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What to do?

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- Rated: 20 ↑
Aug 19, 2008 6:47 p.m. DangerousMan:

Okay, about half an hour ago some piece of shit just did this to my friend's car. It was the first time he'd parked it in my driveway. His insurance will cover the damage and stuff but my problem is the brick came from my neighbour's driveway - he did some work on his driveway a few months back and left bricks there. I know that the son of a bitch who did this could have got a stone or piece of rock from anywhere but this brick came from RIGHT NEXT DOOR. I think that the nice car combined with the obvious opportunity (i.e. large bricks lying about) is the reason this happened. What should I do? Should I confront / talk to my neighbour? I'm seriously pissed off about this.

Edit: I should also add that the guy (although I have a suspiscion there were two) left blocks under the front wheel arches in an attempt to do more damage when the car drove away... they also came from next door. It's the house with the bicycles in the first photo.
- Rated: 20 ↑
Aug 19, 2008 6:49 p.m. DangerousMan:
- Rated: 48 ↑
Aug 19, 2008 6:53 p.m. dmanlow:

I'd cool down for a bit and think it over. Maybe talk to him in the morning and ask if he wouldn't mind picking his stuff up. Explain to him that it was his brick and all and that there is a possibility it could happen again. It would be pretty hard not to be pissed right now though. Sorry about your luck.
- Rated: 20 ↑
Aug 19, 2008 7:05 p.m. DangerousMan:

I'm not going in there now - it's one in the morning here (and he's not in anyhow.) I'll wait until tomorrow to speak to him. I wasn't going to go in like a raving maniac or anything (although I suppose in fairness it might look that way...) I just needed to know whether I should go speak to the guy at all. Incidentally, I should probably point out that we don't get along.
- Rated: 17 ↑
Aug 19, 2008 7:21 p.m. Spartanman:

+1 on dmanlow for suggesting that cooler heads prevail.

DM: Yeah go speak to him and calmly explain the situation. Show pics etc. BTW... did you file a police report for vandalism? Show him that too and explain that you'd like his help in making the neighborhood safer for everyone, so could he clean up his bricks and not give the riff/raff an incentive to do it to someone else.
- Rated: 35 ↑
Aug 19, 2008 7:31 p.m. crowbone:

Give the bricks back to him.
- Rated: 38 ↑
Aug 19, 2008 7:32 p.m. bobbyrivera:

I think you should live up to your screen-name (DangerousMan) and heave every remaining brick through your neighbor's windows. Run over their bikes with your car too (if you don't have a car, steal theirs and run over the bikes with it). Then throw the trashed bikes through any remaining unbroken windows.

Just kidding- I agree with dmanlow.
- Rated: 20 ↑
Aug 19, 2008 7:36 p.m. DangerousMan:

Yeah, the cops were here and fairly sympathetic - they put my house under 'special notice' or something which means that cops on the beat and detectives will keep an eye on the place and check in on me when they're in the area. I took photos of the windshield - I don't think it's neccessary to show them to my neighbour; I only took in case they might come in handy for insurance purposes or whatever. What makes it even more infuriating is that my neighbour has no gates to the front entrance of his drive - not only that he parked his car on the footpath outside his house meaning anybody walking past could clearly see everything in his drive. He couldn't have made it any more inviting even if he put up a sign saying 'Vandals, get your bricks here.'
I'm really appreciative for the advice you guys - I have a bit of a hot head on me at the minute and while I'm not an aggressive person, anger can make me make stupid decisions and say awful things.

Bobby - I'm not proud of this but the first thought that came to mind when I saw the damage to the car was I should put the goddamn brick through my neighbour's windshield... of course I didn't do it but it did cross my mind.
- Rated: 41 ↑
Aug 19, 2008 7:51 p.m. J(esse James)D:

Any "Dirty Harry" line will do.

Stay sober, pick your "line", and aim your gun

He'll talk, and PAY.

Sorry, but I can't tolerate "neighbors" like that. Sometimes they just have to be pursuaded to MOVE
- Rated: 35 ↑
Aug 19, 2008 7:54 p.m. crowbone:

Give the bricks back to him...

...in suppository form.
- Rated: 20 ↑
Aug 20, 2008 2:23 a.m. DangerousMan:

Anyway... I spoke to the neighbours a few minutes ago (it's 08:20am now) and got it sorted - they apologized and said they'd have the bricks moved. They seemed genuinely upset by it, which is good as I was also genuinely upset by the affair.

