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{{For|the band|Vandalism (band)}}
{{about|the decapitation device|other uses|Guillotine (disambiguation)}}
{{pp-semi-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{selfref|For vandalism-related policy on Wikipedia, see [[Wikipedia:Vandalism]].}}


'''Vandalism''' is the behaviour attributed to the [[Vandal]]s, by the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]]s, in respect of [[culture]]: ruthless [[destruction]] or spoiling of anything [[Beauty|beautiful]] or [[venerable]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Oxford English Dictionary|url=http://www.oed.com|accessdate=2008-05-06|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref> Such action includes [[criminal damage]], [[defacement (vandalism)|defacement]], [[graffiti]] and crass erection of an [[eyesore]].
[[Image:guillotinemodels.jpg|thumb|right|Historic replicas (1:6 scale) of the two main types of French guillotines: Model 1792, left, and Model 1872 (state as of 1907), right]]


==History of the term==
The '''guillotine''' ([[Help:IPA|pronounced]] {{IPA|/ˈgiːjətiːn/}} or {{IPA|/ˈgɪlətiːn/}} in English; {{IPA|[gijɔtin]}} in French) was a device used for carrying out [[capital punishment|execution]]s by [[decapitation]]. It consists of a tall upright frame from which a [[blade]] is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the victim's head from his or her body. The device is noted for long being the main method of execution in [[France]] and, more particularly, for its use during the [[French Revolution]]. The guillotine also "became a part of popular culture, celebrated as the people's avenger by supporters of the Revolution and vilified as the preeminent symbol of [[the Terror]] by opponents".<ref>R. Po-chia Hsia, Lynn Hunt, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, and Bonnie G. Smith, ''The Making of the West, Peoples and Culture, A Concise History, Volume II: Since 1340'', Second Edition (New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2007), 664.</ref>
Historically, vandalism has been justified by painter [[Gustave Courbet]] as destruction of monuments symbolizing "war and conquest". Therefore, it is often done as an expression of contempt, creativity, or both. Vandalism is only a meaningful concept in a culture that recognizes [[history]] and [[archaeology]]. Like other similar terms ([[Barbarian]]/[[barbary]], and [[Philistine]]), the term ''Vandal'' was originally an [[ethnic slur]] referring to the [[Vandals]], who under [[Geiseric]] [[Sack of Rome (455)|sacked]] [[Rome]] in 455. The Vandals, like the Philistines, no longer exist as an identifiable ethnic group.
The term in its modern acceptance was coined in January 1794 during the [[French Revolution]], by [[Henri Gregoire|Henri Grégoire]], [[constitutional bishop]] of [[Blois]], in his report directed to the Republican Convention, where he used word ''Vandalisme'' to describe some aspects of the behaviour of the republican army. [[Gustave Courbet]]'s attempt, during the 1871 [[Paris Commune]], to dismantle the [[Place Vendôme|Vendôme column]], a symbol of the past [[Napoleon III of France|Napoleon III]] authoritarian Empire, was one of the most celebrated events of vandalism. [[Friedrich Nietzsche|Nietzsche]] himself would meditate after the Commune on the "fight against culture", taking as example the intentional burning of the [[Tuileries Palace]] on May 23, 1871. "The criminal fight against culture is only the reverse side of a criminal culture" wrote [[Pierre Klossowski|Klossowski]] after quoting Nietzsche.<ref name="klossowski">See [[Pierre Klossowski]], ''Nietzsche and the Vicious Circle'', first Chapter: What is the value of culture if those who are exploited by it destroy it? ''"En sorte qu'il nous faut être bien loin de vouloir, du haut de notre sentiment de nous-mêmes, imputer le crime d'un combat contre la culture exclusivement à ces malheureux.'' Je sais ce que cela veut dire: le combat contre la culture. (...) '' je me campronnai avec une conviction sérieuse à la valeur métaphysique de l'art, lequel ne saurait exister à cause des pauvres gens, mais doit accomplir des missions plus hautes. Mais, en dépit de mon extrême douleur, je n'étais pas en état de jeter la moindre pierre à ces profanateurs qui, pour moi, n'étaient que les suppôts de la culpabilité universelle, sur laquelle il y a beaucoup à méditer!"'' (Nietzsche quoted by Klossowski pp.29-30 French edition, who adds: ''"Le combat criminel contre la culture n'est lui-même que l'envers d'une culture criminelle"'' ("The criminal fight against culture is only the reverse side of a criminal culture")</ref>


