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“The funds for all this had to be found from somewhere. Now, Constantine turned to ‘those accursed and foul people’ who had chosen to stubbornly ‘hold themselves back’ from Christianity and continue visiting their ‘sanctuaries of falsehood’ – in other words, those people who would soon be called ‘pagans’. The means by which Constantine chose to take some of this wealth was simple – and humiliating: he demanded that the statues be taken from the temples. Christian officials, so it was said, travelled the empire, ordering the priests of the old religion to bring their statues out of the temples. From the 330s onwards some of the most sacred objects in the empire started to be removed. It is hard, today, to understand the enormity of Constantine’s order. If Michelangelo’s Pietà were taken from the Vatican and sold, it would be considered a terrible act of cultural vandalism – but it wouldn’t be sacrilege as the statue is not in itself sacred. Statues in Roman temples were. To remove them was a gross violation, and Constantine knew it.”

WealthChristianityDestructionMonotheismVandalismSacrilege
Book:The Darkening Age: The Christian Destruction of the Classical World
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“Thoughts at a Café Table Between the Kazan and the Iron Gates Progress has now placed the whole of this landscape underwater. A traveller sitting at my old table on the quay at Orsova would have to peer at the scenery through a thick brass-hinged disc of glass; this would frame a prospect of murk and slime [...] Moving a couple of miles downstream, he would fumble his way on to the waterlogged island and among the drowned Turkish houses; or, upstream, flounder among the weeds and rubble choking Count Széchenyi's road and peer across the dark gulf at the vestiges of Trajan on the other side; and all round him, above and below, the dark abyss would yawn and the narrows where currents once rushed and cataracts shuddered from bank to bank and echoes zigzagged along the vertiginous clefts would be sunk in diluvian since. [...] He could toil many days up these cheerless soundings, for Rumania and Yugoslavia have built one of the world's biggest ferro-concrete dams and hydro-electric power plants across the Iron Gates. This has turned a hundred and thirty miles of the Danube into a vast pond which has swollen and blurred the course of the river beyond recognition. It has abolished cayons, turned beetling crags into mild hills and ascended the beautiful Cerna valley almost to the Baths of Hercules. Many thousands of the inhabitabnts of Orşova and the riparian hamlets had to be uprooted and transplanted elsewhere. The islanders of Ada Kaleh have been moved to another islet downstream and their old home has vanished under the still surface as though it has never been. Let us hope that the power generated by the dam has spread well-being on either bank and lit up Rumanian and Yugoslav towns brighter than ever before because, in everything but economics, the damage is irreparrable. [... M]yths, lost voices, history and hearsay have all been put to rout, leaving nothing but this valley of shadow. Goethe's advice, 'Bewahre Dich vor Räuber und Ritter und Gespenstergeschichten',* has been taken literally, and everything has fled. _____________ * Beware of the robber, the cavalier, and ghost stories.”

CultureNatureLossHistoryProgressDestructionVandalismHydro PowerUtilitarism
Book:Between the Woods and the Water
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“Climate Activists (not all) have turned into Climate Karens, which has done nothing for the climate crisis, but has only added one more crisis to the list. BLM activists don't go about abusing white people, Pride activists don't go about harassing straight people, and yet, that's precisely what has become the norm in climate protests. Vandalism isn't activism, you morons! If you want to help the climate, help the green energy industry become mainstream.”

Climate ChangeFossil FuelRenewable EnergyClean EnergyOil And GasClimate ActionVandalismGreen EnergyClimate ActivistClimate Activism
Book:Rowdy Scientist: Handbook of Humanitarian Science
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“In the second book of his great autobiographical word, Confessions, Augustine fretted at length over a childish act of vandalism that he committed long ago with some teenage friends; he was now struggling to understand the motive behind an action that seemed to serve no purpose whatsoever. He concluded that he broke the law for no other reason than the thrill of breaking it, experiencing a rush he calls a 'deceptive sense of omnipotence.' By this phrase he meant that such gratuitous lawbreaking provides the illusion of being as free from the restraints of the moral law as is God, who must be imagined as both creating the moral law and existing outside it. But Augustine went on to say that this attempt to be a god is really only a 'perverse and vicious imitation' of the real deity, not only because it’s so obviously an illusion but also because the very attempt to be like God tacitly concedes that God is a superior model to be imitated.”

