Vandals Go After Mermaid with Dynamite

Patience is a virtue very familiar to the Little Mermaid, the half-human, half-fish daughter of the Sea King who, according to the story by Hans Christian Anderson, was ordered to wait on a rock for 300 years in order to get a soul.

But even her endurance might be challenged by the repeated efforts of vandals to deface her statue, erected in Copenhagen's harbor ninety years ago.

Late Thursday night, vandals struck again. During a routine patrol, police officers noticed she was missing and launched a search-and-rescue operation, retrieving her from the relatively shallow waters with a crane. When tourists turned up on Friday morning with their cameras poised, they were disappointed.

Damage to the rock where she’s normally anchored and the four bolts which keep her firmly fastened suggest that this time, according to authorities, hoodlums used dynamite to send the bronze mermaid, who weighs in at 175 kilograms (385 pounds), tumbling into the sea.

Mermaid vandals getting more innovative

This is the latest in a long line of increasingly daring attacks aimed at the mermaid. In 1961, perhaps a more innocent time, someone painted her hair red and put her in a bra. But just three years later, the attacks became more vicious when mischief-makers beheaded the melancholy creature, who, when she's got her head at least, looks forever out at the sea.

In 1984 she lost her right arm, and most recently, in 1998 she was decapitated again. She’s been covered in paint more times than most can remember.

“The attacks have increased in frequency in recent years,” said Rebecca Engmann, the managing editor of the Copenhagen Post, an English-language weekly, .

“It seems as if they want to outdo those who came before them, and they must be increasingly innovative to make their way down to the mermaid undetected and demonstrate ever-more technological prowess to find new ways to harass this poor little mermaid.”

In 1997, the well-known Danish artist Jorgen Nash confessed to the first beheading in the 1960s--he viewed the act as a kind of artistic statement. The head was never found and had to be reproduced. Nash says he threw it in a local lake.

The 1998 decapitation remains unsolved, though a radical feminist group did claim responsibility, saying that they wanted to create the image men have of the ideal women, that is, one without a brain. Police later discredited that claim, saying the group was looking for publicity. This time, the head was returned to a local television station, which had offered a reward, and was successfully reattached.

A magnet for violence?

The motives behind the destruction are varied, ranging from creative expression to political statement to the senseless actions of idlers looking for something to destroy. According to Engmann, the mermaid is a good target for anyone looking to get a bit of attention, since she is one of Denmark's most famous attractions and attracts more than 1 million visitors a year.

She’s also an easy target. There are no security guards or cameras keeping her under surveillance. Tourists can climb down on the rocks where she sits for pictures. Despite the recent attacks, there aren't any plans to beef up security.

“It seems to be an unspoken agreement that the little mermaid belongs to us all, and we all have a responsibility to treat her well,” said Engmann.

It's a responsibility the human race doesn't appear to be living up to. If this abuse continues, the little mermaid might reconsider her desire to join the human world, forget the soul and return to her original home in the sea.