In a proposal to the International Conference for Unification of Criminal Law held in Madrid in 1933, [[Raphael Lemkin]] envisaged the creation of two new international crimes (delicta [[jus gentium|juris gentium]]): the crime of barbarity, consisting in the extermination of racial, religious or social collectivities, and the crime of vandalism, consisting in the destruction of cultural and artistic works of these groups.<ref>[[Raphael Lemkin]]: [http://www.preventgenocide.org/de/lemkin/anwaltsblatt1933.htm Akte der Barbarei und des Vandalismus als delicta juris gentium], Anwaltsblatt Internationales (Wien), November 1933.</ref> The proposal was not accepted.
The guillotine became notorious (and acquired its name) in [[France]] at the time of the [[French Revolution]]; however, guillotine-like devices, such as the [[Halifax Gibbet]] and [[maiden (beheading)|Scottish Maiden]], existed and were used for executions in several [[Europe]]an countries long before the French Revolution, the earliest reference to the Halifax Gibbet dating back to 1286. The first documented use of the (Irish) Maiden was in 1307 in [[Ireland]],<ref>Robertson, Patrick ''The Book of Firsts'' Clarkson Potter, 1974.</ref> and there are accounts of similar devices in [[Italy]] and [[Switzerland]] dating back to the 15th century. Nevertheless, the French developed the machine further and became the first nation to use it as a standard execution method.
[[Image:Joseph-Ignace Guillotin cropped.JPG|thumb|right|Portrait of [[Joseph-Ignace Guillotin|Dr. Guillotin]]]]
[[Image:The Maiden dsc05364.jpg|thumb|left|px=150|The [[Maiden (beheading)|Scottish Maiden]], an older [[Scotland|Scottish]] design. This example is an exhibit at the [[Museum of Scotland]], [[Edinburgh]]]]
[[Image:Halifaxengine.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Halifax Gibbet]], a device that predates the guillotine]]


==Vandalism as crime==
Sensing the growing discontent, [[Louis XVI of France|Louis XVI]] banned the use of the [[breaking wheel]].<ref name="MM">{{cite video| people = Executive Producer Don Cambou | title = Modern Marvels: Death Devices || publisher =A&E Television Networks | year =2001}}</ref> In 1791, as the [[French Revolution]] progressed, the [[National Assembly]] sought a new method to be used on all condemned people regardless of class. Their concerns contributed to the idea that capital punishment’s purpose was the ending of life instead of the infliction of pain.<ref name="MM"/>
{{Cleanup|date=February 2008}}<!-- does anyone know about a template to mark too much humor? -->
Private citizens commit vandalism when they willfully damage or deface the [[property]] of others or the [[commons]]. Some vandalism qualifies as [[culture jamming]] or [[sniggling]]{{ndash}} it is artistic in nature as well as being carried out illegally or without the property owner's permission. Examples include at least some [[graffiti]] art, billboard liberation and possibly [[crop circles]]. [[Criminal]] vandalism has many forms, [[graffiti]] on [[public property]] is common in many [[inner cities]] as part of a [[gang]] [[culture]], however other more devastating forms such as those involved with public unrest, such as [[rioting]], involve the willful destruction of public and [[private property]], Vandalism per se is often considered one of the least serious common crimes, but it can become quite serious and distressing when committed extensively, violently or as an expression of hatred and intimidation.


===Examples===
A committee was formed under [[Antoine Louis]], physician to the King and Secretary to the Academy of Surgery.<ref name="MM"/> [[Joseph-Ignace Guillotin]], a professor of anatomy at the facility of medicine in Paris, was also on the committee. The group was influenced by the Italian Mannaia (or Mannaja), the [[Maiden (beheading)|Scottish Maiden]], and the [[Halifax Gibbet]]. While these prior instruments usually crushed the neck or used blunt force to take off a head, their device used a crescent blade and a lunette (a hinged two part yoke to immobilize the victim’s neck).<ref name="MM"/>
Examples of vandalism include salting lawns, cutting trees without permission, [[egging|egg throwing]], breaking windows, [[arson]], spraying paint on others' properties, [[tagging]], placing glue into locks, tire slashing, ''keying'' (scratching) paint, ransacking a place and flooding someones house by clogging a sink and leaving the water on.


[[Image:Lecvandalismsanctuarydoor.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The destruction of glass windows and doors is a form of vandalism.]]
Laquiante, an officer of the [[Strasbourg]] criminal court, made a design for a beheading machine and employed [[Tobias Schmidt]], a [[Germany|German]] [[engineer]] and [[harpsichord]] maker, to construct a prototype. Antoine Louis is also credited with the design of the prototype. An apocryphal story claims that King Louis XVI (an amateur locksmith) recommended a triangular blade with a beveled edge be used instead of a crescent blade<ref name="MM"/> however, it was Schmidt who suggested placing the blade at an oblique 45-degree angle and changing it from the curved blade.<ref>{{cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Joseph Ignace Guillotin | work = | publisher = whonamedit.com | date = | url = http://www.whonamedit.com/doctor.cfm/2275.html | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2008-03-09}}</ref>
[[Image:SR165sign.jpg|thumb|A caution sign damaged by [[bullet]] holes.]]
[[Image:KeyedPaintOnCar.JPG|thumb|Side of a car that has been ''keyed''.]]
In the case of vandalism to private property, while the owner/victim may feel that they were specifically targeted by the perpetrator(s), this is not necessarily the case. An example of such a crime would be the willful destruction of a car window for no obvious purpose save to give the perpetrator(s) possibly a few seconds of entertainment, with no consideration, or empathy for the detriment to the state of mind or inconvenience of the victim.


