Banal Terrorism: Re-Appropriating Terror-Prevention Concrete Bollards in Melbourne’s CBD

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article describes some of the ways in which Melbourne residents responded to the overnight installation of rough one-metre-cubed grey bollards in the city’s CBD following the 2017 vehicle attacks targeting pedestrians. We contend that the purpose of the bollards as protection from those wanting to harm “us” has resulted in the normalisation of the threat of terrorism, and its integration as an aesthetic part of Melbourne’s urbanscape. Reflection on a collection of visual examples of concrete bollard decoration, activism, humour, art and other uses shows popular re-appropriation, taking back these visible reminders of fear and danger. Katz’s idea of banal terrorism is reframed here to acknowledge the agentic power of culture in these everyday uses in Melbourne’s CBD. The mix of uses—political, aesthetic, venial—reflects proactive engagement contrasting with the United States’ focus on the pervasiveness of bollards as correlates of terror. These bollards provide canvases for activism and street art; they enable sitting/leaning/waiting, even serving as cigarette receptacles.