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AIBU?

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Original poster

to wonder why anyone would do this...

59 replies

wineoclockthanks · 25/06/2017 21:21

We have a lovely local park, big field and in the playground area they planted some beautiful apple trees about 4 years ago. They have grown (obviously!) and this year they bore fruit for the first time.

Yesterday evening, a group of teenagers destroyed every single tree Sad. They either snapped the trunk or the main branches and kicked them out of the ground. A friend whose house overlooks the park saw the and called 101 but by the time the Police arrived, they'd scarpered.

I just don't get it, what's the point? What possible pleasure can they get from destroying things, living thing, that we're so beautiful. I did some silly things as a teenager, but something like that would never have crossed my mind.

I despair, I really do Sad Angry

OP posts:
figandvanillacandle · 25/06/2017 23:06

Stuff at our school is constantly getting wrecked. It's bizarre.

LastGirlOnTheLeft · 25/06/2017 23:12

Thanks Ace!!! 👍

I work with young people who do things like this and for the most part they are sorry when they get caught.

gobbin · 25/06/2017 23:13

We need to do some kind of civic responsibility work with them in schools I think

We need to force parents to parenting classes, more like.

SabineUndine · 25/06/2017 23:14

The council planted saplings along the road where I live two years ago and school kids ripped half the branches off two of them. I cried when I saw it. Good thing I was out when they did it. I would have gone APESHIT.

Doobigetta · 25/06/2017 23:17

Competitive bravado- who can show they give the fewest fucks. That's what it's about. Having a conscience or any softness is derided.

Notknownatthisaddress · 25/06/2017 23:19

Vile little cunts.

This is one of the reasons we moved out to the rural area where we live now, to get away from scum like this. So unnecessary. We literally do not have a thing touched in our village. Not a scrap of vandalism, ever.

There is no cctv, and STILL no vandalism. It's bliss. Even though, approximately 30 teens live here (and 35 kids 12 and under.) Better upbringing I guess.

PyongyangKipperbang · 25/06/2017 23:24

Notknown Wow, nice way to shoehorn some serious snobbery into the thread!

More likely, as there are only a handful of kids in the village they have zero chance of getting away with anything so dont bother trying.

LastGirlOnTheLeft · 25/06/2017 23:31

Charlie Manson wouldn't even stand on a spider and these scumbags probably worship him!!! They're utter pricks!!!!

eatingonlyapples · 25/06/2017 23:43

Kids do these things. Irresponsibility and peer pressure are big parts of why young teenagers can be destructive - whether that's outwardly or self-destructive.

If there's so many 11-17 year old kids in your area, is there anywhere they can go? Any place they can congregate like a skate park or just a playing field? If not maybe time to suggest it?

Teenagers really struggle to find things to do outside of their houses, productive places to spend their time. That's why so many spend all their time on the computer. If there's nowhere safe and pleasant for them to spend time with their group, what are they supposed to do?

BadToTheBone · 25/06/2017 23:54

Some teenagers set fire to the children's play area in my town s few months ago. They probably loved it themselves only a hand full of years ago, what made them ruin it for the children who are getting pleasure from it now, I just can't understand.

blue25 · 26/06/2017 00:05

That's so depressing. I think it's often anger & resentment at their crappy lives. It's a reason we moved out of a city to a rural area also. Cars and gardens were being vandalised and nothing was done. No issues at all where we live now. Not snobbery just a fact.

5LiveSportsExtra · 26/06/2017 00:34

I grew up in a village and you couldn't get away with stuff because there was no anonymity. Zero getting served in the local pub under aged in the local pub because everyone knew exactly how old you were. Some people still had a reputation for being dodgy but they knew not to shit in their own backyard.

tiredofdancingtothesametune · 26/06/2017 00:44

If that were me, I would have shouted out the window
OI YOU LITTLE BASTARDS YOU'RE ON CAMERA

PyongyangKipperbang · 26/06/2017 00:57

Blue but you didnt suggest that it was because people who live in rural areas give their kids a better upbringing, as if all kids in cities are feral little bastards intent on destroying everything.

