Illegally posted sign in the streetspace by the Washington Wizards

Illegal posted sign in the streetspace by the Washington Wizards
Originally uploaded by rllayman

As regular readers know, I go back and forth regarding graffiti and the public space, and the public space as a venue for civic communications.

I hate graffiti for the most part, when it defaces houses and commercial buildings, especially in commercial districts.

At the same time, I appreciate innovation and questioning authority.

The same goes with signs. I have a hard time with posting signs everywhere, especially on vacant buildings. But I feel differently about for profit organizations using the public space to make even more money, versus non profit and advocacy organizations using the public space as part of issue advocacy.

The Answer Coalition was fined thousands of dollars for posting in the public space signs for a September national protest. See "Antiwar Group Refuses To Back Down on Signs" from the Washington Post.

What makes the Washington Wizards exempt from fines?

Furthermore, while an exception can and should be made for allowing issue advocacy communications access to the public space, the same cannot be said for profit making ventures seizing use of the public space for private gain.