Vandalism is a strange phenomenon. In a way I can understand how targeted vandalism, say against a hated minority, comes to pass. I have mentioned it a few times, I still read Goldhagen’s “Hitler’s Willing Executioners”, and I can understand how targeted vandalism can be a means of terror. Of course these are big guns, and I don’t want to discuss the book here and now, it’s only that I see a purpose in all that the Nazis did. It was evil, it was wrong, it was caused by deep-rooted hate, but it was on purpose. That does not make it any better, but there is a pattern and we can understand or at least analyze patterns.
I can see no purpose and no pattern in random vandalism. This is random. Someone saw this bicycle leaning there, and he jumped with all his weight on the front wheel.
This is not a victim of globalization expressing hate against the establishment. There is no political statement in it. It’s not like burning cars in France (and now in Berlin), this was just an old bike, I suppose about 30 years or more, and nobody was affected but someone who rides old bikes.
And if things like that happen, what does that tell about the world? Our time?
Did these things happen 30 years ago? Help me, I can’t remember. I’d be tempted to say no, but glorifying the past is so easy.
And if things like that happen, what are the things that may happen as well? What do we have to expect? Would one who vandalizes a bicycle use the same brutal violence against people? Or are these completely different things?
And who are these guys anyway? Why do they do that? And what is their gratification?
I don’t cry for stricter enforcement of laws or such things, I am really interested in the psychological, the motivational aspect. I want to understand, because only when we understand why things happen, can we decide if we need to change people or if we need to change the world that they live in.
The Song of the Day is “Hero Dead & Gone” from the 1997 De-Phazz debut album “Detunized Gravity”. I’ve only found a video on YouTube that’s … weird 🙂