If you feel dirty, insignificant or unloved, then rats are a good role model. They exist without permission, they have no respect for the hierarchy of society, and they have sex 50 times a day.
BanksyRead
Some people become cops because they want to make the world a better place. Some people become vandals because they want to make the world a better looking place.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote contrasts two perspectives on improving the world, highlighting the complexity of motivations behind actions.
Banksy's quote presents a thought-provoking commentary on the nature of societal roles and the intentions behind them. It suggests that while some individuals are driven by a desire to protect and serve their communities, others may pursue a different, more rebellious path in the pursuit of beauty and expression. Both paths aim at changing the world but represent different values and ethics, suggesting that both actions—whether by law enforcement or through vandalism—stem from a desire to make the world more appealing in their own ways.
Themes
CopsVandalsWorldBetter PlaceArtBeautyMotivation
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the role of art in society.
More from Banksy
All quotes →T.V. has made going to the theatre seem pointless, photography has pretty much killed painting but graffiti has remained gloriously unspoilt by progress.
BanksyRead
I originally set out to try and save the world, but now I'm not sure I like it enough.
BanksyRead
Graffiti ultimately wins out over proper art because it becomes part of your city, it' s a tool; "I'll meet you in that pub, you know, the one opposite that wall with a picture of a monkey holding a chainsaw". I mean, how much more useful can a painting be than that?
BanksyRead
Think outside the box, collapse the box, and take a f**king sharp knife to it.
BanksyRead
Gaza is often described as 'the world's largest open air prison' because no-one is allowed to enter or leave. But that seems a bit unfair to prisons - they don’t have their electricity and drinking water cut off randomly almost every day.
BanksyRead
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So to the wretched writer I should like to say that there’s one body only whose request for your caresses is not vulgar, is not unchaste, untoward, or impolite: the body of your work itself; for you must remember that your attentions will not merely celebrate a beauty but create one; that yours is love that brings it own birth with it, just as Plato has declared, and that you should therefore give up the blue things of this world in favor of the words which say them
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