User:Kwh/Vandalism

Argument from Framing
The term vandalism may technically describe defacement, but it has cultural underpinnings of rebellion against entrenched power. Graffiti is sneered at by effete elitists, but is regaled as personal expression and art by some, expressing an individualistic rejection of cold urban conformity.

Vandalism is a crime in most cases, causing usually irreparable harm to another's property. Graffiti cannot be reverted with a single click.

Because the term 'vandalism' encompasses these frames, it reinforces them in the mind of the vandal. The vandal may justify their act as rebellion against authority or elitism, personal expression, or rejection of conformity. Making it equivalent to physical damage lends the act more weight than it has; it is easier to undo than to do.

Better to call it 'nuisance'; a gnat bite on an elephants arse. The nuisance troubles us only momentarily; we do not create task forces to scratch an itch.