This is sickening...

Jeremiah Johnson, one of my top five movies ever.

What exactly are you implying? Tuff shit it happened, get over it. Or lets take matters into our own hands?

RIDE ON!

along with riding offroad / dualsport / adventure bikes for the last 40 years, i am an arizona site steward. not sure what cali does in respect to keeping an official eye out for damage to archy and historic sites, but just in my region of central az alone, we monitor over 100 sites and that's only about 10%. over the last 8 years i've been doing it, traffic to some of the more remote sites has increased tenfold due to ohv use. it is primarily quads and side by sides allowing these lazy bastards to get right to the site and be able to take artifacts back with them. (of course i use my bikes to access the sites but have never seen another two wheeler anywhere near them)
we have our share of vandals, but rarely do we see anything as blatant as this. our petroglyph thieves usually use a hammer and chisel. penalties can be stiff, but rarely rough enough. (the site steward program won't allow us to carry a weapon )

Isn't that crazy, considering in AZ it's OK to carry if you aren't doing official business?

He's saying; S,S,S, if you know, then you don't have to say it.

Im sure if the same crew of people that stole that art took those same saws to your house, your tune would probably be slightly different

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I am not sure how or why you have made the leap from anger at a specific act to "forever hold hatred and violence in my heart" and why that has anything to do with reporting a crime to the police or not.

...unless that help involves contacting any LEO's, right? Just wanted to be clear.

And thanks for siting a Sioux prayer for the occasion. I'm sure the Paiutes appreciate it, 'cuz all "Indians" are the same.

What I saw in that prayer was that not only are all Indians the same, but we are all the same. I didn't see anything I don't agree with, actually, including the need for forgiveness (though I often fail at that, which is why I need Jesus to demonstrate it for me).

It is hard for me to get my head around the deep distrust for LEO's, from someone who seems to hold good will. I'm sure that is because my known relatives have not had so much taken from them by the "authorities". Hopefully, for the sake of the people who were wronged, there can be forgiveness in that as well. Hopefully, for the sake of everyone, the "authorities" with ill will become more and more rare. I think they are pretty much non-existent in my area, thankfully.

I'm still not going to let those bastards cut petroglyphs if I can help it...

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Nothing in your post says anything about your "life experience in America" and how any of these "experiences" have led you to distrust LEO... unless you were around during prohibition?

Regardless... I do now know where you are coming from...

I'll put this in simple terms that are rules I live by.

Cops smell fear and will act upon that like blood to a Great White. They live to fuck with people and get paid for doing such. They get off on this and most come from recent military training where they are taught to always be on guard and watch their asses before caring about rights of others. They are trained killers and nothing more. If they weren't licensed to protect (kill within the law), they would be killing outside of it and many do. I don't like them, trust them, nor will I ever be friends with one, nor turn my back on one. I've never called LEO for aything in my life, I protect myself, my family and always will.

That being said, in remote areas such as this where things need to be protected, they might be of service simply because they are animals and can live as such in remote outlying areas. Also, they will be much less likely to kill, abuse, or mame their own kind due to their remote service. And because of this, and in this situation, I would not hesitate to call the LEO if I witnessed this, because this is nothing but the perpetration of a crime on an under-represented and under-protected people.

You have to choose your own battles and you have to choose between the worst evils. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

Flip side... Grew up with a Cop for a Dad. Not a killer. Not even close. Half his friends were Cops... other half were hot rodders and stock car guys. The car guys were drunks.. the Cops alcoholics. The car guys told stories of their shenanigans that sounded bad... Cops did too. Were there Cops that were power hungry and looking for trouble to leash upon people they felt deserved a good kick in the head ? Sure. Did I see car guys take matters into their own hands and throw some beat downs in the pits ? Yep.

Men with Testosterone do stupid shit. People expect more of the Cop than the Citizen... and that is fair. But behind the badge is a still a breathing human with problems like you... who is expected to be perfect... and take a lot of shit before he finally finds someone to give a little back.

I find those that dislike and distrust Cops tend to bleed those feelings like Pheromons... the Cops smell it... and the haters become targets.

Or in much simpler terms... "People that have problems with Cops... are the People that have problems with Cops."

You can't change a Cop who is rolling up to your door... but you might be able to change how you deal with him... and improve the outcome. IMHO

You're also talking about another time and another generation. We now have a different breed let loose on the streets. Beware of your trusting demeanor, it will not serve you well.

I typically just ignore them and hope they'll go away. If not, I still ignore them. And I have no "problems" with cops/the law. My professional bi-yearly FBI check is cleared every year. Just never had a good situation with them.

You guys are just a bunch of anti-social, outlaw bikers ......no wonder I feel so comfortable here.

Correction sir! Anit-social human being.

I got pulled over Many Many Many Many times and got a whole bunch of tickets and a bunch of warnings and even arrested once (if ya want a good laugh have a beer with me and ask me about it next time we meet around a campfire) and it was ALWAYS because I did something wrong, all except for one time the cops just wanted to check out my cars roll cage


just my experience and I realize this is not true with everyone but I've found that if your not acting like a complete Asshole they won't treat you like one
your attitude good or bad usually has a direct impact on how your encounter will go
even if they start out with being a dick to you your reaction to them can change how things turn out
probably should have been arrested a few more times and gotten some more tickets too


just take into consideration that they get to see a LOT of really Fucked up shit that hopefully you will never get to see

but they still have a job to do and some are good at it and some are not so good at it and some should definately not be in that line of work

When I was 16, I was leaving a party sober as it had just got broke up less than an hour after it started. I was about 125 lbs at the time. A 200lb Newport Beach cop grabbed me and threw on the hood of a patrol car with no provocation, i was simply walking toy car. Handcuffed me, then he and his buddy, while I was handcuffed, kicked me in the head and face repeatedly breaking my jaw and causing head lacerations that needed 17 stitches.

When I was 22, I was in San Francisco at a sailboard trade show. I was pulled over leaving a parking garage because I had a break light out. I was arrested for driving while intoxicated, but they never gave me a sobriety test or breathalyzer.
They threw me in the car and then drive around sf for about three hours talking about how they cheat on their wives. They then took me to jail in south San Francisco (20 miles from car) and booked me. Still no sobriety, blood, urine or breathalyzer. At 6:00am they threw me onto the street and didn't tell me where I was, how to get back to my car or anything. And without my shoes.

When I was 25, my sister, brother and I threw a 25th anniversary party for my parents at out condo in Laguna Beach. One of the neighbors called the cops because one of our guest's cars was overhanging their driveway by about 6". When I went outside to move the car forward 6", a cop waited until I parked the car and then made me do a sobriety test. I moved the damn car 6" in front of my parents condo. I was arrested for DUI.

I could go on, but why.....

Assuming you haven't tracked the Newport pair down, you are more forgiving than I...