200 million year old rock formation toppled over in Utah.

[TripletDaddy]

People are even bigger idiots than the vandals themselves if you believe they did it for the children. Have you seen the video?

If you believe their explanations, you should go have yourself checked for Asperger's based on an inability to read obvious social cues.

This is a very good point and has turned the thread on its ear. Prior to your observation, most people were really on board with the rationale the vandals were offering. Now we are all forced to reconsider.

[falafel]

Yep prepare for them to start roping things off.

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They might be tempted to do that, but as soon as they start roping these areas off, visitation plummets. Park officials are in a precarious situation here I think.

[scottie]

This is a very good point and has turned the thread on its ear. Prior to your observation, most people were really on board with the rationale the vandals were offering. Now we are all forced to reconsider.

[TripletDaddy]

They might be tempted to do that, but as soon as they start roping these areas off, visitation plummets. Park officials are in a precarious situation here I think.

I think most national parks would benefit from strategically placed ropes. I hate how everyone just wanders around taking pictures and looking at things. Ropes make things much more orderly. They could also use nicer velvet ropes to "fast pass" certain visitors to see the rocks before everyone else.

[Paperback Writer]

I think that's fair, and I'm more than willing to admit I may not have the proper perspective or the proper respect for the land down there. Don't get me wrong, I do think what they did was wrong and the lack of integrity they have displayed since the video surfaced, pisses me off as well. $500 to $1000 looked right to me initially, but if they are charged with a felony, I won't be shedding any tears for them.

Charge them with a felony and then let them plead to something less along with a fine (as has been suggested) and a community service and education requirement so that they could learn proper respect. How about picking up trash and beer cans from state campgrounds and doing some service projects like putting the rock back as others have suggested.

[Indy Coug]

I tend to agree. $500 - $1000 fine and be done with it.

This.

[Dwight Schr-ute]

Hopefully this guy has some good quality prepaid legal services at his disposal.


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[falafel]

Charge them with a felony and then let them plead to something less along with a fine (as has been suggested) and a community service and education requirement so that they could learn proper respect. How about picking up trash and beer cans from state campgrounds and doing some service projects like putting the rock back as others have suggested.

And if he doesn't plead to the lesser charge? These guys are idiots and they might actually believe (now) this garbage about saving lives. You then have to go for a felony conviction and 1 year in jail for pushing a rock over.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Part of the dynamic here for this thing going viral is the sheer stupidity of these people. Start with the content of the video and then add on the fact that they posted it online and then the idiotic things they keep saying as it blows up. It's like a stupidity train wreck.

[cougjunkie]

Part of the dynamic here for this thing going viral is the sheer stupidity of these people. Start with the content of the video and then add on the fact that they posted it online and then the idiotic things they keep saying as it blows up. It's like a stupidity train wreck.

One of the guys has a wide open facebook page. I saw a link to it last night and it has about 500 comments all calling him an idiot.

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[creekster]

At what point is it okay to push over a rock formation? Let's say it is only 100 years old, is it okay then? What if it's not really that interesting of a rock formation, but it's still a rock formation, okay then? Just curious if someone has info on where the line turns grey and then turns black.

And without that precise definition we should ignore the obvious examples?

[Dwight Schr-ute]

At what point is it okay to push over a rock formation? Let's say it is only 100 years old, is it okay then? What if it's not really that interesting of a rock formation, but it's still a rock formation, okay then? Just curious if someone has info on where the line turns grey and then turns black.

Considering that it's against the law to even pick wild flowers inside a national park, I'm guessing that the answer is hardly ever. If you're in a national or state park that was designated to protect some unique feature, then it shouldn't take too much brain activity to cause one to stop and reconsider. These guys willingly and gleefully pushed over a Goblin Valley hoodoo, the very feature that the park was designed to protect.


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[scottie]

Not sure anyone has ever sung "Wiggle it... Just a little bit" worse than the guy filming the video.

[snowcat]

Suppose someone walked into a museum and permanently destroyed a very old work of art. Slap on the wrist?

Goblin valley is a treasure. There is nothing quite like it in the world. Zero tolerance is the right approach for cases like this.

The coolest thing about Goblin Valley is that you can explore it and walk around the formations. Due to idiots like this, I could see them denying public access at some point.

Agree completely. This stupidity really pisses me off.

[imanihonjin]

Agree completely. This stupidity really pisses me off.

So you think these guys should go to prison for a year or more?