They can (attempt to) unmask Bansky all they want but his message will never die. Best wishes Banksy!
this post was submitted on 12 Sep 2025
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Fuck are you kidding me?
The plebs are getting rowdy. Surely this will send the message we're hoping for and they'll settle down.
Sounds to me like London just declared all their walls as open season
The piece has not yet been claimed by Banksy, but Defend Our Juries suggested it was the artist's work and depicted the "dystopian" proscription of Palestine Action
This state of paranoia can only result in worsening conditions for everyone.
So the state will assume he's in support and jail him on assumptions? For a painting?
Apparently? Yes. But stencil wall art is not Banksy's exclusive art. Even of it looks like it, just assuming it's banksy and treating the person as a criminal is dumb. Also it seems repressing free speech does the exact opposite.
UK, what the bloody hell is wrong with you.
Our current government is the labour party, the one of the big two that is supposed to be more left leaning. They haven't been left leaning in twenty years, they crept to centrist and now the creep to the right continues. They're not dissimilar from the democrats in America. Internationally, there seems to be a general move towards the right and we are certainly following it. Demonstrations and activism don't seem to help. Shit is fucked, basically.
The UK government as effectively ignored all protests since the poll tax riots. The choice seems either start acting like the French or just sit down and shut up.
Yeah, and I've been on some actions that have kicked off, back in the day, fighting the lines of riot police. It was fun but achieved fuck all. Yeah we need many more people involved in aggressive protests. I don't know if that will help either, but at least we need to mobilise a broader section of the population.
So telling that they tolerated his "criminal damage" for literally decades, until it made them actually look bad.
No.. they just have become more repressive and no longer tolerate being called out. This is a scary reaction for democracy for just a painting on a wall.
Roger Hallam - one of the founders of extinction rebellion - did a series of podcasts from prison I listened to several years back now. He spoke of this move to authoritarianism being an almost inevitable part of the process that can result in a chance of real social change.
I think his assessment of climate change is wrong in some pretty important aspects. But he has studied social change, and he has put his money where his mouth is. He is locked up now I think. It will take quite a few more people to get locked or beaten up, and a further march towards authoritariansim, before the chance of real social change arises, if he is correct.
All the other Banksy's I can think of are just vaguely subversive about the system in general. CCTVs, Policemen kissing, hoodie wearer throwing flowers, assorted things about urban decay, that sort of thing. This is the first one I can think of that calls out a specific current event that you can attach names to.
Banksy is Robert Del Naja from Massive Attack. That's been known for a long time.
“We must catch this villain who is making public edifices worth millions to our oligarchs!!”
They're determined to Streisand Effect this into the history books, huh?
Ah yes, going after world renowned artist for graffiti because he made them feel bad. Truth speaking to power will always be unpopular with those in power.
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Do they realize how famous and beloved that person will be if they are identified?
I just want him up be the most unexpected person.
like Lord buckethead, or the most gammon looking brit on the island
Or trans and from an immigrant family. Banksy is a national treasure as this point and it would be a nice win for British culture and minorities if they turn out not to be just another white guy.
that would also be cool.
So they destroyed a priceless artwork, and are essentially planning to kill graffiti Santa next.
I wonder who's ordering this, and if they're aware it will not help the public opinion problem they're having.
I'm pretty sure they no longer care about public opinion, they're confident there's nothing we can (or will) do.
That is the vibe the UK government gives in particular sometimes. There's been a few issues over the past decade and a bit where they just haven't given a fuck about privacy, free speech or recourse against the authorities.
It's mistake to think that way, though, because the nation actually is a democracy now.
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It means Banksy, who has remained anonymous for more than 25 years, could finally be unmasked as he would be required to publicly disclose his name if brought to court.
Gonna be hard to bring them to court if you don’t even know their name, isn’t it?
With the London surveillance apparatus, I bet they could figure out who Banksy is. It’d be an insane waste of time and resources, but I bet they could.
The fact that they're going to all this trouble over this image proves the point the image was making better than anything else possibly could have.
Streisand Effect to the max.
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Could everyone in London just suddenly adopt a fashion trend of wearing V for Vendetta masks?
... Or is that already illegal?
I am banksy.
spits out chewing tobacco
leans forward in chair, causing spurs to ring
adjusts cattleman hat
squints
Well.
Ain't that just the darndest coincidence.
Me too.
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The UK, in collaboration with the US, has been a surveillance state for over 15 years. Now is becoming an authoritarian one too.
Banksy is as much a person as Nicolas Bourbaki was. Although unlike Bourbaki, there is allegedly one guy who is kind of the main guy, but if that one guy goes to prison, I'm fairly certain Bansky artworks will continue to appear.
In fact I'd put money on the fact that one would appear in a prominent place soon after.
And if the establishment somehow manage to round up every single person associated with Banksy and manage to get something to stick to every single one of them, which I strongly doubt is possible, the rise in wannabe Banksy groups doing the same thing won't be far off.
The artwork is almost always made with stencils and spray paints. Stencils can be prepared well in advance. A trained group could have one of these up in under a couple of minutes.
If I was Banksy - or one of them - I would almost certainly have distributed my art to trusted individuals for the event of my incarceration and beyond.
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I'm pretty sure they already unmasked Banksy
He has been 'unmasked' several times. Kind of a pretty non-descript middle class-ish bloke in jeans etc.
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Nothing will meaningfully improve until the rich fear for their lives
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The article says it could result in a fine that’s based on the value of the damage. You’d think having a famous artist’s work would increase the value of the building.
So, if the damage increased the value of the building, it would necessitate the courts paying? Sounds reasonable.
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