by Casual Observer » Thu Mar 11, 2004 8:38 am
A quick google search using "horses on parade" and vandal comes up with an answer - yes. I can't seem to find the original articles though.
Genesee Country Express wrote:OPINION: Something to think about: Vandals, try something new - think!
By DAN BISHOP
Genesee Country Express
I read in the Democrat and Chronicle the other day that a third horse from the "Horses on Parade" art exhibit was vandalized recently. The fiberglass statue was knocked off its base and cracked. Although this did occur outside of the Express's circulation area, the principle still hits home.
The overall idea is that people have to learn to leave other people's property alone already. The horse's total damage came close to $1,500 worth. That equals a crime that is punishable by a sentence of up to seven years in prison. That's just where the vandal should be.
Although we in the Dansville/Wayland area do not have any art exhibit throughout the towns, we do have planters on Main Street and newly installed lampposts that suffer the same fate as the horses. There was one incident when a lamppost ended up on the ground after someone kicked it out of its base, and the planters are constantly being used as walkways and ashtrays. Why can't people leave things alone?
Another instance that shows the immaturity of some is the recent vandalism of flowers planted at the Veterans Memorial area at Williams Park in Dansville. An individual had volunteered his time to beautify an area that honors those who have served our country. Within days the flowers had been uprooted and left. Those flowers that could be saved were, but the incident is just another example of idiots wasting time.
The horse parade is not the first art exhibit of its kind. Cities the size of New York City and Chicago have fiberglass pigs and cows, and our neighbor to the west, Buffalo, has statues of bisons adorning the streets. These are all much larger places than Dansville, and even Rochester for that matter, but they did not have the kinds of problems that the horses are having.
We live in a society now where nothing is safe. People can't even put lawn decorations out without the threat of losing them to a sticky fingered thief. In much the same way, like the fools in Rochester, if someone's personal belongings aren't outright stolen, they are always a likely candidate for vandalism by way of a kick or other damaging measure.
The point is that some people have taken it upon themselves to destroy what is not theirs. Why do people choose to do this? I guess the only people that can answer that are the simple minded goofs that feel the need to do these things.
The punishment for the vandalism of the most recent horse would be up to seven years in prison...why not. Although I doubt that anyone will ever get more than a slap on the wrist for destroying someone else's property, maybe the punishment should be meted out a little heavier in the future.
In short, don't be a fool and vandalize something that's not yours. Be courteous and, if you need to take that kind of frustration out on something, do it to something of your own. I'm sure that if you put the time and energy into something like the artists of the horses, or even the citizens of Dansville take in their adopted flowerbeds or front yards, you wouldn't like someone else coming along and destroying it, would you? Try something new for a change, think - and do it next time before you act like a fool!
A quick google search using "horses on parade" and vandal comes up with an answer - yes. I can't seem to find the original articles though.
[quote="Genesee Country Express"]OPINION: Something to think about: Vandals, try something new - think!
By DAN BISHOP
Genesee Country Express
I read in the Democrat and Chronicle the other day that a third horse from the "Horses on Parade" art exhibit was vandalized recently. The fiberglass statue was knocked off its base and cracked. Although this did occur outside of the Express's circulation area, the principle still hits home.
The overall idea is that people have to learn to leave other people's property alone already. The horse's total damage came close to $1,500 worth. That equals a crime that is punishable by a sentence of up to seven years in prison. That's just where the vandal should be.
Although we in the Dansville/Wayland area do not have any art exhibit throughout the towns, we do have planters on Main Street and newly installed lampposts that suffer the same fate as the horses. There was one incident when a lamppost ended up on the ground after someone kicked it out of its base, and the planters are constantly being used as walkways and ashtrays. Why can't people leave things alone?
Another instance that shows the immaturity of some is the recent vandalism of flowers planted at the Veterans Memorial area at Williams Park in Dansville. An individual had volunteered his time to beautify an area that honors those who have served our country. Within days the flowers had been uprooted and left. Those flowers that could be saved were, but the incident is just another example of idiots wasting time.
The horse parade is not the first art exhibit of its kind. Cities the size of New York City and Chicago have fiberglass pigs and cows, and our neighbor to the west, Buffalo, has statues of bisons adorning the streets. These are all much larger places than Dansville, and even Rochester for that matter, but they did not have the kinds of problems that the horses are having.
We live in a society now where nothing is safe. People can't even put lawn decorations out without the threat of losing them to a sticky fingered thief. In much the same way, like the fools in Rochester, if someone's personal belongings aren't outright stolen, they are always a likely candidate for vandalism by way of a kick or other damaging measure.
The point is that some people have taken it upon themselves to destroy what is not theirs. Why do people choose to do this? I guess the only people that can answer that are the simple minded goofs that feel the need to do these things.
The punishment for the vandalism of the most recent horse would be up to seven years in prison...why not. Although I doubt that anyone will ever get more than a slap on the wrist for destroying someone else's property, maybe the punishment should be meted out a little heavier in the future.
In short, don't be a fool and vandalize something that's not yours. Be courteous and, if you need to take that kind of frustration out on something, do it to something of your own. I'm sure that if you put the time and energy into something like the artists of the horses, or even the citizens of Dansville take in their adopted flowerbeds or front yards, you wouldn't like someone else coming along and destroying it, would you? Try something new for a change, think - and do it next time before you act like a fool!
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