There’s video online from a security camera of two people stepping into the Birge Fountain, climbing on the statue, tugging on it until a piece comes off, and (presumably) stealing that piece.
(For prior FW posts against vandalism, see The Crude Illegitimacy of Vandalism and Update: Vandalism, of Property and Opportunity.)
Watching the video, it seems to be a young couple, although I’ve no idea whether this was a date gone wildly awry.
The worst crimes are ones of violence against other people. Still, there’s a maliciousness to destroying others’ possessions that’s wrong on its own scale.
Odd, too, that this was a couple’s idea of a night out.
Let’s assume that it was a date. A couple can have all sorts of fun on the town, but there never was – and never will be – a fun evening that comes from pulling on a statue until a piece of it comes loose.
Whitewater’s a beautiful town, with more than one romantic vista. One could walk happily through the city with one’s girl for a pleasant evening.
It wasn’t that sort of evening shown on the video.
Doing the wrong thing shows how far that couple was from enjoying the many good things in the city.
This was an evening not worth having.