Yarn bombers?

Did you see this story? I heard it today on NPR's All Things Considered while making dinner and had to run to the computer to see the photo on the NPR website. Yes indeed, there it was, a bear statue outfitted with a crochet hoodie.

You see, these people crochet gloves and mittens, scarves and hoods and shawls, and outfit public statues. Why, you ask? I've been trying to figure out that one myself.

As vandalism goes, it's pretty tame. As art, it's pretty lame. The cutesy factor was just too much for me. And the waste - of time, of yarn. When these "installations" are found by the public works people who take care of the statues, they are removed and probably thrown out. The one NPR wrote about on the bear statue in LA was put in place at 5 p.m. one evening and didn't even make it to the next morning before being removed.

I couldn't help thinking that if the self-styled "yarn bombers" put that much effort into crocheting afghans for Project Linus, think of the little children they could help. Or gloves and scarves for homeless people. Or lap robes for old ladies in nursing homes. But I guess that's not cool or artsy enough.