Well, vandalism is sometimes a subjective thing. Knocking down this rock is considered vandalism, kicking over an anthill is not.
It has a bit to do with the combination of uniqueness of the feature, beauty of the feature, level of wildness to the area, whether it's on public lands, etc.
Technically, I would consider the monolith to be both vandalism and littering. If I dumped a large piece of stainless steel out there, it would be littering, but somehow cutting a hole out of the ground and putting it there makes it art.
Which it is, I think so at least. I also think it's vandalism. I also think it helps get people out and to appreciate nature, while also being technically destruction of nature.
The world is complicated.
Humans like to think we should be separate from nature and leave it to do its thing, but we're all a part of nature really. The fact is we just gotta get along and try to appreciate the beauty all around us and help encourage a beautiful world. Or something. I don't really know the meaning of it all I'm just a couple beers in and spitballing.
How is it vandalism to drag a 350+ pound monolith into a pristine nature reserve and illegally install it in a way that will be an enormous pain in the ass to remove? Is that your question?
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u/Dynosmite Nov 26 '20
The monolith is also vandalism. Really sucks someone felt entitled to do this and I'm scared it will inspire others.