Lai, Ten-Herng. Political Vandalism as Counter‐Speech: A Defence of Defacing and Destroying Tainted Monuments
2020, European Journal of Philosophy, 28(3): 602-616
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Added by: Ten-Herng Lai & Chong-Ming LimAbstract:
Tainted political symbols ought to be confronted, removed, or at least recontextualized. Despite the best efforts to achieve this, however, official actions on tainted symbols often fail to take place. In such cases, I argue that political vandalism—the unauthorized defacement, destruction, or removal of political symbols—may be morally permissible or even obligatory. This is when, and insofar as, political vandalism serves as fitting counter-speech that undermines the authority of tainted symbols in ways that match their publicity, refuses to let them speak in our name, and challenges the derogatory messages expressed through a mechanism I call derogatory pedestalling: the glorification or honoring of certain individuals or ideologies that can only make sense when members of a targeted group are taken to be inferior.Comment (from this Blueprint): This paper can be used for discussions of how defacing objectionable commemorations can transform their speech.
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