You know people, this is the exact reason why the Park Service closed monuments and parks: vandalism is a real problem. But that aside, why is it people are jumping on this guy's case, when the same thing happens on a much larger scale in our country? Every western state has gone out of their way to try appropriate and sell/lease public land to mine, especially lands in national parks. Does anyone realize that they've restarted uranium mining at the Grand Canyon? Does anyone care?
I thought technically the uranium mine wasn't in the official park limits even if it was actually in part of the canyon.
I don't see the big deal. It's a rock. They're all millions of years old. So what? Why isn't the area roped off if it's so important?
Mount Rushmore is an abomination! The Lakota Sioux, whose land this was, had no say in it and look upon it as the ultimate in vandalism of their sacred space.
All of the outraged clucking hens take a step outside, and look back upon your house/apartment/subdivision/cubicle. Rest assured that there was nothing beautiful there in the eons before it existed.
Well I can say for sure that it wasn't built on land specifically set aside for [-]the red man[/-] preservation.
"And then they came and raped the land, Nobody caught 'em, Put up a bunch of ugly boxes and Jesus people bought em'. They called it Paradise, The place to be, They watched the hazy sun, Sinking in the sea." - Eagles, The Last Resort
The Sasquatches probably deserved it. Those damn bastards are always walking in the middle of the frame when people are trying to take pictures.
Boy Scouts toss 2 men who knocked over ancient Utah rock SALT LAKE CITY – Two Utah men already facing possible criminal charges for purposely toppling an ancient rock formation in a state park have now been removed from their posts as Boy Scout leaders. A northern Utah Boy Scouts council announced Monday that Glenn Taylor and Dave Hall will no longer be allowed to lead scouting troops due to what happened Oct. 11 at Goblin Valley State Park, which they filmed and posted on Facebook. The move comes on the heels of the national Boy Scouts of America condemning the men's actions last week and promising a review of the incident. The Boy Scouts' Utah National Parks Council posted a statement on its website saying the men's actions are not in line with the principles the organization teaches about preserving nature. "We encourage all leaders and Scouts to review the `Leave No Trace' principles, as we are all a part of maintaining the integrity, character and the natural beauty of the outdoors for all living things," the statement said. The rock formation they toppled over is about 170 million years old, Utah State Parks spokesman Eugene Swalberg said. The central Utah park is dotted with thousands of the eerie, mushroom-shaped sandstone formations. Hall and Taylor came under fire last week after posting a video on Facebook where Taylor can be seen wedging himself between a formation and a boulder to knock a large rock off the formation's top. Taylor and his two companions can then be seen cheering, high-fiving and dancing. They said the rock formation was loose and they feared it was dangerous. They were leading a group of teenage Boy Scouts on a trip when it happened. Hall said they found out about losing their Boy Scouts positions Monday morning. They had been troop leaders for a few years, Hall said, and hope to continue to be involved in organization in the future using what happened as a teaching point. Both men are from Highland, Utah, about 30 miles south of Salt Lake City. "We've always supported the Boy Scouts and if that's what they feel is best, we support that decision," Hall said. "We're extremely sorry for our mistake. We look forward to doing everything we can to make it right and move on." Utah State Parks authorities are conducting a criminal investigation, and the Emery County Attorney's Office also is reviewing the incident to determine if charges should be filed.
I'm not surprised, the Boy Scouts really is not a good organization and doesn't screen it's leaders well. My dad helped with some boyscout trips when I was young and I went along, they boys were out of control and the scoutmasters didn't care. Later when my dad and uncle took over the troop one of the local scouting higher ups used to hang out at the meetings even though there was no reason to. He would even tell my dad to not pass some of the black boys when they went up for merit badges. Needless to say, it didn't take my dad and uncle long to get disgusted with it and leave. I'm not saying they are all bad, not by a long shot...but they really do need to work harder at keeping their house in order.
So these guys are clearly dipshits, but I'm a bit bothered by the idea of legal consequences. Are we prepared to say that being an asshole on YouTube is a crime, but go ahead and continue to be one in private?
The guy could be charged with a second degree felony - other 2nd degree felony crimes? Manslaughter, robbery, arson, sexual assault, child molestation, theft and aggravated assault. That's beyond ridiculous. Slap him with a fine and send him on his way.
Okay, but was it vandalism? Suppose I pick up a rock and skip it across a stream. Technically I've violated the natural integrity of that location. Or what about all the people who engage in stone balancing? What if the video had shown these guys talking earnestly about acting to remove an unstable rock formation balanced perilously close to the trail? The point is, I think people are enraged by the high fives, the dipshit factor.
Those formations are the reason the area is protected. Your example of skipping a rock across a stream is not equivalent.
There are signs in Sequoia National Park indicating that it's a felony to remove even a tree cone from the park, despite the fact that in the past someone built summer cabins there (since dismantled). I don't know why anyone would want to steal that particular variety of tree cone; they're ridiculously difficult to propagate. Not that I'd know anything about that.
I was in the Boy Scouts, didn't take me long to get tired of it (and the small forest fire didn't help) and leave. The Scoutmasters I had were former Army and treated it as a their own boot camp of sorts. We spent most of the meetings marching in formation, and did very little scout things during the meetings other than uniform inspections and standing at attention. It was a bullshit way to run it, about the only thing we ever did was going on a few camp outs (about 3 in 2 years) and the annual jamboree and a week long summer where we were again treated like we were in boot camp. My mom on the other hand had her own cub scout den, and she always had something interesting or fun to do. She actually got involved and made it great for the kids in her den. The only thing about was that some den moms/dads treated her somewhat badly and tried to make her feel like she didn't belong. Thankfully there were 2 fathers who really appreciated what my mom did for her den and made it known to the other den moms/dads that if they didn't cut their shit then there would be problems. Nope, not at all. Just some fat rednecks who decided to act like assholes and put it on YouTube.
I guess we all live our own lives. If I go out my door right now, there is a huge waning full harvest moon. If I walk to the end of my deck, I see river. Granted not everyone can do this and it is my good fortune, but to claim the habitat we created to live, support and thrive in, is anything comparable to this display of ignorance is trivializing the sense of maintaining that with which we still hold in reverence and regard for what space it is we inhabit. We are not the only specie to alter habitat to suit its needs. Beaver, ants, anything that burrows, sculpts or builds as in nests and dens all alter to suit their need to exist. Obviously man is of skill and ego to believe we can destroy and maintain at the same time.. none the less a random act of stupidity against a rock, that predates bipedal man is worth a sense of outrage... works for me... so I'm going with that
When I was in Boy Scouts, the Den leaders son ALWAYS won all contests, after a year I dropped out because it was all BS..
