I think any attempt to pinpoint this to one reason or another is fairly ridiculous. There are obviously some common themes that people have 'heard', but no answers from anyone saying 'I'm a drug dealer and i use it mark my area' etc. I think something this vast is likely to have different interpretations even in different parts of a city. The biggest point is that they are everywhere. White neighborhoods, chicano, poor, wealthier, but the most common thing I think is going to be urbanness. Homeless people dig through trash and leave things on the curb, sometimes people drop things, free-boxes, etc. The sources are many, the motivation? I'd guess more often than not sheer boredom. Even if the above postulated reasons had originally been the truth in a few instances, everyone has seen shoes on telephone lines now, and so when confronted with a pair to dispose of, i think people decide to add to it. I would say that it is +90% of the time a symbol of a self perpetuating habit with little or no actaul reason beyond its own existence. last time i moved i through my shoes over the line out front of my house in San Jose, just to leave a mark of my passing. But that is only self refferential because if it was 'turf marking' someonewould have to know they were my shoes. :)
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Name : Mehmet, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 29, City : Seattle, State : WA Country : United Kingdom, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, The sneakers over the telephone wire signifies the end of summer and the begining of the school years. We as kids threw them because we knew that by the next summer we wouldnt fit them anymore and we would need new ones.
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Name : Kan, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Asian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 41, City : NYC, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : IT Manager, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, i live near a notorious party school where people are predominantly white and i see sneakers hanging off telephone wires all the time and have no idea why.
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Name : sarah28409, Gender : F, Age : 18, City : san diego, State : CA Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, The meaning of shoes on telephone wires varies from place to place. In some cases it means that drugs can be purchased there. I have been also reliably informed that it is to indicate to customers that their dealer has received a fresh delivery. It can also mark the area of a gang i.e. Territorial pissing. Or it could innocently be some children messing around with nothing better to do, this being the most likely explanation for the phenomenon in most areas.
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Name : Nadeem K, Gender : M, Race : Asian, Religion : Muslim, Age : 24, City : Manchester, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : Post Grad Student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I've heard, on several occassions, that boots thrown over telephone wires was a tradition for people who returned from war/got out of the military. They would take their boots and throw them over the wire, because they would no longer be of use to them. Whether or not this is true, I have no clue. It's something I've heard, though.
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Name : Ryan D, Gender : Male, Race : American Indian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 20, City : Dallas, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, I grew up in a Tampa Bay Florida neighborhood and it was pretty much the white, black and south American Ghetto all combined. For us whenever we through shoes over a wire it was simply funny to take someones 'Bo-Bo's' and throw them over the wire so everyone knew that 'Johnny' got his shoes taken and thrown over the wire. Purely adolescent great times.
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Name : Scott, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : none - married, Disability : children, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 30, City : Toledo, State : OH Country : United States, Occupation : managment, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, in my hood it represents gang territory so if you see red its bloods teritory till you se the next pair thats where it stops and if you see blue its crips, it can also represent where the homies died green shoes for my bro RIP tate
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Name : matt, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 21, City : calafornia, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : gang, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower class, It is usually a sign that drugs can be bought there or to mark the death of a friend.
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Name : Sethh, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 26, City : Washington, State : DC Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, When I was a little kid in 1974 it meant someone, presumably a gang member, had died violently. There was a pair hanging from a lamp-post on the corner of 35th street and ninth avenue at that time.
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Name : Frank, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Disability : Deaf, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 46, City : NewYork, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Government, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, This started out to symbolize that someone had died there and that was the pair of shoes of the person that died that they had on that day. Now it is just become an everyday occurance.
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Name : TVD, City : Belleville, State : IL Country : United States, In the 80 and 90's, shoes getting thrown over telephone wires in inner cities meant that is the dope spot, or a place you can purchase drugs. If it wasnt that then it meant someone was murdered; however, today, being 'gangsta' is cool and people huck shoes over wires cause they think its funny. I live in a nice neighborhood these days and often see shoes dangling. The kids that throw it over wires in non drug infested, or crime infested areas must think it is cool or something... i personally dont understand it. I do know for a fact that the original meaning meant drug zone or a murder victim
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Name : dave28901, City : milwaukee, State : CO Country : United States, 
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