Vandalism is the deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term finds its roots in an Enlightenment view that the Germanic Vandals were a uniquely destructive people. Vandalism can become quite serious and distressing when committed extensively, violently, or as an expression of hatred and intimidation. In elections, opposing candidates’ supporters may engage in ‘political vandalism’
About Vandalism in brief
Vandalism is the deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term finds its roots in an Enlightenment view that the Germanic Vandals were a uniquely destructive people. Gustave Courbet’s attempt, during the 1871 Paris Commune, to dismantle the Vendôme column was one of the most celebrated events of vandalism. In elections, opposing candidates’ supporters may engage in ‘political vandalism’ This is the act of defacing opponents’ political posters, bumper stickers, billboards, and other street marketing material. More serious forms of vandalism that may take place during public unrest such as rioting can involve the willful destruction of public and private property, such as breaking windows and ransacking a property. Vandalism can become quite serious and distressing when committed extensively, violently, or as an expression of hatred and intimidation. Actions of this kind can be ascribed to anger or envy, possibly to peer acceptance or bravado. This kind of vandalism is also a common tactic of black blocs, e- blocs and free-animal rights activists. It can also happen as a stand-alone event, e.g. by animal rights activists destroying property owned by farmers, biotech companies, and research facilities and setting fire to cars.
It is thought by some to be artistic in nature even though carried out illegally or without the property owner’s permission. Some vandalism may qualify as culture jamming or sniggling: it is thought that some graffiti art, billboard ‘liberation’ and crop circles can be considered art, even though they are illegal or defaced by the owner of the property they are intended to be on. It has been described as ‘the criminal fight against culture is only the reverse side of a criminal culture’, wrote Klossowski after quoting Nietzsche. In a proposal to the International Conference for Unification of Criminal Law held in Madrid in 1933, Raphael Lemkin envisaged the creation of two new international crimes : the crime of barbarity, consisting in the extermination of racial, religious, or social collectivities, and vandalism. The crime of vandalism, consists in the destruction of cultural and artistic works of these groups. The proposal was not accepted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Law of the Third World (ICTL) and is still not fully understood. It was also proposed to create a crime of ‘barbarism’ to be punishable by death.
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This page is based on the article Vandalism published in Wikipedia (as of Jan. 03, 2021) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
