Politics of Street Violence & V@ndalism
The strategy of chevauchée seen practiced by the more violent street elements describing themselves as (A)narchists unknown to even some of its own less sophisticated fanatics (except without the horses or discipline) is one of increasing tensions and fear among the general population by assaults (e.g. against photojournalists) or the wanton destruction of property (or both) hoping to precipitate a scenario where the body politic is ungovernable, inter alia an assault/war against the state, society, and citizens. Viewed in this context, it is a treasonous act rather than merely a series of petty crimes by those who openly profess to be at war with the state, society, civilization itself while promising to ignore/reject all laws and denying the existence of all ‘rights’. Many of the more senior members of this men@ge are college professors, or other professionals holding privileged positions receiving handsome State salaries and possibly never worked a day’s hard labor in their lives. Their acolytes typically consist of lifestyle (A)narchists (spoiled rich kids) who in turn manipulate the homeless, the most desperately poor, and the mentally defective living on (or not) the street to do their dirty work. They post their exploits (‘reports’) on internet sites given to their ’cause’ in an effort to inspire others to follow suit. The more anger/fear they inspire in government officials and the population, the more satisfied they become. This is why innocent citizens may return to find the windows of their vehicles smashed, their tires slashed, their churches vandalized, their police officers threatened/harassed, and those Constitutional principles Americans have come to expect trashed.
A chevauchée (French pronunciation: [ʃəvoʃe], “promenade” or “horse charge”, depending on context) was a raiding method of medieval warfare for weakening the enemy, focusing mainly on wreaking havoc, burning and pillaging enemy territory, in order to reduce the productivity of a region; as opposed to siege warfare or wars of conquest.
The chevauchée could be used as a way of forcing an enemy to fight, or as a means of discrediting the enemy’s government and detaching his subjects from their loyalty. This usually caused a massive flight of refugees to fortified towns and castles, which would be untouched by the chevauchée. The use of the chevauchée declined at the end of the 14th century as the focus of warfare turned to sieges.
In the Iberian peninsula, this type of raid was usually called a cavalgada. The Ghazi razzia is also considered similar in purpose.
