I am appalled that anyone could even think of doing this

[Nicolamarlow1]

Just that really. Some very talented people have had years of their work destroyed, it's beyond belief.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-48326572

Sorry- me again! Have been pondering this.

I see it as a bit cultural. If they'd spray painted over a Y2 wall mural, one that had taken a lot of young kids time to design, and paint, we'd be justifiably angry.

But it wouldn't have made the national news.

I am trying not to trivialise what they have done, as it was a stupid, (drunken?) act of senseless destruction.

But do we care way more because it was an attack on a very middle -England, Cricket on the Green, and - will there be jam for tea?- image of 'life, before it got complicated ?'

I bet these (drunken?) youth would have destroyed the Y2 mural (or the Blue Peter Garden, remember that?)- in the same way, given that they have no regard for the sanctity of decades of harmless industry, which they would not have any mechanism to appreciate, unless they'd been made to watch James May. Or, at 12, had their iPhone whipped from their hand in favour of a Meccano set?

Of course they should, and will be punished (assuming their guilt), but aren't we attributing different cultural values, here?

Would Rod Stewart have offered to pay for the repainting of the vandalised Y2 mural?

Fucking shits. My (ASD) dad has been working on his for over 30 years. I cannot imagine how gutted he would be if this happened to him.

We care because some of these items have been worked on for decades. They are unique. Some kids just smashed them because they could.

And Rod Stewart is a train nerd, hence the donation. He’s been collecting trains for donkeys years, so I guess it struck a cord with him.

This is awful. I just don’t understand the mentality and lack of emotion for the hurt this would cause. I feel so despondent about the human race at present.

I think the parents of at least one of those kids have some serious questions to answer. All of the boys were meant to be staying over at one of the boy’s houses. They all went out drinking and when they came back to the house, they were locked out and no one answered their banging on the door. That’s why they broke into the school; for somewhere to spend the night. It escalated from there. Those boys are unbelievably feral and stupid, but look at the parental example at least one of them has. She invites a bunch of boys to stay over and then doesn’t bother to make sure they can get into the house.... I would be furious about that as well as the destruction if I were the other parents.

The very definition of wanton vandalism.

News reports on events like this always create threads that contain a few what-aboutery posters don't they. Plus the inevitable poster applying the 'snowflake' label who (ironically) gets offended and annoyed people disagreeing with their opinion.

@Miljah

Different people are struck by different things, everyone feels outrage at acts of vandalism. It’s not more or less outrageous depending on the class of people it affects. But Rod Stewart cares about trains and it affected him enough to donate money because he could see himself being personally heartbroken if it had happened to him.

I’m an artist. In the town next to mine, a bunch of yobs destroyed a garden designed for the community with sculptures and interactive things etc. I felt personally affected by that because it was a wonderful garden designed and contributed too by many local artists and gardeners. It’s quite a town with a high number of people in low wage jobs; not middle class, and people were still really upset. I donated money to help repair it because it was something that I cared about. I wouldn’t donate money to help them repair their train sets. It’s not personal enough for me. Doesn’t mean I don’t care, and it doesn’t mean rod steward (and others) wouldn’t care about other things, but they are allowed to donate their money to the things which they care about.

That is very sad for the people who spent their lives on their passion....

Most adolescent boys don't begin to develop cognitive empathy (the ability to view things from another's perspective) until around the age of 15 onwards and affective empathy (the ability to recognise and respond appropriately to another's feelings) actually declines between the ages of 13 and 16 years, and only recovers in the late teens.

This, combined with the disinhibiting effects of alcohol and peer pressure, with lack of supervision, leads to a proportion of adolescent boys being involved in shocking criminal and anti social acts which are out of character and can ruin lives, their own included.

It seems then, that these under aged drinkers were out and about unsupervised and out of control, and were then unable to return to a supervised and safe environment.

They must accept responsibility for their actions proportionate to their ages and understanding but their parents are also obliged to attend Court with them and should answer for why they were allowed out drinking at their ages and why on Earth they were locked out..

Utter, utter shit heads.

What has gone SO wrong, that people can destroy like this?

If I was a parent of one of these, I'd take every item from their possession apart from the bare basics. They'd be enlisted in every volunteer charity going from beach cleaning to caring until they learned some fucking humility.

In reality, my children wouldn't dream of this. My eldest may be a GP but we scraped every penny and went into debt to put her through uni. We weren't well off when she was born.

Teaching now compared to even 15 years ago is very different. Social values have really really changed for the worse.

Plus the inevitable poster applying the 'snowflake' label who (ironically) gets offended and annoyed people disagreeing with their opinion

Heh nobodies offended and I stand by it. I'm far more amused by the assumption these were kids from 'bad' homes. I hope this follows them around for the rest of their lives, they deserve to have their futures ruined.

What were the perpetrators 'locked out' of?

They were all meant to be sleeping over st one of the boys houses. They went our drinking and when they came back to the house, they were locked out and nobody answered the door to them banging on it. They broke into the school for somewhere to sleep.

What no one seems to notice is that the rise in gang violence and wanton destruction like this has gone hand in hand with the lack of youth clubs.

What no one seems to notice is that the rise in gang violence and wanton destruction like this has gone hand in hand with the lack of youth clubs

Is there something stopping you setting one up?

They broke into the school for somewhere to sleep

Big difference between breaking into school to sleep (stupid, but not so awful) and then deciding to destroy years of work. No excuse whatsoever and nothing to do with the parents. The boys are just nasty people. And as ever, alcohol plays a part (for those of you excusing the drunken stag and hen parties - this is where the nonsense leads).

“I hope this follows them around for the rest of their lives, they deserve to have their futures ruined.“

gamerchick how do? As in, life prison sentences? Or more along the lines of any opportunity to take exams/raise themselves up out of potentially bad situations should be taken away?

*How do = how so (😂🙄)

Disgusting behaviour and no excuses whatsoever.
My ds is 16 and thank god I know he has more about him to even dream of doing something like this but if it was my child I would be thoroughly ashamed and have no words. No excuses.
I know a few kids in this age group and sadly a very tiny minority think that they're beyond reproach and have little or no respect for anyone or anything, including themselves.

@fairweathercyclist

A poster above asked where they were locked out of. I was just quoting what the boys said. Not defending them or giving them an excuse. But if I were a parent of one of the other boys, I would be very angry at the parents who had agreed to a sleepover and then locked the boys out.

There are kids who do this. I've also heard of people who call emergency services out, purely to attack them.
There are serious problems in this country.

This is extemely upsetting but I think the best way forward for these little shits would be to make them clean up every last piece of wreckage along with some other hard labour on the streets. Then take them to a hospital for really sick children to show them how lucky they are to have a healthy body (obviously not a mind) and then get them to start rebuilding some of the models. I say this because I see examples of scumbag parents week in week out speaking to their children, who are barely out of nappies as if they are scum, that is if they are speaking to them at all. What chance have they got? I'm guessing the culprits here did not have the best quality of parents. Please, I'm not saying feel sorry for them, give them some punishment for sure but give them a 'chance' whilst still young.

Oh that's bad. It hrought tears to my eyes too.

I have a friend, known him allmy life, who is a model railway enthusiast. He lives in that part f the world, and I was just imagining his 60 years' worth of making models.... I think the very last thing he would want would be anyone else touching his work, broken and ruined as it is. He would want to pick up every little bit himself.

He CERTAINLY wouldn't want the shits who'd done it anywhere near what was left.

Hard labour. Down the sewers clearing fat balls.