There is no 'putting this rock back'. These formations are the result of uneven erosion that takes place over thousands to millions of years.
...and things go from bad to worse for this guy. He just filed a lawsuit for disability last month claiming he has a bad back. http://news.yahoo.com/man-toppled-ancient-rock-suing-disability-183757302--abc-news-topstories.html
I don't know about the scouts of America, but over here there was none of that doctrine. We could even skip the 'so help me god' part at the installation. Funny thing, I wasn't an atheist at all back then, but I skipped it anyway. Perhaps it was just nerves. As for these three, it is vandalism and I agree that just some firm words won't do them much good. I don't think charging them with a 2nd degree felony is a good idea either though...
Here's a funny anecdote that probably doesn't matter. Two buddies of mine went to a state park on a middle school field trip, got lost, found a cave, and saw some weird graffiti on the walls. They picked up chalk rocks (because they were bored, lost, preteen boys) and filled in the drawings with the chalk. Eventually a teacher found them sitting in a cave doodling on the walls. No harm done, right? Alas, the "graffiti" were 1000 year old Native American cave paintings. Whoops. My buddies were doing community service for that transgression until they graduated high school.
Luckily prosecutors have some discretion, and hopefully sense will prevail. Though I suspect they'll be taking a look at his disability claim, and if that is fraudulent he could face a lot more problems from that than from the rock.
as well he should... thanks to cell phones and utube, a goodly number of idiot perps have been 'hoist on their own petards'...
Yes. not exactly the brightest guys on the planets. I remember a few years ago a meerkat was stolen from the Kansas City zoo, and the story of the missing animal made the news. Then, some guys pop up on Facebook with pictures of themselves and their new meerkat. They were caught.
On a random note, I quit Girl Scouts because nobody cared enough to make it a good troop. Anyway, this is absolutely ridiculous. Why would you do something like that?
This boulder probably weighs multiple tons. Under normal circumstances, an average or even strong man wouldn't be able to move such a thing. So when an opportunity arises to push a teetering monstrous boulder over a cliff, the inclination is certainly palpable. It may have to do with a mans evolutionary instinct to perform a feat of strength to attract a mate.
I didn't see too many potential mates around. Unless they're really looking to get thrown out of the Boy Scouts
It will probably depend on the public outcry. From what I read, it didn't sound so much like a disability claim, but a P.I. case against another individual. Certainly the video would come in as evidence to disprove his claims of disability and injury. Facebook and such certainly make it easier to show one's stupidity. Years and years ago, a guy stole a Gabon Viper from the National Zoo. He put it in a garbage bag and boarded a bus. Well, the snake didn't really like being put in a trash bag, so it bit the guy. That made him easy to catch, although the hospital had no anti-venom, since those snakes were not endemic to the Washington, D.C. area. I can certainly see a group of young men having the inclination to do this. I've heard so many tales of idiocy coming from that demographic. But that's all the more reason to impose strict penalties and use them as an example for said young men to restrain themselves.
Ah. Thanks for the info. It does sound like this isn't going to help his PI case at all. Maybe the other side can bring a counterclaim based on the video evidence, I don't know.