===Motives===
The basis for the machine's success was the belief that it was a [[humane]] form of execution, contrasting with the methods used in pre-revolutionary, ''[[ancien régime]]'' France. In France, before the guillotine, members of the [[nobility]] were beheaded with a sword or axe, while commoners were usually hanged, a form of death that could take minutes or longer. Other more gruesome methods of executions were also used, such as [[Breaking wheel|the wheel]], [[burning at the stake]], etc. In the case of decapitation, it also sometimes took repeated blows to sever the head completely, and it was also very likely for the condemned to slowly bleed to death from their wounds before the head could be severed. The condemned or the family of the condemned would sometimes pay the executioner to ensure that the blade was sharp in order to provide for a quick and relatively painless death in which one's head is cut off.
Reasoning for such actions can be attributed to anger, envy or spontaneous, opportunistic behaviour{{ndash}} possibly for peer acceptance or [[bravado]] in [[gang]] cultures, or disgruntlement with the target (victim) person or society. Opportunistic vandalism of this nature may also be filmed, the mentality of which can be akin to [[happy slapping]]. The large scale prevalence of gang graffiti in some inner cities has almost made it acceptable to the societies based there{{ndash}} so much so that it may go unnoticed, or not be removed, possibly because it may be a fruitless endeavour, to be graffitied on once again.


===Reaction of authorities===
The guillotine was thus perceived to deliver an immediate death without risk of suffocation. Furthermore, having only one method of execution was seen as an expression of equality among citizens. The guillotine was then the only [[capital punishment in France|legal execution method in France]] until the abolition of the death penalty in 1981, apart from certain crimes against the security of the state, which entailed execution by [[firing squad]].
In view of its incivility, [[punishment]] for vandalism can be particularly severe in some countries. In [[Singapore]], for example, a person who attempts to cause or commits an act of vandalism may be liable to [[imprisonment]] for up to 3 years and in conjunction may be punished with [[caning]]. The act of vandalism in UK is construed as an [[environmental crime]] and may be dealt with an [[ASBO]] (Anti-Social Behavior Order).


Former [[New York City]] [[mayor]] [[Rudolph Giuliani]] made a crackdown on vandalism a centerpiece of his anti-crime agenda in the 1990s, asserting that a strong campaign against nonviolent "quality of life" crimes such as vandalism would cause a corresponding decrease in violent crime. However much credit can be given to Giuliani's anti-vandalism crusade, FBI statistics claim that New York's crime rate plummeted during his tenure.<ref>{{cite press release |title=FBI Crime Statistics For Calendar Year 2000 Show Drop In New York City Crime |publisher=NYC Mayor's Press Office |date=2001-05-30 |url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/om/html/2001a/pr181-01.html |accessdate=2007-08-04 }}</ref>
==Guillotine in France==
===Reign of Terror===
[[Image:Execution robespierre, saint just....jpg|left|thumb|The execution of [[Robespierre]]]]
The period from June 1793 to July 1794 in France is known as the [[Reign of Terror]] or simply "the Terror". The upheaval following the overthrow of the [[monarchy]], invasion by foreign monarchist powers and the [[Revolt in the Vendee]] combined to throw the nation into chaos and the government into frenzied paranoia. Most of the democratic reforms of the revolution were suspended and large-scale executions by guillotine began. The first political prisoner to be executed was Collenot d'Angremont of the National Guard, followed soon after by the King's trusted collaborator in his ill-fated attempt to moderate the Revolution, [[Arnaud de Laporte]], both in 1792. Former [[Louis XVI of France|King Louis XVI]] and Queen [[Marie Antoinette]] were executed in 1793. [[Maximilien Robespierre]] became one of the most powerful men in the government, and the figure most associated with the Terror. The [[Revolutionary Tribunal]] sentenced thousands to the guillotine. [[French nobility|Nobility]] and commoners, intellectuals, politicians and prostitutes,{{Fact|date=June 2007}} all were liable to be executed on little or no grounds; suspicion of "crimes against liberty" was enough to earn one an appointment with "Madame Guillotine" (also referred to as "The National Razor"). Estimates of the death toll range between 15,000 and 40,000.{{Fact|date=June 2007}}


==Vandalism as art==
[[Image:Guillotine.jpeg|thumb|right|Public guillotining in [[Lons-le-Saunier]], 1897.
{{Details|Graffiti}}
Picture taken on [[20 April]] [[1897]], in front of the jailhouse of Lons-le-Saunier, Jura. The man who was going to be beheaded was Pierre Vaillat, who killed two elder siblings on Christmas Day, 1896, in order to rob them and was condemned for his crimes on [[9 March]] [[1897]].]]
[[Image:Graffiti in Bucharest, July 2007.jpg|thumb|[[Graffiti]] is a common form of vandalism]]
At this time, Paris executions were carried out in the Place de la Revolution (former Place [[Louis XV of France|Louis XV]] and current [[Place de la Concorde]]) (near the [[Louvre]]); the guillotine stood in the corner near the Hôtel Crillon where the statue of Brest can be found today.
[[Image:Germanicus Graffiti.jpg|thumb|upright|A bust of [[Germanicus Caesar]]. Note the cross incised on the statue's forehead and the broken off nose.<ref>[http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/gr/b/basalt_bust_of_germanicus.aspx British Museum]</ref> ]]


