Heritage listed tourist attraction vandalised!!

Submitted: Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 16:14
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Not happy. A group of "disadvantaged youths" were bussed up to Niagra dam for a camping trip with some outreach program by a YMCA bus last weekend. Upon getting there they proceded to fully personally abuse a female teacher who was on her first camping trip with her boyfreind. The next morning they got up bright and early and totally unsupervised and proceeded to spraypaint crap all over the dam wall with no supervisors out of their tent before about 10. It is unlikely there crap will be able to be removed. congratulations to all involved
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Reply By: Lone Wolf - Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 16:23

Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 16:23
Oh dear, those poor little children.

I hope we are able to enroll them in another course to allow them to get in touch with their feelings. This is an important step, we have to throw lots of money in these areas, so the disadvantaged children can then slowly integrate back into society.

I would hate to wind the clock back, say 30 years, when I was 16...........

If I ****ed up, I paid.......... dearly.

I shake my head.........

Wolfie
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Follow Up By: Member - Davoe (WA) - Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 16:29

Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 16:29
chances are it was some of the kids I dealt with while working at the local pool. These kids have no chance of ever being usefull members of society, just like there parents arnt or their kids will be. All to much of it in Kalgoorlie unfortunately. At least it was all exposed on GWN news with the superviser in charge of getting them in touch with their creative side named, filmed and shamed. I mean what the heck were they doing being allowed spray cans on a camping trip???????????????????/
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Follow Up By: Bonz (Vic) - Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 16:48

Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 16:48
GUYS! It sounds like ts not the kids that are at fault here but the sleepers who stayed in their tent till 1000am and the leaders who let the kids harass innocent people, and bring spray cans along.

These types of programs are an excellent way of growing disadvantaged kids, its a shame this one went off the rails, don't be too quick to castigate the kids, they may not know better.

But for the grace of God go I eh?
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Follow Up By: Member - Davoe (WA) - Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 17:04

Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 17:04
you are only partly right. The first thing these kids need is to take responsability for there actions. I deal with "disadvataged youths" which is a euphamism for people of a certain colour, often the only time they are actually told what to do is when I do it and they often tell me I dont have the right to say/do things to them and my reply is enough of what you reckon your rights are and tell us your responsabilitys ie behave in an appropriate manor in a public facility ( as opposed to punching holes in the roofs of the change room, smashing with rocks 400$ windows, paint sniffing, bombing toddlers etcetc) fair dinkum you cannot make excuses for them or they will expect it and do.
As for the supervisers as said they were publicly shamed. There is no way I would take those kids anywhere without a full search first
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Follow Up By: Mike Harding - Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 17:07

Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 17:07
Well said Bonz.

But the teacher / supervisor should be hung out to dry.

Why not get them all (supervisors included) back there with wire brushes to clean the grafetti off?

Mike Harding

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Follow Up By: Bonz (Vic) - Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 17:25

Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 17:25
Davoe, you are dead reight mate! Therein lies the problematic area in society today, taking responsibility for our own actions. We fall over in teh street its the councils fault, we paper cut ourselves at work its our employers fault of the paper manufacturer's fault, we eventrip over some stuff on the floor of the house of the peoples house we are robbing and its not our fault its the fault of the robbee (not the robber).

That said, youth's of today are full of their rights, many know them backwards, and they dont give a continental about responsibilities. The other thing people think is that rights are universal. They apply everywhere. At a pool people would have right of access and use of facilities provided they fulfil their part of the (non-written) agreement, those things you call responsibilites above. If they get kicked out for breaching these responsibilites they think their "rights" have been impinged upon and that they've been "prejudiced" against. The courts don't help much in this regard.

So I agree, that they should know whats right and whats not. They, along with the recalcitrant leaders, should be back there scrubbing the paint off, along with a stern word from some of the other users of the place, the managers of the land also. They should also be made apologise and compensate the poor people they harassed. I also firmly believe they should be put in a place where their "rights" are taken away on much the same manner as they did to those people and their property is vandalised/taken away in much the same way as they perpetrated. Only then can they start to realise the responsibility of having "rights".

Sorry its so long but its a neverending story
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Reply By: Member - Steve (ACT) - Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 17:24

Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 17:24
I think the problem here is that there are two sorts of "disadvantaged kids" in the world, the one who respond to positive encouragement and assistance, and then the one who need to be sent to the place in Utah where they send them out into the wild, and they have to even earn the right to even the most basic of reward eg, spoons forks and knives.

This is a generalised comment; too many kids these days feel that they have a right to everything, nothing needs to be earned. There is very little respect for their elders/teacher/authority.

My 15yr old is having difficultly with the fact that we don't have the latest games, and we're not giving him a car, we're helping with a loan.