GodlikeAugustineHunger GamesVandalismHunger Games Philosophy
Author:Brian McDonald
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“I resolutely refuse to believe that the state of Edward's health had anything to do with this, and I don't say this only because I was once later accused of attacking him 'on his deathbed.' He was entirely lucid to the end, and the positions he took were easily recognizable by me as extensions or outgrowths of views he had expressed (and also declined to express) in the past. Alas, it is true that he was closer to the end than anybody knew when the thirtieth anniversary reissue of his Orientalism was published, but his long-precarious condition would hardly argue for giving him a lenient review, let alone denying him one altogether, which would have been the only alternatives. In the introduction he wrote for the new edition, he generally declined the opportunity to answer his scholarly critics, and instead gave the recent American arrival in Baghdad as a grand example of 'Orientalism' in action. The looting and destruction of the exhibits in the Iraq National Museum had, he wrote, been a deliberate piece of United States vandalism, perpetrated in order to shear the Iraqi people of their cultural patrimony and demonstrate to them their new servitude. Even at a time when anything at all could be said and believed so long as it was sufficiently and hysterically anti-Bush, this could be described as exceptionally mendacious. So when the Atlantic invited me to review Edward's revised edition, I decided I'd suspect myself more if I declined than if I agreed, and I wrote what I felt I had to. Not long afterward, an Iraqi comrade sent me without comment an article Edward had contributed to a magazine in London that was published by a princeling of the Saudi royal family. In it, Edward quoted some sentences about the Iraq war that he off-handedly described as 'racist.' The sentences in question had been written by me. I felt myself assailed by a reaction that was at once hot-eyed and frigidly cold. He had cited the words without naming their author, and this I briefly thought could be construed as a friendly hesitance. Or as cowardice... I can never quite act the stern role of Mr. Darcy with any conviction, but privately I sometimes resolve that that's 'it' as it were. I didn't say anything to Edward but then, I never said anything to him again, either. I believe that one or two charges simply must retain their face value and not become debauched or devalued. 'Racist' is one such. It is an accusation that must either be made good upon, or fully retracted. I would not have as a friend somebody whom I suspected of that prejudice, and I decided to presume that Edward was honest and serious enough to feel the same way. I feel misery stealing over me again as I set this down: I wrote the best tribute I could manage when he died not long afterward (and there was no strain in that, as I was relieved to find), but I didn't go to, and wasn't invited to, his funeral.”

United StatesPrejudiceIraqLondonCowardiceImperialismIraq WarJane AustenBaghdadPride And PrejudiceVandalismMendacityGeorge W BushEdward SaidFitzwilliam DarcyThe AtlanticRace CardHouse Of SaudIraqisNational Museum Of IraqOrientalism Book
Book:Hitch 22: A Memoir
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“The noble old synagogue had been profaned and turned into a stable by the Nazis, and left open to the elements by the Communists, at least after they had briefly employed it as a 'furniture facility.' It had then been vandalized and perhaps accidentally set aflame by incurious and callous local 'youths.' Only the well-crafted walls really stood, though a recent grant from the European Union had allowed a makeshift roof and some wooden scaffolding to hold up and enclose the shell until further notice. Adjacent were the remains of a mikvah bath for the ritual purification of women, and a kosher abattoir for the ritual slaughter of beasts: I had to feel that it was grotesque that these obscurantist relics were the only ones to have survived. In a corner of the yard lay a pile of smashed stones on which appeared inscriptions in Hebrew and sometimes Yiddish. These were all that remained of the gravestones. There wasn't a Jew left in the town, and there hadn't been one, said Mr. Kichler, since 1945.”

ReligionCommunismWorld War IiAnimalsJudaismEuropean UnionHebrewRelicsJewsNazisRitualsYiddishVandalism1945ObscurantismSynagoguesAnimal SacrificeTombstonesDesecrationWomen And ReligionWroclawAbattoirsAnimal SlaughterJerzy KichlerMikvahsWhite Stork SynagogueWomen In Judaism
Book:Hitch 22: A Memoir
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“Systemic change is a slow and tedious process, It doesn't happen overnight by vandalizing society. If vandalism and activism were one and the same, Our jungly ancestors would've been the ideal humanity.”

