Although no one knows who Banksy really is, one thing that we do know for sure is that he has some uncommon views and has a mind of a true street artist. His most famous quotes often reference things like peace, authority, rats, profanity, corruption, graffiti, and of course, almost all of his quotes contain some sort of verbal or situational irony.

“You ask a lot of little kids today what they want to be when they grow up, and they say ‘I want to be famous.’ You ask them for what reason, and they don’t know or care. I think Andy Warhol got it wrong–in the future so many people are going to become famous that one day everybody will end up being anonymous for fifteen minutes,” Banksy said, according to Will Ellsworth-Jones’ book, “Banksy: The Man Behind the Wall.”

Banksy further acknowledges, according to this text, that eminence can sometimes be greater for those that remain anonymous than those that are most known by name. 

“It is beneficial to remain anonymous because you wouldn’t have fans going crazy if they saw you, and you are able to show your face without having to worry about the press hounding you,” junior Connor Benefield said.

Banksy’s unconventional views sometimes cause uproar, because he discusses many concepts people may not otherwise hear about or be comfortable hearing. He makes a lot of comparisons in society to things like rats, which may be some of the most hated animals on earth.

“A lot of conspiracy stories are started and are taken from these anonymous modern realists. The false claims are what start most of the controversy. Especially when touchy subjects are brought up by Banksy, people’s primal instincts are to find a scapegoat or to put a face to a name,” junior Joshua Higginbotham said.

 “Nobody ever listened to me until they didn’t know who I was,” Banksy said, according to quotefancy.com.