Society Hill’s Version of “You Kids Get Off My Lawn”

By Randy LoBasso
Add Comment Add Comment | Comments: 3 | Posted Apr. 9, 2010

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The Daily News reports the Vietnam Veterans memorial at Front and Spruce streets has been desecrated one too many times by punk skateboarders. Now it’s time to get all John Rambo on these kids’ asses.

OK, not quite. But a bunch of Vietnam veterans are going to start patrolling the site ala Saigon 1968.

“Terry Williamson, president of the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund,” writes the Daily News, “said that skateboarders and in-line skaters have seemingly stepped up their mistreatment of the memorial since the site's $500,000 renovation last fall.”

The veterans may not be armed, they may be aging, but something needs to be said about former warriors returning the call of duty once again, taking the war to a bunch of bratty kids. They'll be shifting as early as next week.

Guards have been installed along the edges to stop skateboarders from grinding the thing, yet many of them have been spotted actually ripping them out. A webcam was installed to keep guard on the memorial, but it’s done nothing. You can actually watch video of the site at www.pvvm.org.

The Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund plans on sinking more money – another half-million – into the site, but these damn kids have gotta stop hating America first.

The DN reporter, Dave Gambacorta, has actually referred to these faceless, nameless humans with four plastic wheels as “heartless punks who have made a hobby of vandalizing the hallowed space.”

Damn kids with your music.

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1. Anonymous said... on Apr 9, 2010 at 12:22PM

“What makes it so hard to respect a piece of public property, especially
this property? I was growing up during the Vietnam War, I believe it changed this country more than any other. The men and women who fought
in it were never paid the respect they deserved. I hope these patrols work!
”

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2. Jim said... on Apr 9, 2010 at 10:58PM

“I don't really understand what point Mr. LoBasso is trying to make in his article, other than to parade his imagined coolness by mocking a group of veterans and their concern over mistreatment of a war memorial. Perhaps he could explain why he thinks that it is so ridiculous for these veterans to be upset about this matter. Does Mr. LoBasso think that a memorial inscribed with the names of Viet Nam war dead is not worthy of any respect? Does he not consider his attitude toward these veterans to be insensitive? Perhaps he should show up at the memorial when the veterans are conducting one of their patrols and express his disrespect for and mockery of them in person. Aging or not, I'll bet that those people are still capable of kicking his way cool smart ass for him.”

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3. shotime369 said... on Apr 12, 2010 at 05:30AM

“I understand that these kids have no respect for the memorial, and their knowledge of the war, much less their compassion for veterans of any war, is a statement in itself. They're ignorant punks.

However, I may have missed the mocking, disrespect, and sarcasm of the writer. You're saying the writer is expressing the belief that there are more important things to worry about?”

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