{"id":8924,"date":"2026-09-16T11:02:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T15:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=8924"},"modified":"2026-09-16T11:02:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T15:02:12","slug":"vandalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2026\/09\/16\/vandalism\/","title":{"rendered":"Vandalism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Senior Prank<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We all know what vandalism is.\u00a0\u00a0I was the Dean of Students, the \u201cdiscipline guy\u201d at a public high school.\u00a0\u00a0Vandalism drove me crazy:\u00a0\u00a0damaged lockers, trashed restrooms, \u201ctagged\u201d walls,\u00a0\u00a0scratched cars, and aimlessly destroyed equipment.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It just seemed like such a waste of energy and time.\u00a0\u00a0My time, running down the vandals themselves.\u00a0\u00a0And their time, by not putting their destructive efforts towards something more positive.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But before my Dean of Students \u201cstint\u201d, I was a senior government teacher.\u00a0\u00a0One of my undocumented duties was to advise the Seniors about their \u201cSenior Prank\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0We wanted them to have an outlet, to channel whatever they did into harmless and non-damaging actions.\u00a0\u00a0Have fun but don\u2019t wreck the school was the mantra.\u00a0\u00a0So when they wanted to build a slip-and-slide down the main hall \u2013 that was funny.\u00a0\u00a0When they built a wooden wall dividing the building in half \u2013 that was OK (but came down fast).\u00a0\u00a0When they filled the entire front lobby with Styrofoam cups of water, that was awesome.\u00a0\u00a0And then there was the greased pig let loose after first period…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when some determined to pour giant jugs of vegetable oil on the hallway floors, that was too far.\u00a0\u00a0And the inevitable, \u201clet\u2019s put crickets in the ventilation system\u201d, or \u201clet\u2019s put super glue in the locks\u201d came out, my job was to squash the idea.\u00a0\u00a0It wasn\u2019t hard:\u00a0\u00a0arrest, fines, failure to graduate all were potential outcomes of going \u201ccrazy\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the night of Senior Prank was always nerve wracking for me, skirting the edge of vandalism.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Becoming Dean of Students was kind of a relief.\u00a0\u00a0I couldn\u2019t be on both sides of the issue anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wanton Destruction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

But most of the common vandalism was aimless destruction for nothing more than the pleasure of doing it.\u00a0Other times it was targeted:\u00a0\u00a0at another student, or a teacher, or a program.\u00a0\u00a0Those acts were an expression of frustration and dislike.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0That was no justification for the damage, but it did at least make some wayward sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we could catch the vandals, we demanded both punishment and restitution.\u00a0\u00a0Sometimes it was \u201cin house\u201d, a school suspension and a bill.\u00a0\u00a0For more serious acts, we involved the local police.\u00a0\u00a0When kids trashed the school buses, smashing windows and flattening tires, they ended up in County Juvenile Court, and they, and their parents, paid for the thousands of dollars in damages.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The word Vandal comes from a Germanic Tribe around the time of the decline of the Western Roman Empire (300-600 AD).\u00a0\u00a0They were pushed around by the Romans, the Goths, the Franks, the Huns, and other tribes of Europe; so much so, the entire tribe migrated across Europe, over the Strait of Gibraltar, and into Northern Africa.\u00a0\u00a0There they consolidated in Carthage, and crossed the Mediterranean to attack the Romans.\u00a0\u00a0In one attack (455 AD) they actually \u201csacked\u201d Rome, thus giving their name to our language today:\u00a0\u00a0vandalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Trump Administration<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I can\u2019t think of a more appropriate word for the actions of the Trump Administration then vandalism.\u00a0\u00a0They have trashed the Federal Government, like a High School senior prank gone far awry.\u00a0\u00a0There are so many examples it\u2019s difficult to categorize \u2013 but here\u2019s a few:<\/p>\n\n\n\n