Sorry this next bit it long but it's one of my favourites!! and appologise to those who have already seen it!!!

Don't Mess With Mom

My son came home from school one day,with a smirk upon his face.
He decided he was smart enough,to put me in my place.

"Guess what I learned in Civics Two,that's taught by Mr. Wright?
It's all about the laws today,The "Children's Bill of Rights."

It says I need not clean my room, don't have to cut my hair.
No one can tell me what to think, or speak, or what to wear.

I have freedom from religion, and regardless what you say,
I don't have to bow my head, and I sure don't have to pray.

I can wear earrings if I want, And pierce my tongue and nose.
I can read and watch just what I like, and get tattoos from head to toes.

And if you ever spank me, I'll charge you with a crime.
I'll back up all my charges, with the marks on my behind.

Don't you ever touch me, My body's only for my use,
not for your hugs and kisses, that's just more child abuse.

Don't preach about your morals, like your Mama did to you.
That's nothing more than mind control, And it's illegal too!

Mom, I have these children's rights, so you can't influence me,
or I'll call Children's Services Division, better known as C. S. D.

Of course my first instinct was, to toss him out the door.
But the chance to teach him a lesson made me think a little more.

I mulled it over carefully, I couldn't let this go.
A smile crept upon my face, he's messing with a pro.

The next day I took him shopping at the local Goodwill Store.
I told him,"Pick out all you want, there's shirts and pants galore..
I've called and checked with C. S. D. who said they didn't care
if I bought you K-Mart shoes instead of those Nike Airs.

And I've canceled that appointment to take your driver's test.
The C. S. D. is unconcerned so I'll decide what's best.

I said "No time to stop and eat, or pick up stuff to munch.
And tomorrow you can start to learn to make your own sack lunch."

Just save the raging appetite, and wait till dinner time.
We're having liver and onions, a favorite dish of mine.

He asked "Can I please rent a movie, to watch on my VCR?"
"Sorry, but I sold your TV, to put new tires on my car."

I also rented out your room, you'll take the couch instead.
All the C. S. D. requires is a roof for over your head.

Your clothing won't be trendy now, and I'll choose what we eat.
That allowance that you used to get, will buy me something neat.

I'm selling off your jet ski, dirt-bike and roller blades.
Check out the "Parents Bill of Rights," It's in effect today!

Hey hot shot, are you crying, and why are you on your knees?
Are you asking God to help you out, instead of C. S. D..?

SANDY
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Follow Up By: Bonz (Vic) - Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 17:36

Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 17:36
Priceless!

We had our son say No! I am not doing that.... and I ponited out the same things, once you strike out on your own you can't pick and choose what you do. He quickly saw what he was doing and came along......

Often we cut off our noses to spite our faces. And live to regret it.
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Reply By: Member - Hugh (WA) - Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 17:34

Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 17:34
Davoe,

And there we were discussing Niagra Dam only a couple of days back, what a nice place it is, etc. This place is so isolated that grafitti is the last thing you would expect to see when visiting. A real disgrace!

The kids are obviously rat bags but that is likely why they went on this trip in the first place. What needs to be questioned is the lack of supervision and how on earth a group like this gets to go anywhere with spray cans packed away for some out of hours fun. It isn't like you can call into the local hardware for fresh supplies is it. Fair dinkum, which ever group organised this had a duty of care to ensure these kids didn't go off armed with spray cans. As for the supervisors, they had better have some good answers ready.

These guys need to be bundled up and returned to site to take part in the clean-up, if that's at all possible. Well that is a most unlikely outcome, so I wonder what the plan is. If nothing looks like happening, then I think could be good to get a group of volunteers together and see what can be done. I'm in Perth but would be willing to help out - say over a long w/e.

Regards,
Hugh
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Follow Up By: Member - Davoe (WA) - Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 17:39

Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 17:39
The news report said that the age and porosity of the bricks and cement made it unlikely a proper cleanup job would be possible. If keen you could contact the Menzies shire council - they are not happy ----------
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Follow Up By: Member - Roachie (SA) - Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 20:19

Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 20:19
Okay, so the paint has soaked into the bricks and cannot be removed. No worries........get the little turds (errr, I mean trainee Rembrandts) to paint the wholebleeping wall with paint the same colour as the brick work!!! That should give 'em time to think about how bloody disadvantaged they are.....
Strewth, I came from a relatively poor family myself (I've never classed myself as "disadvantaged",,,,,as far as I'm concerned that tag should only be worn by those poor little starving skeletons in skin that we see in Africa)....but I have never felt that my circumstances provided any reason or excuse to authorise me to commit a crime.
As a society we will never return to the good ol' days until we realise we have a duty to discipline our kids so that they turn out to be responsible citizens. It's too late once they are teenagers.
IMHO if we don't discipline our kids we are guilty of child abuse. That doesn't mean we can beat the living krap out of them any time we feel like it, but a good smack on the bum never hurt any kid...certainly not me!!!
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Follow Up By: Member - Bernie. (Vic) - Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 20:44

Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 20:44
With a tooth brush each "Roachie"

Spotted some youths mostly girls (not disadvantaged either) painting some things on the "special" school walls at the back of our house 20 odd years ago.
Cops came and caught them later in a nearby street, well we had a good laugh as they all came back to the school that afternoon & all the next day
supervised by there parents to clean it all off.