Though vandalism in itself is illegal, it is often also an integral part of modern popular culture. French painter [[Gustave Courbet]]'s attempt to disassemble the [[Place Vendôme|Vendôme column]] during the 1871 [[Paris Commune]] was probably one of the first artistic vandalist acts, celebrated at least since [[Dadaism|Dada]] performances during [[World War I]]. The Vendôme column was considered a symbol of the past [[Napoleon III of France|Napoleon III]] empire, and dismantled as such.
For a time, executions by guillotine were a popular entertainment that attracted great crowds of spectators. Vendors would sell programs listing the names of those scheduled to die. People would come day after day and vie for the best seats; knitting female citizens ([[tricoteuses]]) formed a cadre of hardcore regulars, inciting the crowd as a kind of anachronistic cheerleaders. Parents would bring their children. By the end of the Terror the crowds had thinned drastically. Excessive repetition had staled even this most grisly of entertainments, and audiences grew bored.


After the burning of the [[Tuileries Palace]] on [[May 23]] [[1871]], Philosopher [[Friedrich Nietzsche]] himself meditated about the "fight against culture", wondering what could justify culture if it were to be destroyed in such a "senseless" manner (the arguments are: culture is justified by works of art and scientific achievements; exploitation is necessary to those achievements, leading to the creation of exploited people who then fight against culture. In this case, culture can't be legitimised by art achievements, and Nietzsche writes: "I {also} know what it means: fighting against culture". After quoting him, [[Pierre Klossowski|Klossowski]] writes: "The criminal fight against culture is only the reverse side of a criminal culture"<ref name="klossowski"/>
Eventually, the National Convention had enough of the Terror, partially fearing for their own lives, and turned against Maximilien Robespierre. In July 1794 he was arrested and executed in the same fashion as those whom he had condemned. This arguably ended the Terror, as the French expressed their discontent with Robespierre's policy by guillotining him.<ref>
{{cite web
|title =The Reign of Terror
|work =French Revolution Exhibit
|url =http://www.historywiz.com/terror.htm
|accessdate = }}</ref>


As destruction of [[monument]], vandalism can only have sense in a culture respecting [[history]], [[archeology]] - Nietzsche spoke of ''monumental history''. As destruction of monumental history, vandalism was assured a long [[life]] (as [[Herostratus]] proved): [[Performance art]] could make such a claim, as well as [[Hakim Bey]]'s ''poetic terrorism'' or ''Destroy 2000 Years of Culture'' from [[Atari Teenage Riot]]. Gustave Courbet's declaration stated:
===Guillotine retired===
The last ''public'' guillotining was of [[Eugène Weidmann]], who was convicted of six murders. He was beheaded on June 17, 1939, outside the prison Saint-Pierre rue Georges Clémenceau 5 at [[Versailles]], which is now the Palais de Justice. The allegedly scandalous behaviour of some of the onlookers on this occasion, and an incorrect assembly of the apparatus, as well as the fact it was secretly filmed, caused the authorities to decide that executions in the future were to take place in the prison courtyard. [[Jules-Henri Desfourneaux]], the presiding "number one" executioner at this time was variously reported as slow, possibly drunk, and indecisive, certainly a far cry from his well-regarded immediate predecessor Anatole Deibler. He was also prone to arguing with his cousin and "number two" [[André Obrecht]] which led to the latter's resignation on two separate occasions, the last involving a fistfight between the pair after an execution.


<blockquote>"Attendu que la colonne Vendôme est un monument dénué de toute valeur artistique, tendant à perpétuer par son expression les idées de guerre et de conquête qui étaient dans la dynastie impériale, mais que réprouve le sentiment d’une nation républicaine, [le citoyen Courbet] émet le vœu que le gouvernement de la Défense nationale veuille bien l’autoriser à déboulonner cette colonne."<ref>{{cite web |language=French |title=La Colonne Vendôme déboulonnée |publisher= |url=http://www.histoire-image.org/site/etude_comp/etude_comp_detail.php?analyse_id=60 |accessdate=2007-08-04 }}</ref></blockquote>
The guillotine remained the official method of execution in France until France abolished the death penalty in 1981. The last guillotining in France was that of torture-murderer [[Hamida Djandoubi]] on September 10, 1977.


<blockquote>("As the Vendôme column is formally considered a monument devoid of any artistic value, tending to perpetuate with its expression ideas of war and conquest of the past imperial dynasty, that are reprobated by a republican nation's sentiment, citizen Courbet is to emit his wish that the National Defense government will allow him to dismantle this column.")</blockquote>
==Guillotine in other countries==
[[Image:Fallbeil muenchen 1854.jpg|left|thumb|200 px|German Fallbeil of 1854, Munich<br/>(Historic replica 1:6 scale)]]


Hence, painter Courbet justified the dismantlement of the Vendôme column on political grounds, downgrading its artistic value. Vandalism poses the problem of the value of art compared to life's hardships: Courbet thought that the political values transmitted by this work of art neutralized its artistic value. Anyway, his project wasn't followed, however, on [[April 12]], [[1871]], the dismantlement of the imperial symbol was voted by the Commune, and the column taken down on [[May 8]]. After the assault on the [[Paris Commune]] by [[Adolphe Thiers]], Gustave Courbet was condemned to pay part of the expenses. As any good vandal, he preferred flying away to [[Switzerland]].{{POV-statement|date=March 2009}}
As has been noted, there were guillotine-like devices in countries other than France before 1792. A number of countries, especially in Europe, continued to employ this method of execution into modern times.