Political ScienceSocial StudiesSocial ScienceHuman Rights ViolationClimate CrisisVandalismSystemic ChangeClimate ActivistClimate ActivismActivist Poetry
Book:Esperanza Impossible: 100 Sonnets of Ethics, Engineering & Existence
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“Soon after the news broke about these published conclusions [regarding the evidence of a Palaeolithic human presence on Malta] and their stark contradiction of the orthodox view on Malta's prehistory, the Italian team distanced itself from its initial Palaeolithic leanings and claimed instead that the depictions in Ghar Hasan are 'out of context' -- which indeed they are if one is only prepared to countenance a Neolithic context for the earliest human presence in Malta. Another development at about the same time was that the Ghar Hasan cave began to be vandalized, and the paintings defaced or completely removed, a process that continued over a long period. The result, which would have caused an international furore anywhere else but Malta, is that today: 'The only depictions which have survived, unless more are obscured by stalagmitic material on the cavern walls, are the two handprints in red pigment in Gallery D ... Vandalism not of the popular type has destroyed and obscured the entire repertoire of images on the accessible areas.”

AuthorityEstablishmentAcademiaArchaeologyVandalismNeolithicPalaeolithic
Book:Underworld: The Mysterious Origins of Civilization
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“Vandalism Ain't Activism (The Sonnet) Systemic change is a slow and tedious process, It doesn't happen overnight by vandalizing society. If vandalism and activism were one and the same, Our jungly ancestors would've been the ideal humanity. Change habits, change yourself, submit to no primitivity, The change that you dream of, be the epitome of that change. Obstructing traffic and refusing to let an ambulance pass, You're not fighting any crisis, but being a crisis yourself. Go fly a kite, it is good for the mind as well as body, Get lessons on common sense before appointing yourself king. The line between activism and terrorism is so thin that, Often many go astray without having the slightest inkling. I repeat, systemic change is a slow and tedious process. The more you rush with recklessness, the more you digress.”

RevolutionTerrorismActivismRebellionSocial ScienceHuman Rights ViolationVandalismSystemic ChangePolitical PoetryClimate Activist
Book:Esperanza Impossible: 100 Sonnets of Ethics, Engineering & Existence
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“I experimented with drugs and I experimented with everything that little boys do - vandalism, throwing eggs at cars, breaking and entering schools and destroying a room. But I finally got to a point where I looked around and said, "This is not getting me anywhere. I'm stagnating with these guys." They were getting drunk and high every weekend. I got out.”

LittlesSaidSchoolGuyRoomsBoysCarDrugAlcoholDrunkEggsThrowingDestroyingWeekendEnteringLittle BoysGetting DrunkVandalismBreaking And Entering
Author:Johnny Depp
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“The young love and cherish people and places from which they receive the skills and the emotional support which enable them to make it in the world or to meet their basic human needs. The same people and places are often the first recipients of the frustration and anger--violence, vandalism, disrespect--of young people who are not making it well in the world. I suspect that this is the reason that personal and school property violence is increasing more rapidly than school burglary and dropout rates.”

PeopleWorldNeedsFirstsHumansWellsReasonSchoolYoungSupportViolenceEmotionalSkillsPropertyRateFrustrationSuspectsCherishDisrespectYoung LoveHuman NeedsEmotional SupportDropoutsVandalismBurglaryBasic Human Needs
Author:James P. Comer
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“You kids have fun, and be home by Thanksgiving!" our parents would call to us on Halloween night, as we staggered out the front door, weighed down by hundreds of pounds of concealed vandalism supplies, including enough raw eggs to feed Somalia for decades. By morning, thanks to our efforts, the entire neighborhood would be covered with a layer of congealed shaving cream and toilet paper that, around certain unpopular neighbors' homes, was hundreds of feet thick. This is how the Appalachian Mountains were formed.”

EnoughHomeWould BeKidsNightCertainFunParentEffortMorningDoorsFeetFrontsMountainPaperIncludingDecadesNeighborThanksHaving FunNeighborhoodPoundsEggsCoveredThickLayersCreamHalloweenToiletsConcealedSuppliesFront DoorsShavingToilet PaperSomaliaVandalismHalloween NightShaving Cream
Author:Dave Barry
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“The Taliban's acts of cultural vandalism - the most infamous being the destruction of the giant Bamiyan Buddhas - had a devastating effect on Afghan culture and the artistic scene. The Taliban burned countless films, VCRs, music tapes, books, and paintings. They jailed filmmakers, musicians, painters, and sculptors.”

