[wewtyflakes]

The article indicates that the activists knew that the paintings would not be damaged, as there is a protective covering for the art. The quote:

"How do you feel when you see something beautiful and priceless being apparently destroyed before your very eyes?"

Being as they said, "apparently", and that a similar stunt was pulled previously, of which also had protective covering, seems to show that nobody intended (or did) destroy anything.

[BitwiseFool]

I'm going to be upfront and say that I'm glad it was protected, but that doesn't make it right. If you are an average person, you probably read this headline and did not envision the art being behind glass. Your first thought was probably intrigue about what the damage looked like, and then hoping the damage can be reversed.

If you are an activist, or you condone this kind of thing, it is important to realize that the average person is not going to delve any farther into this story in order to give the activists the benefit of the doubt. They are going to be upset that an innocent work of art was vandalized - even if it wasn't actually harmed in any way. They will associate the cause with unhinged and irrational people.

[serf]

> The article indicates that the activists knew that the paintings would not be damaged, as there is a protective covering for the art. The quote:

all it takes is a single copy-cat to ruin a less protected piece.

their message is shocking and attention-grabbing, not responsible.

They won't take responsibility but when Joe-Bob runs into the next museum and legitimately destroys something whilst emulating their antics it will have been their fault for instigating this recent spree.

[ben_w]

To be blunt, the public obviously includes people suffering from paranoid schizophrenia delusions that make them believe they are an ambulance[0] and therefore "drive" into a painting where someone is injured in order to rescue them or something.

Or bored kids with crayons will try colouring it in and/or peeling off gold foil[1] if it has any, or well meaning idiots will try to restore it like that Jesus picture, or a hundred other things because the public isn't just the best of us, it's all of us.

If art isn't protected, it will be damaged. Failing to take preemptive defensive measures against predictable threats is not as blame-worthy as the actual proximal causes, of course, but it's still blame-worthy.

[0] I've met someone who had to be sectioned after something similar made them think they were a car and therefore started walking along the middle of a lane.

[1] I've witnessed that.