In 1974, [[Norman Mailer]] glorified the art of vandalism in Faith of Graffiti, which likened tagging in New York City to the work of Giotto and Rauschenberg. New York City responded by coating subway walls with Teflon paint, jailing taggers and requiring hardware stores to keep spray paint inventories under lock and key.<ref>[http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/fine-art-si-vandalism-no Fine Art, Sí, Vandalism, No]</ref>
In [[Antwerp]], [[Belgium]], the last beheaded was [[Francis Kol]]. Convicted for robbery with murder, he received his punishment on May 8, 1856. During the period from March 19, 1798 until March 12, 1856, the town of [[Antwerp]] counted 19 beheadings<ref>Gazet van Mechelen, May 8th, 1956</ref>


[[Graffiti|Tags]], [[designs]], and [[Styles of Writing|styles of writing]] are commonplace on clothing and are an influence on many of the corporate [[logos]] with which we are familiar. Many [[skateparks]] and similar youth-oriented venues are decorated with commissioned graffiti-style artwork, and in many others patrons are welcome to leave their own. There is still, however, a very fine line between vandalism as an artform, as a [[political statement]], and as a [[crime]]. An excellent example of one who walks this threefold line is [[Bristol]] born guerrilla-artist [[Banksy]], who is revered as a cult artistic figure by many, but seen by others as a [[criminal]].
In [[Germany]], where the guillotine is known in German as ''Fallbeil'' ("falling axe"), it was used in various German states from the 17th century onwards, becoming the usual method of execution in [[Napoleon]]ic times in many parts of Germany. The guillotine and the firing squad were the legal methods of execution during the [[German Empire]] (1871-1918) and the [[Weimar Republic]] (1919-1933).

The original German guillotines resembled the French Berger 1872 model but eventually evolved into more specialised machines largely built of metal with a much heavier blade enabling shorter uprights to be used. Accompanied by a more efficient blade recovery system and the eventual removal of the tilting board (or bascule) this allowed a quicker turn-around time between executions, the victim being decapitated either face up or down depending on how the executioner predicted they would react to the sight of the machine. Those deemed likely to struggle were backed up from behind a curtain to shield their view of the device.

In 1933 [[Hitler]] had a guillotine constructed and tested. He was impressed enough to order 20 more constructed and pressed into immediate service.<ref name="MM"/> Nazi records indicate that between 1933 and 1945, 16,500 people were executed in Germany and Austria by this method.<ref name="MM"/> In Nazi Germany, beheading by guillotine was the usual method of executing convicted criminals as opposed to political enemies, who were usually{{Fact|date=March 2008}} either hanged or shot. By the middle of the war, however, policy changed: the six members of the [[White Rose]] anti-Nazi resistance organisation were beheaded in 1943, as were a hundred or more [[conscientious objectors]] from that date, including [[Franz Jägerstätter]], beheaded in Berlin on August 9, 1943. The last execution in what would later become [[West Germany]] took place on May 11, 1949, when 24-year-old Berthold Wehmeyer was beheaded in [[Moabit]] prison, [[West Berlin]], for murder and robbery. When [[West Germany]] was formed in 1949, its [[Grundgesetz|constitution]] prohibited the death penalty; East Germany abolished it in 1987, and [[Austria]] in 1968.

In [[Sweden]], where beheading was the mandatory method of execution, the guillotine was used only once, for the very last execution in the country, in 1910 at [[Långholmen prison]], [[Stockholm]].

In [[Republic of Vietnam|South Vietnam]], after the Diệm regime enacted the 10/59 Decree in 1959, mobile special military courts dispatched to the countryside to intimidate the rural peoples used guillotines belonging to the former French colonial power to carry out death sentences on the spot.<ref>{{cite book | last = Mrs Nguyen Thi Dinh | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = Mai V. Elliott | title = No Other Road to Take: Memoir of Mrs Nguyen Thi Dinh | publisher = Cornell University Southeast Asia Program | date = 1976 | location = | nopp = 1 | pages = p. 27 | url = | isbn = 087727102X }}</ref> One such guillotine is still on show at the [[War Remnants Museum (Ho Chi Minh City)|War Remnants Museum]] in [[Ho Chi Minh City]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Farrara | first = Andrew J. | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Around the World in 220 Days: The Odyssey of an American Traveler Abroad | publisher = Buy Books | date = 2004 | location = | nopp = 1 | pages = p. 415 | url = | isbn = 074141838X }}</ref>

Although the guillotine has never been used in the [[United States]] as a legal method of execution (it was considered in the 19th century before introduction of the [[electric chair]]), in 1996 Georgia state legislator Doug Teper proposed the guillotine as a replacement for the [[electric chair]] as the state's method of execution to enable the convicts to act as [[organ donation|organ donors]]. The proposal was not adopted.

