Killing Hope – You’re Just Making it Worse

Hope uploaded by edmittance

My personal view is that hope is a rather special thing. There are a number of psychologists who are currently researching its effects and its causes. That is a whole other post. For now, just take it that it is a powerful force that sustains us.

The picture is of a mural in Stokes Croft, in Bristol – it is linked to the original posting on Flickr by edmittance.

Bristol council removed the mural, blacking it out. Almost symbolic. Cheo and 3Dom – the artists behind the piece – were less than impressed, and responded in the medium they had originally used.

Council vandalism uploaded by edmittance

Again the council painted over the shop front.

As it turns out, Bristol Council’s actions were actually incorrect, and you can read their apology on the Bristol graffiti blog.

Any way, the next response was a little more terse than the first, although more wordy than the original art piece that was removed!

It simply reads:

“When will you learn?”

“You’re just making things worse!”

When will you learn uploaded by edmittance

Don’t they know that hope keeps you going, even in the face of defeat?

You can deny it, decry it and smother it, but hope doesn’t die. It goes beyond the let downs and disappointments, the challenges and the set backs.

We need hope.

Organisations rarely recognise hope, or act out of it. That is a great shame.

As individuals, we can. Nurture hope when you see it.

* With thanks to Paul Clarke for bring the photos to my attention and the pointer to the post on Bristol graffiti blog.