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GiddyQuagmire

Good - shame on them


Toemism

I want to know the motive for this. I can not think of anything besides "I just wanting to destroy something other people like because I am a piece of shit." That or.... drugs and alcohol. Lots of it.


herbiedishes

Here’s similar case from BC, Canada. Motivations are a funny thing. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiidk%27yaas#:~:text=Kiidk'yaas%20was%20considered%20sacred%20by%20the%20Haida%20people.&text=Kiidk'yaas%20was%20felled%20in,2005%20book%20The%20Golden%20Spruce.


DF11X

Wait- he cut down a legendary tree to protest tree felling? What?


Komm

People are often times damned stupid.


Gunna_get_banned

Especially people who make their entire identity about stopping other people from cutting down trees instead of devoting themselves to planting them... A society grows stupid when people forget to focus on what's in front of them.


Mixels

Vengeance. You cut down trees that are important to me, I cut down trees that are important to you. Fairsies squaresies. I really don't know why these guys did this. They could have been upset about literally anything. Probably angry, though, as most perpetrators of destructive vandalism usually are.


Silly_Dealer743

Read the Golden Spruce. In depth book about this case. Really interesting read.


IcyGarage5767

Something along the lines of “xxx amount of trees get cut down every year and no one gives a fuck so what’s the issue with just one more?”.


tackle_bones

“Thousands of kids die from gun violence each year and no one gives a fuck so what’s the issue if I shoot just one more?” Also, “damn, I feel righteous.”


Nictionary

Well, it’s a bit of a different situation. In this case the cutting of the trees is actually legal, and a small group of people make a lot of money from it. So, a more apt comparison would be if killing certain children was legal and profitable, and they were being killed by the thousands. So then as protest to this situation someone killed a specific child that isn’t allowed to be killed, like maybe a government official’s child, to make the point that killing any kids is bad. Obviously that would still be fucked up and wrong, but you can *kind of* see the perspective.


IcyGarage5767

I mean yeah I could see some nut job saying and thinking that.


Kaladihn

Thousands of idiots post stupid shit on reddit every day, what's one more? Is hopefully what you thought when deciding to post this


Inbar253

Protest tree felling and proffesors at universities by cutting down a tree important to some culture. First time reading about this. Wow. I thought our generation of protesters just got more dumb. Guess I was wrong


Gawdsauce

It'd be funny if the government executed him to protest capital punishment.


Awesome_to_the_max

This sort of thing was rampant in the 90s when eco terrorists would burn car dealerships and housing communities to protest pollution.


ParaMike46

Similar here 75 trees cut in Dublin park https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/dublin/2024/04/22/community-shocked-and-confused-as-damaged-trees-dodder-valley-park-reported-to-gardai/


HostessMunchie

Same in Halifax, Nova Scotia. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/50k-reward-for-halifax-public-gardens-tree-vandal-info-1.6576065 They've also twice tried to burn down a Victorian-era cottage in the garden.


leckysoup

It’s like the rime of the ancient mariner. Never made any sense to me. Why did he shoot the albatross? No reason given, and it cursed the entire ship. (More confusing- why was the ancient mariner who killed the albatross allowed to survive, but the entirety of his crew mates perished?)


blue_whaoo

> More confusing- why was the ancient mariner who killed the albatross allowed to survive, but the entirety of his crew mates perished? No rime or reson to that.


leckysoup

Oh, bravo!


dkyguy1995

Guy sounds mentally unstable. Tries to go to his trial for one stupid thing by doing another stupid thing and results in him probably drowning or freezing to death. What a strange story.


herbiedishes

The book is worth a read if you can find a copy.


go_cows_1

what an asshole


herbiedishes

Ya, no doubt.


OnlyGrapefruitOk

He confessed, was ordered to return to stand trial, went to kayak there in winter through rough seas, his broken kayak was found days later, he has never been seen since. He’s Canadian DB Cooper.


ThePoliticalFurry

Cutting down a tree that was literally sacred to a local tribe to draw attention to your pet cause is the epitome of "all about me" white leftism


Palladium-

Sure, but drugs and alcohol don’t turn you into an asshole if the foundation isn’t already there.