==Living heads==
[[Image:Execution of Languille in 1905.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Execution of Languille in 1905]]
From its first use, there has been debate as to whether the guillotine always provided as swift a death as Guillotin hoped. With previous methods of execution, there was little concern about the suffering inflicted. As the guillotine was invented specifically to be "humane", however, the issue was seriously considered. Furthermore, there is the possibility that the very swiftness of the guillotine only prolonged the victim's suffering. The blade cuts quickly enough so that there is relatively little impact on the brain case, and perhaps less likelihood of immediate unconsciousness than with a more violent decapitation, or long-drop [[hanging]].

Audiences to guillotinings told numerous stories of blinking eyelids, speaking, moving eyes, movement of the mouth, even an expression of "unequivocal indignation" on the face of the decapitated [[Charlotte Corday]] when her cheek was slapped. Anatomists and other scientists in several countries have tried to perform more definitive experiments on severed human heads as recently as 1956. Inevitably, the evidence is only anecdotal. What appears to be a head responding to the sound of its name, or to the pain of a pinprick, may be only random muscle twitching or automatic reflex action, with no awareness involved. At worst, it seems that the massive drop in cerebral blood pressure would cause a victim to lose consciousness in several seconds.<ref>[http://tafkac.org/medical/decapitated_head_blinking_more.html Excerpt from British Medical Journal, Vol 294: February, 1987], quoting ''Proges Medical'' of July 9, 1886, on the subject of research into "living heads".</ref>

The following report was written by a Dr. Beaurieux, who experimented with the head of a condemned prisoner by the name of Henri Languille, on June 28, 1905:<div style="clear:right;"></div>

{{Quote|''Here, then, is what I was able to note immediately after the decapitation: the eyelids and lips of the guillotined man worked in irregularly rhythmic contractions for about five or six seconds. This phenomenon has been remarked by all those finding themselves in the same conditions as myself for observing what happens after the severing of the neck...

''I waited for several seconds. The spasmodic movements ceased. [...] It was then that I called in a strong, sharp voice: 'Languille!' I saw the eyelids slowly lift up, without any spasmodic contractions – I insist advisedly on this peculiarity – but with an even movement, quite distinct and normal, such as happens in everyday life, with people awakened or torn from their thoughts''.

''Next Languille's eyes very definitely fixed themselves on mine and the pupils focused themselves. I was not, then, dealing with the sort of vague dull look without any expression, that can be observed any day in dying people to whom one speaks: I was dealing with undeniably living eyes which were looking at me. After several seconds, the eyelids closed again[...]''.

''It was at that point that I called out again and, once more, without any spasm, slowly, the eyelids lifted and undeniably living eyes fixed themselves on mine with perhaps even more penetration than the first time. Then there was a further closing of the eyelids, but now less complete. I attempted the effect of a third call; there was no further movement – and the eyes took on the glazed look which they have in the dead''.<ref>
{{cite web
| title =''Report From 1905'''
| work =The History of the Guillotine
| author =Dr. Beaurieux
| url =http://www.guillotine.dk/Pages/30sec.html
| accessdate =2009-02-13 }}</ref>}}

== Suicides ==

There have been several incidents in recent years in which people built homemade guillotines to commit suicide.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/tyne/2974083.stm Guillotine death was suicide], BBC News, 24 April, 2003</ref><ref>[http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article86366.ece Dad's suicide by guillotine], The Sun, 3 April 2004</ref><ref>[http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/14099445/detail.html Police Find Man's Body, Guillotine In Wooded Area], WDIV Detroit, 12 September 2007</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
*[[Environmental vandalism]]
*[[Henri Désiré Landru]]
*[[Eugen Weidmann]]
*[[Iconoclasm]]
*[[Malicious mischief|Malicious Mischief]]
*[[Marcel Petiot]]
*[[Bals des victimes]]
*[[Decapitation]]
*[[Flying guillotine (weapon)]]
*[[Plötzensee Prison]]
*[[Use of capital punishment by nation]]


==References==
==References==
{{wiktionarypar|vandalism}}
{{Commons|Category:Vandalism|Vandalism}}
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
{{Types of crime}}
* {{cite book | author= Gerould, Daniel | title=Guillotine; Its Legend and Lore | publisher=Blast Books| year=1992 | isbn=0-922233-02-0}}

* The American Band "Escape The Fate" has two songs titled "The Guillotine" and "The Guillotine II (This War Is Ours)

==External links==
{{commons}}
{{wikiquote}}
*[http://www.guillotine.dk/ The Guillotine Headquarters] with a gallery, history, name list, and quiz.
*[http://site.voila.fr/guillotine/ L'art de bien couper] a French site with a quite complete list of guillotined criminals, pictures, history.
* [http://boisdejustice.com/History/History.html Bois de justice] History of the guillotine, construction details, with rare photos (English)
* [http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=3719870415811922675&ei=p81JSYT3AYSa-wGZgZ28Cg&q=Eugen+Weidmann&hl=en Video showing the 1939 execution of Eugen Weidmann]

* {{cite web
| last =Fabricius
| first =Jørn
| title =The Guillotine Headquarters
| date =
| url =http://www.guillotine.dk/Pages/Guillot.html
| accessdate = }}


