The concept of vandalism is typically represented as barbaric and pointless, which summarizes the subject matter quite succinctly. Being caused by a variety of factors, the intention to commit acts of vandalism can be seen as the ultimate rebellion against humanity and the way of rejecting the community and its values (Yates, 2022). A recent act of vandalism aimed at Hartford’s Mark Twain home proves that the phenomenon of vandalism continues to thrive in modern society, yet it is consistently rejected by the public.
The deviant behavior in question, namely, vandalism, takes a broad range of forms. However, typically it involves deliberate destruction or defamation of property (Li et al., 2021). The nature of vandalism is quite diverse, some instances being the manifestation of teenage rebellion, while others being the manifestation of antisocial attitudes and perceptions among certain individuals (Yates, 2022). Nonetheless, vandalism is typically condemned unanimously by general audiences as an inherently harmful and ultimately pointless activity (Yates, 2022). Therefore, the act of vandalism under analysis can be seen as an effort to affect the cultural legacy of the U.S. adversely.
The behavior in question was not witnessed by any specific individuals, which is why the culprits are currently unknown. However, the issue at hand is examined and commented over extensively by Pieter Roos, who currently holds the position of the director of the Mark Twain House (Colon & Sobol, 2023). According to the available footage, Roos is quite distraught by the crime yet is fully determined to find out who committed it, as well as ensure that the criminals face the respective charges and punishment.
Though the act of vandalism committed by unknown perpetrators was not confronted or controlled immediately due to the absence of any witnesses, the phenomenon of vandalism itself has been the subject of serious scrutiny for quite some time. Specifically, efforts have been made to introduce regulation and policies that can potentially help curb down the rates of vandalism. These endeavors include policies and regulations establishing vandalism as a punishable offense (Yates, 2022). Namely, vandalism is categorize thoroughly according to the impact and the damage that it produces, therefore, allowing defining the appropriate penalty, which, in the U.S. law, may range from a fine to 7 years in prison (Yates, 2022). Therefore, even though no immediate actions have been undertaken, there is a range of legal standards that allow punishing people perpetrating vandalism. Nevertheless, given the recurrent nature of the offense under analysis, as well as the phenomenon of vandalism, in general, a set of more straightforward and longer-term measures should be introduced.
As a recent instance of vandalism committed in Hartford and aimed at Mark Twain home proves, vandalism is far from being dormant in the American community, yet it is also unanimously condemned by most of its members. Therefore, vandalism could be seen as an activity that is inherently destructive, whether being driven by playfulness or the willingness to hurt an individual or a community deeply. Specifically, in the case under analysis, the act of vandalism against the legacy of Mark Twain House could be regarded as an attempt to again notoriety by destroying a part of American cultural legacy. Thus, even though the damage ids currently fixable, efforts must be taken to minimize instances of vandalism by building awareness and creating programs geared toward addressing the issue.
References
Li, Y., Anderson, J., & Niu, Y. (2021, October). Vandalism detection in OpenStreetMap via user embeddings. In Proceedings of the 30th ACM International Conference on Information & Knowledge Management (pp. 3232-3236).
Colon, C., & Sobol, R. (2023). Police search for suspects after vandalism at Hartford’s Mark Twain home. MSN. Web.
Yates, D., Bērziņa, D., & Wright, A. (2022). Protecting a broken window: Vandalism and security at rural rock art sites. The Professional Geographer, 74(2), 384-390. Web.