Why did they do this?

by Schizm 6 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Schizm

  After reading the following report, would you like to speculate on the reason why people do things like this?--Schizm

  ---

  Web-posted Thursday, May 20, 2004
  Brick-throwing vandals strike 70 vehicles in overnight rampage
  
  
  'It's supposed to be a nice neighborhood'
  
  By KRIS ABBEY
  
  Marji Morton is sick of crime in her neighborhood.
  

  Once, she found her car tires slit with a knife. Another time, someone broke into her vehicle and stole insurance and registration documents. On several occasions, vandals have smashed windshields outside the Morton home.

  "Of course, the pelting of the eggs has happened many times," Morton added.

  It's enough to wake up Sleepy Hollow, the upper middle-class neighborhood where Morton lives.

  Late Tuesday or early Wednesday, vandals were at it again, striking in Sleepy Hollow, Puckett Place and other areas.

  More than 70 vehicles lost windows when someone hurled bricks through them, said Sgt. Randy TenBrink of the Police Department.

  Morton said two bricks took out the rear window of her husband's Cadillac, which was parked in front of their home.

  The bricks also marred the car's exterior and tore the upholstery.

  "We have quite an expensive piece of damage here," Morton said.

  She said the couple's vehicles have been vandalized at least seven times in the last 10 years.

  "I have asked them (police) repeatedly why we can't get more patrol out here," she said. "We've been told there are other areas that are more crime-infested, and they don't have enough money or people to patrol this area.

  "It's supposed to be a nice neighborhood. My concern is, can it get worse? If they (the vandals) get away with this, what will they pull next?"

  The vandals could face serious charges if they are caught.

  According to the Texas Penal Code, criminal mischief that causes between $1,500 and $20,000 in damage qualifies as a state jail felony. If the damage range is $20,000 to $100,000, the crime becomes a third-degree felony.

  
• 

  Black Sheep

  They are just being good Christians.

  Mark 11:12

  The next day, when they had come out from Beth´a·ny, he became hungry. 13 And from a distance he caught sight of a fig tree that had leaves, and he went to see whether he would perhaps find something on it. But, on coming to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season of figs. 14 So, in response, he said to it: "Let no one eat fruit from you anymore forever." And his disciples were listening.

  19

  And when it became late in the day, they would go out of the city. 20 But when they were passing by early in the morning, they saw the fig tree already withered up from the roots.
• 

  myauntfanny

  It's probably their own kids, bored out of their skulls with being upper middle class.
• 

  Schizm

  LOL, Black Sheep.

  Do you think the reason is possibly because of an existing "conflict of interest" between the ones who did this and those they victimized? What I mean by that is that it's quite obvious that those affected were of a more affluent class of citizens in town, probably seen as being rich by way of comparison. I'm thinking that perhaps those who did this are all to willing to blame those with more money for the hardships they themselves endure. Perhaps they see such "rich" ones as being too selfish to share the wealth of the land in such ways as increased wages, etc. And so they resort to a terroristic act such as this as a way of saying: "You are able to get by with mistreating us only because you know that we're too weak (poor & of a minority) to do anything about it. So in return, we are mistreating you in a way that YOU too are unable to do anything about it. How does it feel being mistreated and not be able to do anything about it!?" So rather than just sit idle and continue to take the perceived abuse they've chosen to retaliate.

  Do you think this is possibly the reason why they did this?

  Schizm
• 

  Ghosthunter

  Kids can be so stupid when they are bored. Something similar to this happened last year in my area (West Michigan). The poor victim was a woman in her 50's who got hit square in the face with a brick thrown from an overpass. She was blinded and had to go through several surgeries on her face. The teenage boys responsible were caught and were severely punished by the court system. Having teenage boys myself, I felt sorry for the boy's parents as they were devastated by their children's actions. The woman, bless her heart, publicly forgave the boys, something I don't think I could have done.

  Senseless crime.
• 

  Schizm

  This is an update on the incident.--Schizm

  ---

  Web-posted Friday, May 21, 2004
  Block watch could curb vandalism
  
  Residents must take initiative, police say
  
  By KRIS ABBEY
  Brick-wielding vandals who rampaged through several neighborhoods early Wednesday left behind shattered glass and scores of frustrated residents.

  But apparently none of the victims has called the Police Department about organizing a neighborhood block watch.

  "That's something they (the residents) might have to do," said APD Sgt. Randy TenBrink, "and they don't want to do that."

  TenBrink said no block watches exist in Sleepy Hollow and Puckett Place - upscale neighborhoods where vandals have damaged vehicles and mailboxes repeatedly.

  About two years ago, a resident in one of those neighborhoods organized a meeting to start a neighborhood block watch.

  "He went to an immense amount of trouble to get people there," TenBrink said. "Two people came."

  APD's Crime Prevention Unit helps people set up block watch groups and comes to the first meeting to present information. But at least 70 percent of the residents on the block must agree to attend the first meeting, said Cpl. Jerry Neufeld, a crime prevention officer.

  The point is not to set up late-night citizen patrols but simply to improve communication between neighbors and raise awareness of activities that seem out of the ordinary.

  "What they are going to have to do - what most neighbors don't - is talk to each other," TenBrink said.

  Ellen Jones, who lives in Puckett, said she participated in block watch programs in Edmond, Okla., where she used to live.

  Since moving to Puckett 12 years ago, her family has had property vandalized about seven times. On Wednesday, someone threw a brick through the rear windshield of her daughter's Jeep.

  Jones said she thinks her neighbors might be interested in a block watch, but they haven't gotten mad enough yet.

  "I think people just accept that there is a certain amount of vandalism," Jones said.

  A block watch also might not stop determined vandals who strike in the wee hours of the morning, she said.

  Katie Hughes, who works for Allstate Security Industries Inc., suggested residents in frequently targeted areas install car alarms. Another option is hiring a security patrol to drive through the neighborhood.

  Hughes said Allstate has at least one Sleepy Hollow residential client who has an officer drive past three or four times a night.

  ---
• 

  Undaunted Danny

  SURROGATE/DISPLACEMENT RAGE This is what i call pent up rage in some perpetrators IF, they were abuse victims.Some folks are just plain evil and mean from the get go.