[[Category:Execution methods]]
[[Category:Crimes]]
[[Category:Capital punishment in France]]
[[Category:French words and phrases]]
[[Category:Execution equipment]]
[[Category:Vandalism| ]]


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[[sk:Gilotína]]
[[sl:Giljotina]]
[[tr:Vandallık]]
[[sr:Гиљотина]]
[[vls:Vandalisme]]
[[sh:Гиљотина]]
[[zh:破壞]]
[[fi:Giljotiini]]
[[sv:Giljotin]]
[[th:กิโยติน]]
[[tr:Giyotin]]
[[uk:Ґільйотина]]
[[zh:斷頭台]]

Revision as of 22:39, 9 May 2009

For the band, see Vandalism (band).
For vandalism-related policy on Wikipedia, see Wikipedia:Vandalism.

Vandalism is the behaviour attributed to the Vandals, by the Romans, in respect of culture: ruthless destruction or spoiling of anything beautiful or venerable.[1] Such action includes criminal damage, defacement, graffiti and crass erection of an eyesore.

History of the term

Historically, vandalism has been justified by painter Gustave Courbet as destruction of monuments symbolizing "war and conquest". Therefore, it is often done as an expression of contempt, creativity, or both. Vandalism is only a meaningful concept in a culture that recognizes history and archaeology. Like other similar terms (Barbarian/barbary, and Philistine), the term Vandal was originally an ethnic slur referring to the Vandals, who under Geiseric sacked Rome in 455. The Vandals, like the Philistines, no longer exist as an identifiable ethnic group. The term in its modern acceptance was coined in January 1794 during the French Revolution, by Henri Grégoire, constitutional bishop of Blois, in his report directed to the Republican Convention, where he used word Vandalisme to describe some aspects of the behaviour of the republican army. Gustave Courbet's attempt, during the 1871 Paris Commune, to dismantle the Vendôme column, a symbol of the past Napoleon III authoritarian Empire, was one of the most celebrated events of vandalism. Nietzsche himself would meditate after the Commune on the "fight against culture", taking as example the intentional burning of the Tuileries Palace on May 23, 1871. "The criminal fight against culture is only the reverse side of a criminal culture" wrote Klossowski after quoting Nietzsche.[2]

In a proposal to the International Conference for Unification of Criminal Law held in Madrid in 1933, Raphael Lemkin envisaged the creation of two new international crimes (delicta juris gentium): the crime of barbarity, consisting in the extermination of racial, religious or social collectivities, and the crime of vandalism, consisting in the destruction of cultural and artistic works of these groups.[3] The proposal was not accepted.

Vandalism as crime

Private citizens commit vandalism when they willfully damage or deface the property of others or the commons. Some vandalism qualifies as culture jamming or sniggling– it is artistic in nature as well as being carried out illegally or without the property owner's permission. Examples include at least some graffiti art, billboard liberation and possibly crop circles. Criminal vandalism has many forms, graffiti on public property is common in many inner cities as part of a gang culture, however other more devastating forms such as those involved with public unrest, such as rioting, involve the willful destruction of public and private property, Vandalism per se is often considered one of the least serious common crimes, but it can become quite serious and distressing when committed extensively, violently or as an expression of hatred and intimidation.

Examples

Examples of vandalism include salting lawns, cutting trees without permission, egg throwing, breaking windows, arson, spraying paint on others' properties, tagging, placing glue into locks, tire slashing, keying (scratching) paint, ransacking a place and flooding someones house by clogging a sink and leaving the water on.

The destruction of glass windows and doors is a form of vandalism.
A caution sign damaged by bullet holes.
Side of a car that has been keyed.

In the case of vandalism to private property, while the owner/victim may feel that they were specifically targeted by the perpetrator(s), this is not necessarily the case. An example of such a crime would be the willful destruction of a car window for no obvious purpose save to give the perpetrator(s) possibly a few seconds of entertainment, with no consideration, or empathy for the detriment to the state of mind or inconvenience of the victim.

Motives

Reasoning for such actions can be attributed to anger, envy or spontaneous, opportunistic behaviour– possibly for peer acceptance or bravado in gang cultures, or disgruntlement with the target (victim) person or society. Opportunistic vandalism of this nature may also be filmed, the mentality of which can be akin to happy slapping. The large scale prevalence of gang graffiti in some inner cities has almost made it acceptable to the societies based there– so much so that it may go unnoticed, or not be removed, possibly because it may be a fruitless endeavour, to be graffitied on once again.

Reaction of authorities

In view of its incivility, punishment for vandalism can be particularly severe in some countries. In Singapore, for example, a person who attempts to cause or commits an act of vandalism may be liable to imprisonment for up to 3 years and in conjunction may be punished with caning. The act of vandalism in UK is construed as an environmental crime and may be dealt with an ASBO (Anti-Social Behavior Order).

