side of the West Roxbury bar for years until it got replaced, and it was updated to celebrate a West Roxbury veteran.
And they fixed....
By Charlie T
Sat, 08/03/2024 - 10:37am
And they fixed the color of the streetcar. The original had it as green but the older units, specifically the Type 5 in the picture was a hue or tangerine orange. At least that part is not historically accurate.
"real estate"
By Vicki
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 4:15pm
Does the complainant really believe that they'd have trouble selling a house in Boston because of the mural painted on a neighborhood school?
Part of a two-year citywide mural program
By adamg
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 4:17pm
More details - the Bates School in Roslindale is also scheduled for a mural.
YES!
By Angry Dan
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 5:49pm
YES... HA HA HA... YES!
- Sickos
Nothing says breath life like
By Rwgfy
Sun, 08/04/2024 - 7:03pm
Nothing says breath life like kids breathing spray paint fumes.
Tell me you've never painted anything
By lbb
Mon, 08/05/2024 - 12:13pm
...without telling me.
Hey Letters, are students currently attending school in Boston? Like, today? Hmm?
Speaking of 311.. Boston had
By Frelmont
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 4:40pm
Speaking of 311.. Boston had both 311 and See Click Fix for quite some time. Did Boston provide any statement on why it ended public reporting and dialogue via SCF? Why did the mayor opt for less speech over more speech?
Moderation challenges
By TGR
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 5:08pm
I believe there were concerns that any attempt at content moderation for comments could be seen as curtailing free expression. A private entity can moderate the speech on its site in accordance with terms of use an agreement; but a public entity will have a harder time taking down problematic posts.
How do the other cities and
By anon
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 5:18pm
How do the other cities and towns that use SeeClickFix manage it?
Nothing says breath life like
By Rwgfy
Sun, 08/04/2024 - 7:03pm
Nothing says breath life like kids breathing spray paint fumes.
Trumpie Grandma sounds all
By MC Slim JB
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 4:41pm
hopped up on goofballs.
I am sure this complainant is
By MassMouse
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 5:22pm
I am sure this complainant is also wondering how Kamala “turned black” a few years ago…
Noting the multiple failures
By xyz
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 6:58pm
Noting the multiple failures of logic and language, and that the ticket was opened at 12:38 AM, I wonder if the complainer was egged on by his buddies Jim Beam and Jack Daniels.
Stopped by yesterday
By 02132
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 6:59pm
I stopped up at the Kilmer last night before 8, talked to the guy doing the painting. He's from Denver, and a few months ago he met with the students and the mural is the product of all the designs they put together. Wish I got his name, but he was up on the cherry picker still working. Really cool stuff.
Artist name
By Tabitha
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 8:22pm
His name is Thomas Evans, goes by detour @detour303 on instagram
It doesn’t look finished, or
By Frelmont
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 7:51pm
It doesn’t look finished, or maybe that’s an artistic aspect. At least we’re spending tax dollars on a public school and not a charter, or religious school. Remember, charter schools are a noecon scam to undermine the public’s trust in public institutions and their very “success” is two fold.
He’s here til next week, it’s
By Tabitha
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 8:23pm
He’s here til next week, it’s still in progress
Artist sez
By 02132
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 9:24pm
The artist expects it to be done Wednesday the 7th.
I think that I shall never see
By Ron Newman
Fri, 08/02/2024 - 10:37pm
A mural lovely as a tree
Of course!!! I can see it
By Rob
Sat, 08/03/2024 - 9:34pm
Of course!!! I can see it clearly now!!!
This mural is obviously being done by the same pernicious forces that did that infernal coronation portrait of King Charles a few months ago!
All that red! Coincidence? I think not!!!
Let's not forget that anyone
By cden4
Sun, 08/04/2024 - 4:08pm
Let's not forget that anyone can submit a ticket to 311. It can be a Boston resident or Russian troll. I'm beginning to realize a lot of the people online are not actually real people, but bots or people paid to stoke division.
After looking at this numerous times now
By brianjdamico
Mon, 08/05/2024 - 1:27pm
I just caught that they twice called it "Joyce Killer school" and never once wrote the name of the school they claimed to have attended correctly. I'd suggest auto-correct did that but then all of the other more glaring typos in there suggest otherwise.
School Mural
By Alias Smith
Mon, 08/05/2024 - 5:13pm
As the warden said " There is a failure to communicate" in the movie Cool Hand Luke. It would have been nice to communicate with the abutters of the school for some input. West Roxbury is getting slighted on many issues which needs to cease !!!
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