There are many motivations for vandalism: simple mischievousness, drawing attention to oneself, or even to draw attention to a political cause. Regardless of the merits of a political cause, though, vandalism is wrong because it destroys something beautiful, which causes harm to those who would have seen it.
There are always methods to draw attention to a cause without such collateral damage. That is why, ultimately, vandalism is an act of selfishness: by choosing this method, the vandal decides unilaterally that what is most important to him (a cause) outweighs the considerations of others (to see something beautiful). And whatever merits his cause may have, his selfishness must be condemned.
What does any of this have to do with football? This is what:
In case you didn't watch the match, it was a friendly between the USA and Brazil. Jermaine Jones put in a tough but fair tackle on Neymar, getting the ball, but then went through the player with his trailing leg. It appeared to be deliberate and Neymar hit the ground hard.
This tackle upset me and many others. Simply put, it was a dirty tackle. But even more upsetting was that the tackle was applauded by many USA fans. One proclaimed that he "loved it" and that this was the way to "send a message". Presumably, that message was that team USA is here to play hard.
I suppose I could complain about the message. What sense does it make to try to show the world how tough you are when it's a friendly... against an under 23 side?
But that's not the real problem. The real problem is that this is not how you send a message. You don't get people to appreciate your team by possibly injuring one of the best players in the world, a player who at age 20 is already mentioned in the same breath as Messi and Ronaldo. You don't get to potentially wreck his season or even his career because you think it's important to draw attention to yourself. That is vandalism. And ultimately, that is selfishness.
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