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> vandalism i.e. changing the aesthetic of property you don't own without permission (whether the property is public or private). I don’t think this is a prope
by rileymat2 6y ago
> vandalism i.e. changing the aesthetic of property you don't own without permission (whether the property is public or private).
I don’t think this is a proper definition, because most definitions include “damage” but yours includes an aesthetic improvement as well.
- throwaway894345 6y agoAs the name suggests, cosmetic damage is a kind of damage. If I key your car, it's still damage and thus vandalism irrespective of whether I (or anyone else) finds the result to be an improvement. This seems to be pretty well-within the "proper definition" of vandalism (notably, graffiti is one of the canonical examples of vandalism).
- rileymat2 6y agoIf my wife mows your lawn while you are away without asking, vandalism does not sound like the right word. If she runs over your tulips, it does.
- throwaway894345 6y agoIt's not quite the right word because she genuinely, plausibly believed I (the property owner) would consent to having my lawn mowed. So if you want to split hairs, we might say that vandalism requires disregard for the consent of the property owner. Note that we can't reasonably assume that someone who spraypaints my garage door or windows or etc is similarly acting in good faith because it's commonly understood that spray paint is difficult to remove and that it's not widely appreciated (I hope we can agree that 'street art aficionados' are fewer and farther between than people who want their lawns mowed--if we can't then I don't see much point in continuing the thread).