http://www.usatoday.com/media/cinematic/video/3008447/ancient-rock-destroyed-by-giddy-trio/ Three men in Utah pushed over a rock in a state park and could face felony charges and be banned from the Boy Scouts. Is this much ado about nothing? If one person could push it over, I don't think it would have lasted very long anyways. Still, I think pushing a rock is a little tame for what's being discussed for penalties.
many little boys never grow up, sad to say... why shouldn't vandalism be a felony? 'pushing a rock' in this case, is every bit as much a crime as throwing green paint on national monuments/treasures, imo... and calls for punishment... as for those 'nether parts' being scout leaders and even involving the son of one of them in their stupidity, it sure calls for all three being banned from scoutdom, in my book...
First, their defense/justification that they pushed it over because it was loose and they were worried it would fall on someone is complete BS and totally at odds with their attitude and actions in the video. Second, while I agree that it did seem very easy for one person to push it over, and perhaps it would not have lasted that much longer anyway, it is irrelevant. The point is that the park is full of these sorts of rock formations, and they are likely similar -- that is, probably most of them would be fairly easy to topple. That doesn't mean that it is therefore okay for people to go in and topple them. There would very quickly not be any left, and this natural phenomenon would no longer exist for everyone to see and enjoy. You're not supposed to remove or move lava rocks from some volcanic parks, either. Sure, one person removing one rock wouldn't cause any real ascertainable harm to the park. But if everyone removed the rocks, there could be significant harm. When the natural parks have specific rules not to f*ck with the natural formations, those rules need to be followed. Otherwise, why have any rules? Why preserve the parks at all?
Incredibly ignorant, selfish and disrespectful jerks, and the penalties are not too harsh for the crime, IMO. That was a state park, owned by the public and they had no right to damage anything.
Dartmoor, a wilderness hard by me, is full of granite stacks that seem to defy known physical laws. Quite honestly it's always very tempting - when one's blood is up - to try one's strength by giving them a little push. I can understand the urge. Stern words and perhaps a little education is in order.
Felony charges seem a bit silly, but I think a misdemeanor charge is entirely warranted. A warning and making this an educational experience wouldn't bother me either.
As a nature lover, I find it completely offensive. Perhaps it would have tumbled on its own, but it hadn't in all the time it had been there. If it were a hazard, the park rangers could put up barriers for safety, and make them blend in with the landscape. It was mindless, knee-slapping vandalism, and they should be prosecuted fully. Make an example of them. As Boy Scout leaders, they should have known better.
You don't need the felony prosecution to send a message, and I can't think of a good reason to go to that extreme. A misdemeanor charge and substantial fine would be just as good if you're looking at deterrence, both in a specific and general sense. Bringing a felony charge doesn't seem to me to serve any purpose, and is more vindictive than anything else. I suppose whether any of them have prior records will influence that, but barring that I hope the prosecutors will take a more measured approach.
I think that felony versus misdemeanor should logically follow the rules for other forms of vandalism. What's the penalty for, say, throwing paint at a work of art in a museum, or shoving a work of art off its plinth so that it shatters on the floor? I think that the penalty for this should be similar. It's certainly not, IMO, an occasion for "naughty, naughty, but boys will be boys" smiling indulgence. Edited to add: I see that in San Francisco (the first example that came up on my search), graffiti damage that exceeds $400 can be punished as a felony, with a fine of up to fifty thousand dollars and up to three years in prison. I would consider this act to be more serious than the graffiti, so a felony penalty seems right in line.
I caught this on TV and gave it a pass as fluff news, but... that's kinda' sad that that's the way I saw it from first view. What does that say about the relativity of things when my initial response is "Meh, inbreds." to the defacing of not only a public park but of part of America's natural beauty? I won't chime in on the felony/misdemeanor bit, but as for being expelled from the Scouts, every patch should be stripped and their names stricken in an elaborate ceremony (Scouts love ceremonies). I was a Scout. This is an utterly un-Scouting event.
While I don't believe a word that they did it for safety reasons it may have done someone a future favour. Although doing something this stupid for the sake of bravado, these scout leaders, Latter Day Saint church-goers should be arrested on grounds of stupidity especially after putting their imbecilic video on facebook - knob-heads! See them next week on World's Dumbest...
like banning gay scout-leaders, sorry I have no time for scouts or their so-called values - apologies for going off-topic, please resume with the in-breds.
Lots and lots and lots more community service cleaning up parks should be the punishment, with the felony hanging over their head if they do not complete all their hours.
Or maybe they should be made put it back the same way they took it down - by hand - and not feed them till he's finished!
LOL While of course I don't disagree with any of that, the Scouts are up front about the anti-gay mindset. That behavior, though I disagree with it to the core, is part of their internal doctrine. Hypocrisy is not the sin being committed there. But the kind of behavior these shallow-enders participated in is very much against what is accepted Scouting doctrine.
My dad wouldn't let me join the boyscouts because they said you had to believe in God to be a member, and he didn't think that was right, especially since they were recruiting at school where there is supposed to be a separation of church and state.
It could easily be put back minus a few small pebbles. Not trying to cover for these idiots but it was gonna fall soon enough anyway; it was barely hanging if El Stupido could just lean against it to push it over.
Unless I'm completely confused about what this is, it can't be put back - not easily, and not at all. These freaky precariously balanced rocks weren't put there, they ended up there through a very long period of erosion. Once they're removed, their geological significance is permanently destroyed. Edited to add: And, again, based on what I've read about similar-sounding structures, I believe that it might have continued to balance there for hundreds of years, as an amazing and seemingly-impossible phenomenon. They destroyed that.
Not true. Once dislodged it cannot be restored as it was. The support is damaged by the act. These idiots knew what they were doing. They could not have had any involvement in the Scouts without knowing. They simply didn't care. It's clear in the video they took, and even in the fact they shot a video of it. They were showing off for any other Cro-mags they could impress.
If they thought it was loose and knocked it over because they feared for other's safety, why didn't they knock of some more of those other hundreds of rocks that look like they are about to fall over too? You know, for safety.
