On May 2nd, Oregon’s very own Brett Nelson was enjoying a hike up Turmalo Falls when he noticed a family of vandals carving their names into public property. The man was outraged, going as far as saying that his hike was ‘’spoiled’’.
Nelson, 41, approached the father and his two teenage children (a boy and a girl) and politely asked them to stop destroying the railings beneath the falls. The vandals were indifferent, with the children declaring that they can do what they want and the father being apparently encouraging the behavior, or the very least being ok with it.
Nelson asked the boy in disbelief if he was seriously going to carve his name into the rails, and the boy answered ‘’yes’’.
The well-meaning man than asked the dad for his license plate number so that he could write his name into the hood of the car and give him a taste of his own medicine. The man joyfully answered ‘’go for it’’, informing that the car was a rental.
When asked where they’re from, the family answered California. Irritated, Nelson told them to go back to their home state, sarcastically informing them that ‘’Oregonians take huge pride in our land and in our public land marks’’.
In an attempt to make his community a better place, Nelson asked his hiking companion and friend, Lyle Sweeney to take a photo of the family. They smiled and posed as if they had done nothing wrong. Nelson then took the photo and posted it on Facebook, relating his unpleasant experience.
The post has been shared more than 57,000 times, going viral and shinning a light on the importance the public awards the issue. Nelson’s efforts did not go unnoticed as The Forest Service is actively investigating the incident, mainly thanks to the photographic evidence he provided them with.
Glen Sachet, regional spokesman for The Forest Service, informed that they regularly spend time and money investigating such issues. He called the phenomenon both ugly and impossible to stop.
The Forest Service seems to have found a credible source able to identify the vandals in the photo, though no legal action has been taken as of yet.
Kassidy Kern, spokeswonan for Deschutes national forest, gave a statement saying that vandalism is so common that they would have passed on the investigation without the photo. The carvings of their names might also help officials confirm the identity of the family as an investigator has found them and photographed them.
Nelson recently wrote another Facebook post expressing his gratitude to all the people who showed their support, and all the people who lend a hand with the investigation. He does not want to take action against the children, simply wants ‘’wrongdoing to be admitted’’ and believes parents should serve as better examples for their kids.
Image Source: mtnview-living.com
George Washington wrote his name on a cave wall, same as the first humans… The Egyptians put their entire history on every inch of Egypt. There is nothing more human than that.
Romantics aside, they wrote on a METAL RAIL… They didn’t deface or vandalize a prized possession or national landmark… If he had carved his name into a tree, would that have been as bad? Seriously.
And the way that they paint Mr. Nelson as some type of hero is ludicrous. All we have is a one sided story with no proof presented that this actually even happened the way that he said it did, other than his own words.
I wish I could say there is a fine line between what Brett
Nelson and his fanatic Facebook followers are doing, and cyberbullying, but
that would be untrue. This is a blatant
case of harassment, slander, and mob mentality.
It is easy to jump on the bandwagon when supporting
something as obvious as saving our natural environment and being against
vandalism. But the replies posted to
Nelson’s Facebook page regarding his encounter with a family at the Tumalo
Falls is downright frightening. Here are
a few excerpts: “Too bad you didn’t
have a side arm”, “Start carrying a big Louisville walking stick”, “Time for
that family to get what they have coming to them”, “Let him have it”, and “Some people shouldn’t be allowed to
reproduce”. This aggressive and hateful
language is accompanied by some basic sophomoric name calling such as
“Craptastic parent”, “Morons”, “Jerk parent” and, straight from Mr. Nelson
himself, “Douch-bag”, and “Jackwagon.”
Facebook should immediately remove Mr. Nelson’s posts
regarding this incident or delete his account entirely.
There is no evidence of wrong doing by this family and yet
they are being publically humiliated and persecuted without a trial by a jury
of their peers. This is America where
people are innocent until proven guilty.
The news organizations that have picked up Mr. Nelson’s
story have been irresponsible in perpetuating his unsubstantiated accusations
and by including the photograph of this vacationing family. Fox News, NY Daily News, The Oregonian, KTVZ
21…what happened to fair and unbiased reporting? What happened to fact finding and fact
checking? You have committed slander
right along with Mr. Nelson. You should
make a voluntary retraction and help stop this vigilante surge.
And if a crime is proven to have been committed, let the
punishment fit the crime. Perhaps a fine
and/or community service would be in order, but not what some of these
cyberbullies have worked themselves up to.
This family may very well be afraid for their safety. They may be experiencing emotional
distress. Or, maybe not, but the
backlash from their alleged crime is far out of proportion to the crime itself.
This is not a case of “freedom of speech”, or, “freedom of
the press”. It is a case of cyberbullying. Call it what it is.