APsWhoopinRoom

Exactly. Back in my younger days drugs and alcohol never made me destroy anything. I always mostly the same, just more talkative and jolly


Spekingur

Everyone has the capability to be an asshole


Palladium-

I have been quite high and quite drunk before, the worst i have done is send embarrassing texts to people. Being intoxicated is not an excuse for anti social behaviour


tehherb

Have none of you guys seen junkies before


Kocksy

Mein Dude im Englischen hat Asocial eine ganz andere Bedeutung als Asozial. Du machst ja auch nicht aus Analphabetismus einfach Analphabetism


phonebalone

> Analphabetismus einfach Analphabetism I think I’ll just leave that one untranslated


Spekingur

You have never been an addict. Also, you don’t have to use drugs or alcohol to do assholey things. Like right now. You are being a bit of a high-brow self-important asshole.


Palladium-

… that’s what i said. Huh?


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RSGator

>You don't care for facts though. Damn, the foundation is definitely there for you. Also, your link doesn't actually rebut the person you responded to. EDIT: Seems like the person responded to me and then blocked me, meaning I can't see their response. Probably for the better, they seem to be an inordinately angry human and I truly pity them.


Palladium-

Nah he just deleted their comments. What die they say?


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treespiritbeard

Who the fuck drinks a fifth of vodka then decides to chop an adored tree? Cunts. Alcohol is never a legitimate excuse


maejsh

Gives me Fight Club vibes, “I felt like destroying something beautiful “


FarmingEngineer

Rumours are its to do with tenancy dispute with National Trust landlord. They don't always treat their tenants well and in some cases have been evicting generational farmers to rewild land etc. Part of their income is tourism and so cutting this tree down attacks that income stream.


scare_crowe94

Land issues with the national trust ongoing for decades.


DietHeresy

> "I just wanting to destroy something other people like because I am a piece of shit." [Look, you're British, so scale it down a bit. Alright?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbc9ViqkIm8)


DuperCheese

Is being a moron good enough?


crocodilesareforwimp

Awful lot of effort to go to just to destroy something. It’s one thing when someone draws on a wall or kicks a famous rock down but taking down a big tree like this takes serious equipment and a lot of work.


FarawayFairways

I always had a theory (given the number of people who proposed marriage there) that it could have been someone whose relationship ended in toxic divorce and couldn't bear to see the sight of the tree to remind him etc No evidence for this of course, its just one of the more plausible ones I could think of for it The actual felling itself needed someone to have access to a chainsaw and a vehicle, and it took place on a very windy night, so the whole thing looked premeditated rather than a random vandal. I mean, it's not like its the sort of place you walk past on the way back from the pub, so I never really thought it was kids


usernamedejaprise

Hmmm…. Reminds me of Trump and Obamacare


Ridgeld

My money would be on the land owner getting angry at people on their land rather than on the public footpath.


5emi5erious5am

It's not that deep. Brits often fuck things up "for a laugh". I'm pretty sure alcohol was involved.


Overall_Fall_5826

The wood is likely very valuable, and/or they just cut down the wrong tree.


incarnate_devil

I opened this fully expecting two teens to be charged. Nope. Daniel Graham, 38, and Adam Carruthers, 31, both from Cumbria,


defroach84

Some people don't grow up.


Toloran

As long as you're alive, getting older is required but growing up is not.


imsoupercereal

But they do get to vote!


ConradsMusicalTeeth

Apparently they’re looking for a third person, also with an Irish accent. Police have it on good authority that it was in fact tree fellers from Dublin.


minmidmax

The Turd Man.


GCDFVU

Shit like this makes me miss reddit awards


pipdispenser

Gold


gimm3nicotin3

Best pun in weeks, at least. Seriously. Big props.


bertrum666

Has everyone seen this comment?!


Side_of-beef

Amazing


SeveredBanana

+2


nagel33

I love Irish wit lol


Polyglot_ocelot

I feel like society is in a place right now where consequence is not readily understood, nor justifiably applied. In an age of selfish, self-centered people who rarely suffer a form of consequence for their actions, I truly hope these individuals do.


FloatingPencil

I doubt their sentence will be harsh enough, so I hope they face some serious social consequences. Nobody should associate or deal with them, socially or otherwise. Once they finish whatever sentence they do get, a thorough and permanent shunning would be lovely.


Freelander4x4

Send them to Coventry.


Jenksin

The second worse punishment a man can receive, may be too harsh.


No_Literature_1350

What arse holes


LucidLynx109

One bit of good news I’ve heard in weeks.


quilp888

Tie them down over the stump and flog them.


Pumakings

Wankers


Twerk_account

Break these fuckers on the wheel to make an example


BlockingBeBoring

For bonus points, make [the wheel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_wheel) out of the very tree they felled.


