Jack-Hammer
YOU WILL RESPECT MY AUTHORITAH!!!!
http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/18/us/utah-boulder-destroyed/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
I recall seeing a glimpse of this yesterday and it's something that's become a trending topic in social media. Three men leading a Boy Scout troop in Utah's Goblin Valley State Park are being accused of defacing and destroying what some refer to as a natural, landscape sculpture. Two of the men in particular, Glenn Taylor & David Hall, are under investigation by the Emery County District Attorney and Utah Attorney General.
What they're accused of doing essentially amounts to defacement of a national park. In this case, the Goblin Valley State Park contains thousands of uniquely mushroom shaped stones referred to by locals as Goblins. They're found in a valley in the park that are bordered by sandstone cliffs that have been eroded over millions of years. This same erosion is that's ultimately caused these stones to have their unique shape. According to the story, the "sculpture" they're accused of defacing is said to have taken about 200 million years of natural erosion to eventually create.
The men were filming their time there and recorded footage of Glenn Taylor pushing one of these stones from its perch while David Hall laughingly sings a cappella version of the song "Wiggle It, Just A Little Bit." Taylor pushed the stone from its perch saying that he felt that it was a danger to people, "We have now modified Goblin Valley, a new Goblin Valley exists. That's crazy that it was held up just by that little bit of dirt. Some little kid was about ready to walk down here and die and Glenn saved his life by getting the boulder out of the way. So it's all about saving lives here at Goblin Valley. Saving lives. That's what we're all about." A few days after the incident, he told a CNN affiliate "That wasn't going to last very long at all. One gust of wind and a family's dead." He also stated that he would do it again. He contends that a strong gust of wind could bring it toppling down onto someone.
A representative of Utah State Parks, Eugene Swalberg, doesn't see anything particularly heroic in what Taylor & his friends did. "It gives you a pit in your stomach. There seems to be a lot of happiness and joy with the individuals doing this, and it's not right. This is not what you do at a natural scenic area."
The video they took was uploaded to YouTube and has gotten over 500,000 hits. Once they found out that Utah state authorities were considering pressing charges, Taylor quickly changed his tune and expressed regret. "I wish we would have been smart enough to go get a ranger 'cause it was wrong of us to be vigilantes, and I'm sorry I did that."
On the surface, I get why some people are saying that it's just a stupid rock. After all, generally speaking, it is just a rock. However, at the same time, those rocks are the reason why so many tourists go to Goblin Valley State Park. Since the area has long since been declared a protected scenic area in a state park, defacing it is a crime. So yeah, it might ultimately seem like it's just a rock but it's what people come to see. After all, you wouldn't go into one of the various Petrified Forest parks around the world and chop up some of the petrified wood or vegetation without suffering consequences.
Taylor suggests that a strong gust of wind could have blown it over but the video itself negates that claim. If it was so easy to topple over, why did he have to "wiggle it" in order to topple it rather than barely pushing it straight over? Taylor himself looks to be a pretty portly 250 pounds, at least, and he had to work the stone loose. He was initially trying to budge it using one hand before ultimately resorting to two and putting more effort into it. I'm sure a strong enough gust of wind could probably dislodge the stone, but it'd have to be pretty damn high and I don't think Emery County, Utah is exactly a hotspot for tornado activity. These stones have endured bombardment during the summer from intense and localized thunderstorms and flash flooding, so a minor gust of wind isn't gonna do much. The video itself seems to show that it wasn't even all that windy. The clothing of the men wasn't flapping in the breeze and they seemed to have issues with keeping their ball caps on their heads. The video itself seems to make them look like jackoffs rather than concerned citizens doing a "good deed." If they had any genuine concern then, as Taylor finally admitted, they should have gotten in touch with park authorities to voice their concerns, maybe ask some questions from people who just might know what they're talking about and are more familiar with these stones than themselves.
I recall seeing a glimpse of this yesterday and it's something that's become a trending topic in social media. Three men leading a Boy Scout troop in Utah's Goblin Valley State Park are being accused of defacing and destroying what some refer to as a natural, landscape sculpture. Two of the men in particular, Glenn Taylor & David Hall, are under investigation by the Emery County District Attorney and Utah Attorney General.
What they're accused of doing essentially amounts to defacement of a national park. In this case, the Goblin Valley State Park contains thousands of uniquely mushroom shaped stones referred to by locals as Goblins. They're found in a valley in the park that are bordered by sandstone cliffs that have been eroded over millions of years. This same erosion is that's ultimately caused these stones to have their unique shape. According to the story, the "sculpture" they're accused of defacing is said to have taken about 200 million years of natural erosion to eventually create.
The men were filming their time there and recorded footage of Glenn Taylor pushing one of these stones from its perch while David Hall laughingly sings a cappella version of the song "Wiggle It, Just A Little Bit." Taylor pushed the stone from its perch saying that he felt that it was a danger to people, "We have now modified Goblin Valley, a new Goblin Valley exists. That's crazy that it was held up just by that little bit of dirt. Some little kid was about ready to walk down here and die and Glenn saved his life by getting the boulder out of the way. So it's all about saving lives here at Goblin Valley. Saving lives. That's what we're all about." A few days after the incident, he told a CNN affiliate "That wasn't going to last very long at all. One gust of wind and a family's dead." He also stated that he would do it again. He contends that a strong gust of wind could bring it toppling down onto someone.
A representative of Utah State Parks, Eugene Swalberg, doesn't see anything particularly heroic in what Taylor & his friends did. "It gives you a pit in your stomach. There seems to be a lot of happiness and joy with the individuals doing this, and it's not right. This is not what you do at a natural scenic area."
The video they took was uploaded to YouTube and has gotten over 500,000 hits. Once they found out that Utah state authorities were considering pressing charges, Taylor quickly changed his tune and expressed regret. "I wish we would have been smart enough to go get a ranger 'cause it was wrong of us to be vigilantes, and I'm sorry I did that."
On the surface, I get why some people are saying that it's just a stupid rock. After all, generally speaking, it is just a rock. However, at the same time, those rocks are the reason why so many tourists go to Goblin Valley State Park. Since the area has long since been declared a protected scenic area in a state park, defacing it is a crime. So yeah, it might ultimately seem like it's just a rock but it's what people come to see. After all, you wouldn't go into one of the various Petrified Forest parks around the world and chop up some of the petrified wood or vegetation without suffering consequences.
Taylor suggests that a strong gust of wind could have blown it over but the video itself negates that claim. If it was so easy to topple over, why did he have to "wiggle it" in order to topple it rather than barely pushing it straight over? Taylor himself looks to be a pretty portly 250 pounds, at least, and he had to work the stone loose. He was initially trying to budge it using one hand before ultimately resorting to two and putting more effort into it. I'm sure a strong enough gust of wind could probably dislodge the stone, but it'd have to be pretty damn high and I don't think Emery County, Utah is exactly a hotspot for tornado activity. These stones have endured bombardment during the summer from intense and localized thunderstorms and flash flooding, so a minor gust of wind isn't gonna do much. The video itself seems to show that it wasn't even all that windy. The clothing of the men wasn't flapping in the breeze and they seemed to have issues with keeping their ball caps on their heads. The video itself seems to make them look like jackoffs rather than concerned citizens doing a "good deed." If they had any genuine concern then, as Taylor finally admitted, they should have gotten in touch with park authorities to voice their concerns, maybe ask some questions from people who just might know what they're talking about and are more familiar with these stones than themselves.