Fecking vandal(s)

[Arch]

Last night, someone or someones cut all the chains on the swings in our playground at work. Six swings in total, clean cut through each chain with boltcroppers. Sheer vandalism. If they'd been nicking the chain for scrap, they wouldn't have just cut them once in the middle and left the bits. Somehow, nicking it for scrap would have at least had a purpose.

There's a local nutter who says he wants to turn the reserve back into a landfill site, because it was more fun then. Yes, it's so much more fun for the local kids, with no swings. We don't know it's him, but it's possible.

I'm in favour of rigging the culprit up as a swing seat, preferably face down so that a succession of fat kids sitting on his back snaps his spine.

 

[swee'pea99]

What an arse. Whoever it was. But without getting (too) pompous, and in complete ignorance, I do think there's something to be said for not 'convicting' people, however nutty, without real evidence. It probably was him, but what if you discovered it wasn't after you'd turned him into a swing? How silly would you feel then? Not to forget what an arse.

 

[Globalti]

Sounds like the same kind of person who has sawn off all the council approved direction signs my MTB club erected on the trails on Billinge Hill, just outside Blackburn.

 

[coffeejo]

Indeed. Plus a few and and for good measure.

 

[sunnyjim]

As an upstanding member of the community I obviously agree with the OPs outrage.
OTOH, As a former 12 year old, swings did nothing for me but I spent many happy hours playing on the local 'coup' . To the dismay of my parents, I dragged many odd 'valuables' home, (some of which I still have...) but never found a set of boltcutters, so it wisnae me.

 

[phil_hg_uk]

There are some right knobheads about.
Someone set fire to a local kids adventure playground not long back and burnt it to the ground tossers

 

[Panter]

Playgrounds, FFS. Just when you think certain "members of society" can't get any lower, the bar is lowered yet again.

 

[compo]

Sounds like the same kind of person who has sawn off all the council approved direction signs my MTB club erected on the trails on Billinge Hill, just outside Blackburn.

I would put my money on ramblers or horse riders.

 

[PBancroft]

[QUOTE 1863031, member: 76"]Are you sure it wasn't a health and safety numpty from the council?[/quote]

I'd put a significant amount of money on that not being the case.

EDIT: And for what its worth, Arch, I would back stringing the portions of the culprits bodies to the remains of the chains for the kids to ride. Hate vandalism with a passion. Utterly pointless and cowardly.

 

[smokeysmoo]

Absolute bar stewards. Don't get wrong, I wasn't always this sensible law abiding 39 year old model citizen that sits before you today, oh no! (shut up at the back).

We used to swing the swings right round to shorten the chain, and even *shock horror* swing them round until there was no chain left and the seat was at the very highest point, BUT, we tended to always leave them as we found them when we moved away.

It would never, (indeed did never), enter our young minds to physically destroy something in this way.

A local park to me had their curly slide burned down last year, the scumbags turned it into a molten mass of plastic one night, probably compliments of Red Bull and Jagermeister. Feckin' feckless feckers

 

[asterix]

's one thing I like about this part of France. No vandalism. No graffiti.

There was once some minor vandalism about 2 years ago. It was a British ex-pat's kid. He was given some 'education'* and I know he is now older and wiser.

*non-violent

 

[Lisa21]

Never mind all this, I just wish I had a playground at work....................................

 

[fossyant]

's one thing I like about this part of France. No vandalism. No graffiti.

There was once some minor vandalism about 2 years ago. It was a British ex-pat's kid. He was given some 'education'* and I know he is now older and wiser.

*non-violent

Shame, non violent. Hope he had to fix or re-paint it.

 

[asterix]

Shame, non violent. Hope he had to fix or re-paint it.

My theory is that violence is self-perpetuating and a poor example to set.

In the UK the problem is more with laziness or indifference or commercial interest that leads to such behaviour, often starting at a very early age. The parents of the youth had upped sticks to move to France partly, they say, because the child, aged 11, had started getting into trouble in the town where they lived. He was given a crash course in the language and soon became fluent but was immature and not academically gifted. Now a young adult he has been successfully attending a college learning a trade.

 

[Arch]

My theory is that violence is self-perpetuating and a poor example to set.

It is, but sometimes, sheer fury makes it seem like a good solution.

I find I have a rather back to front feeling about crime and punishment. Big stuff like murder and large scale theft etc, I'm happy for prison to be the answer, and like to think there's hope for rehabilitation. However, faced with vandalism and petty theft (especially of beloved items like bikes), I'm all for the death penalty. I suppose it's because that sort of stuff is the crime I'm more likely to encounter.

Ho hum. We have no swings for the foreseeable future, unless and until we get the money together to get them fixed. And when you're constantly having to replace and repair things (like noticeboards, planters etc) you start to wonder why you bother.