Cheers
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Reply By: Rob! - Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 17:43

Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 17:43
Yep, one of the ways to teach them responsibility would be to make them and the "leaders" clean it up. There's not much leadership there if they just leave it as somebody elses problem.

And don't be so naive in thinking that this is the society of TODAY. It's sa when cases such as this brand everybody of that age the same. Kids at 14/15 will always rebel against authority and always have. It just feels different now that you're on the other end of the arguement.

So make them clean it up or send the clean up bill the supervisors. That'll teach them all some responsibilty.

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Reply By: rickwagupatrol - Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 22:15

Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 22:15
What a bleedin joke.
who the hell is responsible for this act of stupid vandalism.?
not the parents of the kids,,,,,,
not the kids either......
not even the supervisors.......
one very simple answer.......
the dogooder idiot who decided a few years ago that we can no longer dicipline our children, we can no longer teach them right from wrong, and we can not do anything when they " play " up.....
oops, hang on a tick.....
now that these kids are basically out of our control,,,,
can do and act as they say,,,whenever and wherever they want...
without fear of recrimination from a parent or the law......
what is the gogooder brigade doing.........?
blaming the parents.......lolololol.........now that is a joke...........lololol
stuff the lot of em i say,,,,take those kids back out there,,,,,give em a good clip under the ear, and make them fix their own mess.
and dont forget to take the supervisors, the idiot who organized the outing, the dogooder who took away the rights of parents, and a few pollies as well...make all of them clean it up.
and dont forget that they all have to apologise to the female teacher as well.

rick.
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Reply By: Member - Steve (ACT) - Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 22:39

Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 22:39
Bit like a case here in Canberra where a guy woke up to fine some youths in his house stealing stuff, he caught one and then the other started smashing things up to try and make his release the kids. All the while his wife and children and in a room calling the police scared out of their wits.

What are that youth's parent decide to do????

Sue the homeowner for unlawfully retraining their child, go figure that out. I'd be too ashamed, I would have taken anything of value my child had and taken to the family, made him apologise and hand over the stuff for them to sell to fix the damage.

My son mucked up and so I took away his wallet and cashcard, the only thing important to him since he got a job, what did he say "You can't do that, it's taking away my civil liberties" Needless to say he didn't get the card back.

Sandy
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Reply By: ianmc - Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 23:17

Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 23:17
I have done some local welfare work & find that in many cases behaviour that we consider abnormal has been the norm for generations down a family line, even sexual abuse and the current crop know no different until they are taught otherwise.
As mentioned above the laws are crazy & maybe we are to blame for allowing it
but we let our "leadership" continue down this path. Just check out the activities of the ACLU & ADL with a google search.
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Follow Up By: Member - Davoe (WA) - Friday, Jan 28, 2005 at 10:03

Friday, Jan 28, 2005 at 10:03
yep I have always said that it tis like father like son. They are just acting out what they see at home. But dont you dare say it is "our fault" for allowing it "we" dont dare try anymore - think "stolen generation" and we are still paying for it. The media jumped on the few negative cases and didnt focus on the positive ones. One of my school freinds was "stolen" but couldnt have asked for a better upbringing or more loving parents
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Follow Up By: Mike Harding - Friday, Jan 28, 2005 at 18:03

Friday, Jan 28, 2005 at 18:03
>One of my school freinds was "stolen" but couldnt have asked
>for a better upbringing or more loving parents

That's the other side of the coin which I have _never_ seen portrayed in the media.

It wasn't only Aboriginal children: I had a great uncle who was brought to Australia as a Barnardo’s Boy from the UK - he had some tough times but I believe he had a hell of a lot better life here than he would have had in the UK.

Far too many people wanting money for supposed wrongs and far too may people who don't want to take responsibility for their own lives even at 30, 40 or 50+ years of age.

Mike Harding
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Reply By: Truckster (Vic) - Friday, Jan 28, 2005 at 00:23

Friday, Jan 28, 2005 at 00:23
Line them up and just remove them from the gene pool.
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Follow Up By: Tim HJ61 - Friday, Jan 28, 2005 at 00:59

Friday, Jan 28, 2005 at 00:59
That's not funny Truckster.

