Cancel culture gone mad.
Also I like the idea that it’s the tree breaking that really pissed people off, sure he got drunk and acted like a twat but BREAKING A TREE!!!
I think it's because the tree is a public amenity. Like instead of just being a nuisance to a few people he destroyed something that's there for everyone's benefit. As much as there was a tacit acceptance of people grifting and stealing from supply lines and workplaces, stealing from or damaging public spaces was treated comparatively severely from what I've read. It was probably chosen for the poster because it's a shameful crime against the public without being something sordid or unpleasant to talk about.
I mean the other thing he apparently did is swearing and who the fuck cares?
Take a look at your hands. See how bruised they are? See those little scars? This is Exhibit A. The material world is holding you back. Containers, mailboxes, doors, chairs - they are all your enemies. Always have been. Atoms themselves are in on the conspiracy, forming shapes and structures that you hate. You are energy stuck in a body. You are spirit trapped in matter. Break free! Beat up that lamp post! Let it know just how much objects suck.
Didn't Marx get shitfaced once with friends and go around smashing street lamps or something?
I cant quite explain it, but to me this exists in the overlap between existing culture and styles, and the perpetuation of new values (comradeship, respect for little trees), and the result is this weird but wholesome thing that looks like its from an ARG. Or maybe I just see it that way because growing up in the US involves seeing and passing by a billion grim "IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING" posters
Soviet propaganda and reading black panthers literature helped me a lot in getting me to stop using alcohol as a coping mechanism.
