I'm kind of on the fence about this one. While I agree that Graffiti should, for the most part, not be considered art, there are exceptions. Some people here are pissed because that is not the way they would have honored Jordan, but not all of us think in the same way. Maybe amp26 is honoring Jordan in the only way he knows how. Maybe he wanted to join the Corps, but for some reason cannot. Maybe he doesn't have the education or social skills to express himself in a different way. I didn't see anything that looked disrespectful. How many here would have a totally different opinion of this work if they had not seen the bench? I am willing to bet more than one.
Do we know NGK123 is a p.o.s., or is it possible he was serving also and also lost his life, or is seriously injured? Not all who join the military come from good homes and never comitted a crime. There are plenty of documented gang members who joined to get away from a life they could not otherwise escape, so I am sure there are lots of taggers who have also joined. Axe, you say you and the police know who amp26 is. If they know who he is, they do not have to catch him red-handed. If that was the case, we would almost never pursue charges against any of these guys ever. That is total ******** and if you are really inclined, you should probably check that out. On the other hand, if you know who he is, have you asked him if he knew Jordan, or why he made that mural? His answer may surprise you or it could just piss you off. Either way, then you know for sure.
I saw someone mentioned amp26 was doing this for his own recognition, but is that really true? He did it UNDER a bridge, were it will only be seen by few, not on the side of a downtown building where a few thousand drivers a day will see it. Gang related taggers are the ones that tag in parks, road signs, telephone boxes, mail boxes, peoples' walls etc. Amp26 has probably tagged stuff all over the city, but do you know if this follows his normal MO? This seems to me like something else. I'm also thinking it took him longer than one night to do this, it just took that long for someone to see it and report it.
After looking over this, I guess I am leaning towards amp's defense, but this is my ******** opinion from 2000 miles away. The bench deserved an *** kicking; this one, I am not so sure. Keep us updated, and as always, God bless you and your family!