Yep, okay I'm happy to flag I'm paid to a do-gooder. Better a do-gooder than a do-badder I reckon.

And NO, I do NOT condone the actions that started this thread - which is rapidly losing relevance in this forum.

In my work, which I am not going to detail, it's often my fellow dogooders that try and promote people taking personal responsibility for their actions, and not letting them get away with cr.p like this. The challenge is how to do it without dropping to the same level as the ones who have offended against the reasonable socially accepted boundaries the rest of us have to comply with.

Tim
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Follow Up By: Truckster (Vic) - Saturday, Jan 29, 2005 at 23:06

Saturday, Jan 29, 2005 at 23:06
Lets spend $100k on each of them to "REHABILITATE THEM" into fine specimens of the community....

Lets also put a tooth under the pillow, and see if theres a $ there in the morning...
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Reply By: Member - Sand Man (SA) - Friday, Jan 28, 2005 at 01:09

Friday, Jan 28, 2005 at 01:09
There is a solution to this and other problems within our society.
It's called CAPITAL PUNISHMENT and until it is brought back, problems will continue to occur.

Now I wasn't an angel at school and received (and deserved) the cane on one or two occasions. Well let me assure everybody, it made me think twice about what I did to deserve such punishment and it didn't affect my brain (at least I don't think so) that caused irreversible trauma. In fact, I respected the teacher(s) that dished out the punishment more than the other teachers.

Kids just don't have any "threat" hanging over them any more.
Even Mum & Dad can be arrested and incarcerated for giving their kid a slap.

The problem wont get better under the current "do-gooders" philosophy.

Not only would I force the perpetrators to clean the mess up, but I would "gently" smack their heads into the dam wall as well whilst pointing out the damage they had caused.
Bill


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Follow Up By: Tuff60 - Friday, Jan 28, 2005 at 02:28

Friday, Jan 28, 2005 at 02:28
"Now I wasn't an angel at school and received (and deserved) the cane on one or two occasions".

You will have to find a bleeding heart left wing dogooder to help you locate the inner damage it caused you, as after such violent abuse of your rights, you can no longer see it for yourself. This same person should be able to secure you some compensation for your incredable suffering, if not that you must demand a public apology from todays government, that had precisely nothing to do with the government of the time that allowed you to be abused.

"Kids just don't have any "threat" hanging over them any more.
Even Mum & Dad can be arrested and incarcerated for giving their kid a slap. "

As I read off the front of a US tank "RESPECT THROUGH FEAR"
And if that don't work, Truckster's idea might get growing support.
"a bullet is the only known cure for stupidity"
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Follow Up By: Member - Sand Man (SA) - Friday, Jan 28, 2005 at 03:58

Friday, Jan 28, 2005 at 03:58
Er.......right......whatever!

You matey, are the "new breed" of kid referred to above.
When you grow up, you will learn the best way to get on in life is to EARN the respect of others rather than expect, or demand it.

I can see by your comments that you really are a troubled kiddy and have had the wrong education (in life).

And by the way, I was not abused.
I was naughty and deserved a smack. No problem at all on my part.
Bill


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Follow Up By: Tuff60 - Sunday, Jan 30, 2005 at 01:59

Sunday, Jan 30, 2005 at 01:59
I am Sorry, Sand Man, I though it was real obvious that I was taking the piss. I have to explain that for you next time so you don't fall behind.
I sure hope you’re a shrink as that was fantastic, analysing me as a “troubled kiddy” from one sarcastic post, well done and thankyou.
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Follow Up By: Member - Sand Man (SA) - Monday, Jan 31, 2005 at 20:09

Monday, Jan 31, 2005 at 20:09
Tuff60,

Thanks for the explanation mate. No it wasn't (to me) obvious that you were "taking the piss", so sorry if you were offended.

Can I suggest you use smileys :-) when replying tongue in cheek so it is more obvious.

Have a good one!
Bill


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Reply By: Rob! - Friday, Jan 28, 2005 at 10:25

Friday, Jan 28, 2005 at 10:25
Well, all this seems to be going of the topic and everyone's frustration with youth is coming out.

The whole thing about "bullet in the head" stuff really is not doing either side any favours.

You could solve all the problems of society in that manner like - speeding, illegal bulbars / spotties / parking etc. Overnight it would all be fixed.

Respect is only worthy something when it is earned and not demanded. It doesn't matter if your 15 or 65. The kids who demand their rights and respect now will probably still demand it when they're 65 and some snotty 15 year old is pi$$ing them off. and so the wheel keeps turning.

R.
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