'Be Someone' replaced on Houston railroad bridge

Sunday, August 23, 2020

'Be Someone' replaced on Houston railroad bridge

A group of people holding painting supplies were seen on the bridge posing for pictures after the well-known artwork was replaced early Sunday.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Gone again.

After returning to the north-facing side of a railroad bridge over I-10 and I-45 north of downtown in April, the 'Be Someone' graffiti has been painted over with #SAVEOURCHILDREN.

The latest vandalism was committed by someone overnight Sunday. Witnesses said they saw people posing for pictures as they held paint supplies.

The #SAVEOURCHILDREN phrase began as a noble awareness campaign to combat human trafficking, but variations have been thrust into controversy recently by conspiracy theorists who allege that children are being abducted in large numbers to supply a child trafficking ring. Earlier this month, followers of a movement known as QAnon flooded the nonprofit National Human Trafficking Hotline with phone calls, straining resources needed to track real missing children, ABC News reported.

It's not clear which message the Houston display points to.

The 'Be Someone' graffiti returned in April after it was changed to say "Wash Ur Hands" in March. The message came one day after the first coronavirus death was confirmed in Washington state.

Last November, the words "Be Sus" were shown painted on the trestle. It wasn't known how the altered saying fit into the context of the "Be Someone" message.

The iconic graffiti has been vandalized or altered before, only for the 'Be Someone' phrase to reappear.

In the past, the person behind the art spoke anonymously with ABC13.

"I get it. It's vandalism, but it's in a different sense, too, if you just take those words and apply it to yourself, it might mean something to you," he told ABC13 in 2016.

Though its considered a tourist attraction by some, it's still graffiti. The message adorns a railroad bridge owned by Union Pacific Railroad.

Union Pacific officials have discouraged the graffiti in the past due to property damage and dangers around trains.

"Often, by the time a trespasser hears the train, it's too late," railroad officials said in a statement.