People ahead of property

A thief appreciates property--he just wants it to be his. A vandal--not a petty vandal, but a destroyer--seems to hate the thing and what it represents. In his envy he doesn't want a garden for himself, but to destroy anybody else's garden. And time and effort and love.

The recent riots frequently associated with the protests are larded with both kinds: thieves famished for $300 sneakers and arsonists burning what they can.

In Liberia, except for the Kru who keep dogs as pets, dogs (Basenji) are tools: "Kiki (dog) will fill the pot." Either the dog will help you catch something to eat, or you will eat the dog. And yet I heard a proverb that whoever would kill a dog would kill a man. Possibly this was a Kru proverb, but I wasn't in a Kru area. And they weren't talking about the owner killing his useless dog, but someone else. The dog is "just" property--but the dog-killer is more than merely a property-destroyer. And, don't forget, mere "property" can be the difference between the owner eating and starving.

Sure, people are more important the property, but they are linked. The destroyer may just be destroying property right now, but his hatred threatens people, not just things.