BookFilmCultureEffectsPaintingSceneMusicianDestructionPainterArtisticFilmmakerGiantsTapeBurnedTalibanSculptorsInfamousAfghanVandalismVcr
Author:Khaled Hosseini
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“Punitive measures whether administered by police, teachers, spouses or parents have well known standard effects: (1) escape-education has its own name for that: truancy, (2) counterattack-vandalism on schools and attacks on teachers, (3) apathy-a sullen do-nothing withdrawal. The more violent the punishment, the more serious the by-products.”

WellsSchoolNamesParentKnownTeacherEffectsSeriousProductsStandardsPolicePunishmentViolentApathySpouseWell KnownWithdrawalSullenVandalismTruancy
Author:B. F. Skinner
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“We may agree, for example, that our societies must provide greater security for the individual; yet if all we succeed in producing is a providing increased anonymity and ever increasing boredom, then we should not wonder if ingenious man turns to such amusements as drugs, housebreaking, vandalism, mayhem, riots, or - at the most harmless - strange haircuts, costumes, standards of cleanliness, and sexual experiments.”

IfsMenShouldMayTurnsIndividualWonderGreaterSecurityExampleStrangeDrugSucceedStandardsAgreeExperimentsBoredomOur SocietyProvidingCostumesAmusementRiotCleanlinessIngeniousAnonymityHaircutsMayhemVandalism
Author:Robert Ardrey
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“You do not know me, but I am a juvenile delinquent. I do not trust authority figures, I probably will not graduate from high school, and statistics say my present rowdiness and vandalism will likely lead to more serious crimes. I am a dangerous fellow, and I am causing mayhem in this store. [...] There. I have now shamelessly destroyed the symmetry of this shelf, undoing hours of labor by underpaid store employees. If you could see me, you would be frightened.”

IfsKnowsWould BeSchoolHoursDangerousCrimeFiguresSeriousAuthorityHigh SchoolLaborFellowsStoresDestroyedEmployeeStatisticsFrightenedGraduatesKnow MeShelvesSymmetryJuvenileUndoingMayhemDelinquentsGraduating High SchoolVandalismUnderpaidAuthority Figures
Author:Katherine Applegate
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“People are important too, however, and what a terrible impact a total ban on hunting would have on the rural economy, which is still reeling from the after-effects of foot and mouth disease. With average net farm income having fallen to 5,200 per farm in England and 4,100 in Wales, it seems an act of spiteful vandalism to destroy literally thousands of jobs in deeply rural areas, when it is simply not necessary to do so and where no meaningful alternative employment exists.”

PeopleStillsImportantSeemsJobsEconomyFeetEffectsTerribleDiseaseMouthsAreasEnglandImpactAverageMeaningfulIncomeEmploymentAlternativesFallenFarmsHuntingBansWalesSpitefulRural AreasVandalism
Author:Ann Winterton
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“Until the first blow fell, no one was convinced that Penn Station really would be demolished, or that New York would permit this monumental act of vandalism against one of the largest and finest landmarks of its age of Roman elegance. Any city gets what it admires, will pay for, and, ultimately, deserves. Even when we had Penn Station, we couldn’t afford to keep it clean. We want and deserve tin-can architecture in a tinhorn culture. And we will probably be judged not by the monuments we build but by those we have destroyed”

WantFirstsWould BeAgeCulturePayCitiesNew YorkDeserveCleanBlowConvincedArchitectureAdmireDestroyedStationsPermitJudgedFinestEleganceMonumentTinLandmarksVandalismTin Cans
Author:Ada Louise Huxtable
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“But look what we have built low-income projects that become worse centers of delinquency, vandalism and general social hopelessness than the slums they were supposed to replace. Cultural centers that are unable to support a good bookstore. Civic centers that are avoided by everyone but bums. Promenades that go from no place to nowhere and have no promenaders. Expressways that eviscerate great cities. This is not the rebuilding of cities. This is the sacking of cities.”

LooksSocialCitiesSupportProjectsLowsBuiltIncomeHopelessnessGood BookAvoidedCivicsBookstoresCity LifeRebuildingGreat CitiesSlumsLow IncomeDelinquencyVandalismPromenadeSacking
Author:Jane Jacobs
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