Well, the humiliation of all this - twits posting something online they have no clue is a bad thing - is already something they’ll have with the for the rest of their lives.
I don’t quite know how to deal with this type of Internet shaming. I mean, are these guys idiots who, for want of a better term, vandalized a National Park site? Yes - but folks sending death threats or calling for super-aggressive punishments sound like a lynch mob, not reasonable people seeking justice and a teaching moment…
They’re certainly at the very least guilty of vandalism, and if the crime of vandalism scales with the value of the property damaged, it’s pretty big vandalism. I would also expect that there’s probably some specific law that deals with destruction of natural formations on federal land, and if so, they’re guilty of that, too. They’re also guilty of extreme stupidity, as evidenced by them filming themselves committing the previously-mentioned crimes, but I don’t think US or Utah law has any penalties written for that.
It has now come out that that piece of trash was in a fender bender prior to this incident and filed a personal injury lawsuit claiming permanent and debilitating back injuries. I can’t link from my phone but there is a beautiful video of a reporter dropping that news on that smug mother fucker and the expression on his face is priceless.
Watching the video, the rock spins before falling away from him. The guy pushing it is lucky it didn’t crush his legs.
It’s not their place to make that decision. They could have warned the Park Service. They should face charges. I’d expect a plea deal will be reached (one that’s closer to the $500 fine than $100,000).
They should make an example of them. Park rangers can’t be everywhere, so most park visitors need to be self-policing. The authorities need to send a very strong message that this sort of vandalism is totally unacceptable.
Vandalism is never right. And their explanation – they were afraid it would fall and hurt some kids – is one of the greatest insults to intelligence in the history of jurisprudence.
$500? I don’t see a smiley-face here. California charges almost that much for some totally safe but technically illegal moving traffic violations. If destroying hoodoos became a new pastime, I’m sure the parks could charge more than that to raise money. $500?
Wishing death on them is ridiculous, and the people who are literally calling for blood need to simmer down a little.
That said, it is “just a rock,” but it was an ancient and delicate formation. The whole point of these National (or State) Parks is to protect natural wonders so they can be studied and enjoyed by future generations. You don’t go spraypainting dicks on pristine cave walls, or cutting down ancient trees for firewood. I can’t understand the mindset of these guys at all. It’s disrespectful assholes like this that make official protection of these areas necessary in the first place.
I think it’s partly hubris and partly the impact of the crime. When I was a kid, a friend who stole a couple stop signs displayed them in his bedroom and few knew of the vandalism. But if he had posted a video of the theft the sticklers for justice would have a platform to express outrage and they guy whose teenaged daughter died because she sailed into a busy stop sign less intersection would have someone to blame.
Don’t blame the audience when a fame and attention hungry jerk posts evidence of jerkishness.
