Generally my neighborhood in Zürich is quiet, with minimal disruptions. I live in the Seefeld section of Riesbach. As a result, disruptions — when they happen — really stand out: Like this, which happened early Sunday morning (22-Sep-2019).
The city is commemorating the 500th anniversary of the reformation in Zürich. Herr H. Zwingli (whose name still appears on many local streets and other parts of the Swiss landscape, including many prominent statues that are more permanent than the fallen installation in the picture above) was the driving force behind the reformation in Zürich.
The history of the reformation is interesting to me since I was raised in the Lutheran Church and I was taught many aspects of the reformation in Germany as promulgated by Martin Luther through his teachings. I am happy and fortunate to live in a place with so many connections to my childhood, since H. Zwingli was influenced so directly by Martin Luther.
I am not (yet) a permanent resident of Switzerland, nor a citizen (I still have a lot of German to learn before I can even contemplate either of those things!) but I felt very disappointed, sad, and somewhat angry at the disrespect that was dealt to this defenseless educational statue (with recordings in German, French, Latin, and Hebrew). I took this vandalism personally. It’s my neighborhood and I don’t want people damaging public property — or polluting the view with graffiti.
Let’s respect each other and quietly enjoy life in this beautiful city. We are all privileged to live here. As recorded in the Swiss Constitution, there are four primary principles cited in the Preamble that should govern life in Switzerland:
In the name of Almighty God! The Swiss People and the Cantons,
- mindful of their responsibility towards creation,
- resolved to renew their alliance so as to strengthen liberty, democracy, independence and peace in a spirit of solidarity and openness towards the world,
- determined to live together with mutual consideration and respect for their diversity,
- conscious of their common achievements and their responsibility towards future generations,
- and in the knowledge that only those who use their freedom remain free, and that the strength of a people is measured by the well-being of its weakest members,
adopt the following Constitution […]
There is no excuse — whether or not you are Swiss…and whether or not you are a resident of Zürich — to treat public property with disrespect. It does not matter if you agree or disagree with the purpose of the statue! The statue represents the effort of other humans to respect their traditions and to educate people about them. This is a continuation of 500 years of history of this city and if you don’t want to participate in the reformation…you don’t have to. Liberty and openness imply that you are free to believe what you want, as long as you don’t infringe upon the rights of others to believe (and practice) their beliefs.
Even graffiti, which has been increasing of late, is a sign of disrespect to the community. Intentionally damaging public property is anti-social behavior and should be curtailed unless it’s an expression of free speech (in the case of the graffiti in Seefeld, it appears to be content-free tagging).
Vandalism can have a chilling effect on the full exercise of the rights of the people. If people don’t feel free, they won’t fully participate in the society. We all suffer when people feel oppressed.