An exasperated Redditor saw vandalism on a rocky outlook and had to share photos with r/asheville.
The photos showed a rainbow-like design coming down the side of a cliff. Commenters were incensed at the defacement of a geological formation. They were also concerned the path to the top would be fenced off to prevent further graffiti, depriving nature lovers of the hike and view.
Another community member said they saw police officers inspecting paint cans at the bottom of the cliff. The cleanup would surely be particularly challenging. For one, it's a safety issue for anyone who has to scrub off the paint. Secondly, there's potential for ecological damage as the paint flakes off from the stone.
Sadly, this kind of behavior isn't uncommon. Spray-painted graffiti on rock faces has been found in South Carolina, while others defaced ancient petroglyphs in Arizona. It's hard to abide by this kind of vandalism, but signage rarely seems to be an effective deterrent. Even the fence that was in place to block access to the route in North Carolina wasn't enough to keep visitors at bay.
One Redditor raised the fair point that the "natural" aspect of this landmark is questionable considering it's the face of rock that was demolished to make room for the highway below. Still, many community members would like to take in the local geology without these kinds of distractions.
"Typical entitled Asheville bulls***. This town is such trash," one commenter said.
"This could have been done on a cloth banner. This could have been projected with lights. This could have been done on a fence or a wall," another wrote. "Now it's just an eyesore and you didn't even do a good job. Whatever you imagined, you didn't execute and if you're going to do something like this, you better not get it wrong."
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