Former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani made a crackdown on vandalism a centerpiece of his anti-crime agenda in the 1990s, asserting that a strong campaign against nonviolent "quality of life" crimes such as vandalism would cause a corresponding decrease in violent crime. However much credit can be given to Giuliani's anti-vandalism crusade, FBI statistics claim that New York's crime rate plummeted during his tenure.[4]

Vandalism as art

Further information: Graffiti
Graffiti is a common form of vandalism
A bust of Germanicus Caesar. Note the cross incised on the statue's forehead and the broken off nose.[5]

Though vandalism in itself is illegal, it is often also an integral part of modern popular culture. French painter Gustave Courbet's attempt to disassemble the Vendôme column during the 1871 Paris Commune was probably one of the first artistic vandalist acts, celebrated at least since Dada performances during World War I. The Vendôme column was considered a symbol of the past Napoleon III empire, and dismantled as such.

After the burning of the Tuileries Palace on May 23 1871, Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche himself meditated about the "fight against culture", wondering what could justify culture if it were to be destroyed in such a "senseless" manner (the arguments are: culture is justified by works of art and scientific achievements; exploitation is necessary to those achievements, leading to the creation of exploited people who then fight against culture. In this case, culture can't be legitimised by art achievements, and Nietzsche writes: "I {also} know what it means: fighting against culture". After quoting him, Klossowski writes: "The criminal fight against culture is only the reverse side of a criminal culture"[2]

As destruction of monument, vandalism can only have sense in a culture respecting history, archeology - Nietzsche spoke of monumental history. As destruction of monumental history, vandalism was assured a long life (as Herostratus proved): Performance art could make such a claim, as well as Hakim Bey's poetic terrorism or Destroy 2000 Years of Culture from Atari Teenage Riot. Gustave Courbet's declaration stated:

"Attendu que la colonne Vendôme est un monument dénué de toute valeur artistique, tendant à perpétuer par son expression les idées de guerre et de conquête qui étaient dans la dynastie impériale, mais que réprouve le sentiment d’une nation républicaine, [le citoyen Courbet] émet le vœu que le gouvernement de la Défense nationale veuille bien l’autoriser à déboulonner cette colonne."[6]

("As the Vendôme column is formally considered a monument devoid of any artistic value, tending to perpetuate with its expression ideas of war and conquest of the past imperial dynasty, that are reprobated by a republican nation's sentiment, citizen Courbet is to emit his wish that the National Defense government will allow him to dismantle this column.")

Hence, painter Courbet justified the dismantlement of the Vendôme column on political grounds, downgrading its artistic value. Vandalism poses the problem of the value of art compared to life's hardships: Courbet thought that the political values transmitted by this work of art neutralized its artistic value. Anyway, his project wasn't followed, however, on April 12, 1871, the dismantlement of the imperial symbol was voted by the Commune, and the column taken down on May 8. After the assault on the Paris Commune by Adolphe Thiers, Gustave Courbet was condemned to pay part of the expenses. As any good vandal, he preferred flying away to Switzerland.[neutrality is disputed]

In 1974, Norman Mailer glorified the art of vandalism in Faith of Graffiti, which likened tagging in New York City to the work of Giotto and Rauschenberg. New York City responded by coating subway walls with Teflon paint, jailing taggers and requiring hardware stores to keep spray paint inventories under lock and key.[7]

Tags, designs, and styles of writing are commonplace on clothing and are an influence on many of the corporate logos with which we are familiar. Many skateparks and similar youth-oriented venues are decorated with commissioned graffiti-style artwork, and in many others patrons are welcome to leave their own. There is still, however, a very fine line between vandalism as an artform, as a political statement, and as a crime. An excellent example of one who walks this threefold line is Bristol born guerrilla-artist Banksy, who is revered as a cult artistic figure by many, but seen by others as a criminal.

See also

References

Look up vandalism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vandalism.
  1. ^ "Oxford English Dictionary". Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  2. ^ a b See Pierre Klossowski, Nietzsche and the Vicious Circle, first Chapter: What is the value of culture if those who are exploited by it destroy it? "En sorte qu'il nous faut être bien loin de vouloir, du haut de notre sentiment de nous-mêmes, imputer le crime d'un combat contre la culture exclusivement à ces malheureux. Je sais ce que cela veut dire: le combat contre la culture. (...) je me campronnai avec une conviction sérieuse à la valeur métaphysique de l'art, lequel ne saurait exister à cause des pauvres gens, mais doit accomplir des missions plus hautes. Mais, en dépit de mon extrême douleur, je n'étais pas en état de jeter la moindre pierre à ces profanateurs qui, pour moi, n'étaient que les suppôts de la culpabilité universelle, sur laquelle il y a beaucoup à méditer!" (Nietzsche quoted by Klossowski pp.29-30 French edition, who adds: "Le combat criminel contre la culture n'est lui-même que l'envers d'une culture criminelle" ("The criminal fight against culture is only the reverse side of a criminal culture")
  3. ^ Raphael Lemkin: Akte der Barbarei und des Vandalismus als delicta juris gentium, Anwaltsblatt Internationales (Wien), November 1933.
  4. ^ "FBI Crime Statistics For Calendar Year 2000 Show Drop In New York City Crime" (Press release). NYC Mayor's Press Office. 2001-05-30. Retrieved 2007-08-04.
  5. ^ British Museum
  6. ^ "La Colonne Vendôme déboulonnée" (in French). Retrieved 2007-08-04.
  7. ^ Fine Art, Sí, Vandalism, No
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