"Son of Sam" is a nickname for David Berkowitz, a famous serial killer in New York during the mid-1970s. When I saw this bit of graffiti I initially thought it reflected current fears that the credit crisis and nationwide economic collapse will send this city back into 1970s-era chaos and collapse. "Stop Son of Sam" suggested (I thought) that we may as well usher in this new era of despair with statements taken straight from New York in the 1970s.

I then learned that the "Son of Sam" case is still considered open by the NYPD, whose ongoing investigation assumes that Berkowitz was not the only killer and that members of a satanic group called the Process Church may also have been involved in the killings. I later remembered seeing these "Stop Son of Sam" statements around New York for at least a couple of years now, meaning it likely has nothing to do with the economy.

I do not know if the person who sprayed these words on the 59th Street/Queensboro Bridge in this year of 2009 meant either of these things, something altogether different, or if it is just a random fancy.