Out2pasture · 26/06/2017 02:35

That's really sad. I don't know what the answer is but the problem probably lies with the parents or lack of.

MrsOverTheRoad · 26/06/2017 03:16

The kind of kids that do this sort of thing often come from abusive families.

It's easy to hate them but better to direct that energy elsewhere.

SunnyCoco · 26/06/2017 08:44

Same in my home town last week.
Volunteer team in the town planted big planters full of beautiful flowers along the centre of town.
The teenagers ripped the flowers and bulbs out and threw them at local shop fronts and had a 'flower fight'
Heartbreaking

Cookingongas · 26/06/2017 11:22

It disgusting. I live in a rough (but rural Hmm) area. Everything is vandalised.

They had a local walking competition this year- little fobs and boxes on lampposts to swipe and show how far you walked. It didn't last the first day before the boxes were ruined and the children couldn't play anymore.

The fields around us regularly go up in flames when it's sunny- last year seriously injuring a family and destroying a house as firefighters were putting out the mountain fires- they didn't have the manpower and sped to attend the family home in time :(

But there are spaces for the teens to go. A youth centre which offers classes and activities. numerous skate parks have opened and promptly been ruined by the teens they were intended for. Why?!

LurkingHusband · 26/06/2017 12:01

Generally, I'm anti capital punishment. But for *** like this, I feel there's grounds for exceptions. Possibly involving blowtorches and pliers.

Any crime which involves a clear disrespect for the environment - whether it's littering, or vandalism is an affront to every single member of society. It's basically a massive "fuck you" to everyone who lives in the locality. It's saying "I could not give a toss about you or your family or your neighbourhood".

And I'd bring back gibbeting in chains ... just to get the message across.,

BMW6 · 26/06/2017 12:33

As a poster above said, it's a completion between them to show how few fucks they give to anyone else. Most grow out of it, some sadly do not. Even sadder some parents give zero fucks if their kids are the ones vandalising.

YouMakeMeFeelLikeDancing · 26/06/2017 12:38

Our local memorial park planted new flower beds last week, a few days later teens on bike rode across them all, damaging every flower... three nights running. There's appeals on Facebook for info. It's disgusting the lack of respect they have

FakePlasticTeaLeaves · 26/06/2017 12:39

urgh, horrible!

When I was younger, the teenagers used to throw the swings round and over the top bar at my local park, so that when younger kids came out they couldn't reach them or play on them. Just to be spiteful.

Eolian · 26/06/2017 12:44

Disgusting. And it's not just kids from abusive families who behave this way, unfortunately. Some are just entitled, spoilt brats who don't give a toss about anyone but themselves.

grasspigeons · 26/06/2017 12:46

Our park gets vandalised a lot. Mainly fires, but they seem to have some kind of pellet gun thing and leave holes in everything. A community group fought to keep the toilets open and raised money for a refurbished and it's been shot at so it's peppered with holes. We live in a really nice area believe it or not!

It's all very well saying teenagers don't have nice spaces but most teenagers don't do this kind of thing - there is something different about a group that damages things than the vast majority that don't. I can't believe these teens are coping at home and school either.

barrygetamoveonplease · 26/06/2017 12:48

We need to do some kind of civic responsibility work with them in schools I think We need to force parents to parenting classes, more like.

Schools are constantly working on civic responsibility with pupils.
Parenting classes are ok for specifics but wouldn't work for something like this.

What is required is a change in culture. It should not be socially acceptable to allow your teens to gather with others of their age and without adult supervision, so they can get up to mischief. It should be the parents' responsibility to gradually integrate the child into adult society, seamlessly, so that there are no disaffected, disharmonious youths causing wilful damage. They wouldn't be able to do that because they would be with their families. They wouldn't want to do that because their sense of belonging would be from gaining the approval of their family members, not their age-mates.

The root of the problem is not that youths destroy things, but that their families don't give two hoots where they are and what they are doing.