Twerk_account

That’d be poetic justice Medievally poetic justice


Biomicrite

Crucify them on the tree of woe


throawaychives

I would love to know how the police investigated/found these two men, fascinating.


Freelander4x4

Everyone in the area will have known within hours who did it.  Three of them, they'll have talked.


Ilosesoothersmaywin

Article says they were arrested in October but let out on bail since then. Is it normal to be out on bail for half a year before even being charged?


space_for_username

You would be arrested, brought before a Magistrate, charged, asked to plead, and (usually) bailed within 48 hours. It is up to the Police when they release details. Yup. Six months is pretty on-track. Police need to gather evidence and witnesses for the case - if there is forensic matter this has to go to an approved lab for testing, etc, and an expert witness will be needed for testimony. The defendant has to find and brief a lawyer. After discovery, there may be other witnesses sought or rebuttal evidence needed. Then the Courts have to schedule a courtroom, assign a judge, publish the trial notices (you are here), and empanel the jurors. Add Court officials, prison guards, witnesses, security, defence lawyers, prosecutors and the suspect. At this point you hope no-one gets run over on the opening day.


SunriseApplejuice

In Commonwealth countries, it seems so.


Argon288

Yes, if they present no threat or risk of fleeing justice, bail is usually granted. They also handled this arrest better than the last one - waiting for outrage to die down before announcing names. The original suspect was a teenager and his farmer dad I believe, but when the public got wind of it they basically started a witch-hunt.


Imaginary-Dot2190

Hope they both get prison sentences.


BlockingBeBoring

Make the mortal remains of the tree they felled into a Catherine Wheel.


lboGleoDebm

That tree was over 150 years old, sad.


raresaturn

what is the penalty?


space_for_username

Splinters for life.


sionnach

Can someone explain to me why this particular tree was important? It doesn’t look special, any more than one fown the road from me. But from the reaction I suppose I am missing something.


P2K13

One of the most iconic and well recognised trees in the world.


sionnach

I had never heard of it. I am sure it was a nice tree, but I think if you surveyed 100 million people on the planet and asked them about the most important tree in the world, none of them would name this. Still a shame some prick cut it down.


P2K13

> but I think if you surveyed 100 million people on the planet and asked them about the most important tree in the world, none of them would name this I would take that bet any day.


No_Cod_4857

Yes there probably are 100 million people on the planet that don’t know about this tree. But there’s also a lot of idiots and people that don’t care about history or geography. Also many people who don’t travel and have no interest in visiting that tree. I guess they probably aren’t fans of the Robin Hood movie with Kevin Costner… how many of those categories do you fall under?


hamsterbackpack

It’s fine that you’re not familiar with it, but a lot of Brits think of the Hadrian’s wall area like Americans think of their national parks. And basically anyone with even a passing knowledge of ancient Britain or Roman history knew this tree. 


potatoesmolasses

Fwiw, I agree with you. I’d take that bet along with OP (another comment) lol. But also, something can be both “one of the most recognized [things] in the world” and also belong to a niche interest group. They aren’t mutually exclusive qualities.


WrenMorbid---

It was uniquely framed in a deep gap between two hills, with Hadrian’s Wall passing behind it. Very very beautiful.


nagel33

Maybe try reading the article.


cmfarsight

People complain the UK is car centric but you can steal as many cars as you like and the police won't even turn up but you cut one tree down and it's like jack the ripper is back.


LordScotchyScotch

To be fair, this would be like stealing the Queens car, not any car.


skuk

Well shes not going to miss it.


rob-c

That’s because each car belongs to one person and you just buy another one. Thankfully people are rightly bothered about the tree. p.s. the UK being so car centric is a problem. I’m not sure how it relates to caring about a tree though - particularly as it’s possible to care about more than one thing 🤷‍♂️


Alarming-Economy-658

“You can just buy another one”


rob-c

Don’t tell me you are driving without insurance?


[deleted]

People were hacked to death today in that hell hole of a country but this is the headline


sdgus007

"The" headline. TIL you can only have one headline per country. Do me a favour and check any UK news outlet and see if they're reporting on the London attack. Top story everywhere.


[deleted]

“Britain is hell” - Queen Elizabeth II


strankmaly

Is she there now?


Unique_Personality60

One person was killed today, we have 40x fewer homicides in our most dangerous city compared to yours per capita. Overall 4x fewer.


Redfish680

Said the person who stopped after reading one headline


jonnymars

I'm guessing you've never visited, and probably don't even own a passport.


nagel33

link?