Everybody again, thanks for the advice - anybody who I can give a +1 to will get one.
- Rated: 53 ↑
Aug 20, 2008 4:33 a.m. Ratrod:

At least nobody was hurt. Kids here in Holland throw heavy building material from overpasses on moving cars. Just out of boredom or kicks. Many have been seriously injured and even killed.

The perps are rarely caught.
- Rated: 48 ↑
Aug 20, 2008 6:40 a.m. dmanlow:

Glad to see you got it resolved with your neighbour.
- Rated: 19 ↑
Aug 20, 2008 8:16 a.m. cielski:

Though your neighbor provided the bricks, he may not have been the perp. Sadly, a nice car often invites vengeful behavior. A friend's Vette was repeatedly keyed and damaged just because it was a Vette in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"If I can't have a Vette, nobody else should either." Sad part was that he worked two jobs and gigged just to be able to afford it. Somewhere south of Indy last night, somebody did $40,000 damage to a cemetery going back to 1850. What's the point? We've had people killed here by kids throwing rocks off of overpasses on the Interstates. Gee, kid, I'm sorry your life is a POS, but, what makes that MY problem? Every garage and a lot of the cars in my brother's neighborhood were graffitied. Turns out it was a couple of kids from a foster home a few doors away. Kids got a slap on the wrist. The police presence has been increased some.

Now I know why those old guys always shook their heads and said, "Damn Kids!"

It all boils down to personal responsibility. The kids never learned it because their parents didn't learn it either.
- Rated: 45 ↑
Aug 20, 2008 8:59 a.m. Tsar Nicholas :

Jesus that's very Irish isn't it? Smash in the guys windscreen because he has a nice car. There's some serious neanderthals out there.
- Rated: 41 ↑
Aug 20, 2008 9:07 a.m. J(esse James)D:

Glad all is turning out for the better.

Reminds me of an old saying, "most people respect the badge, but all people respect the gun"

Tips from the "Wild West"
- Rated: 42 ↑
Aug 20, 2008 10:09 a.m. seadevil:

I hate to admit this, but I did things like that as a teenager. It wasn't my parents' fault at all. My anger and stupidity were mine and mine alone.
- Rated: 19 ↑
Aug 20, 2008 10:32 a.m. TyPierce:

J(esse James)D said: Reminds me of an old saying, "most people respect the badge, but all people respect the gun"
A fitting quote from a man named Jesse James!

Dangerous - I'm glad to hear you kept your cool and things worked out because of it. Random acts of destruction can be infuriating, but with insurance covering the financial aspect of it and your neighbors taking care of their side of things, I'd say all that's left to do is sit down with your favorite six string for an hour or so and forget about the whole thing.
- Rated: 41 ↑
Aug 20, 2008 12:33 p.m. dubkitty:

some people are just smurfholes...back when i used to live in San Francisco, where they have glassed-in bus stops, people used to come roaring down the streets adjacent to Golden Gate Park heaving missiles at the bus shelters. one time they threw a piece of reinforced concrete the size of a human head through the window of my pathetic little Datsun 210 for good measure, which trashed the drivers' side door frame and made me junk the car. i guess that the sound of breaking glass turns some people on.

i could go on a great long rant about the lack of responsibility and accountability in modern Western culture, the impossibility of a secular moral framework, etc., but it isn't going to stop goons from breaking stuff.
- Rated: 53 ↑
Aug 20, 2008 2:02 p.m. Ratrod:

At least in the USA you have the right to protect your belongings and loved ones.

If I protect my belongings or loved ones with force, it's ME who will be facing the judge.
- Rated: 42 ↑
Aug 20, 2008 2:28 p.m. JC:

I hate this shit.

I've had my car windows smashed 3 times in the last couple of years,rear,and side windows.

Recently there has been a lot of arson attacks on cars around here,a friend of the family lost his car ,totally destroyed! Some where lucky enough to be able to extinguish the fires and save there cars.

Its abysmal
- Rated: 44 ↑
Aug 21, 2008 11:22 a.m. Joel:

In the Biblical sense you can't judge a book by it's cover. Sometimes, those without money take the Bible as a meal ticket and as a way to manipulate society into not having to work. They are jealous of their neighbors possessions which is coveting. There is nothing Christian about that behavior. In this situation the guy throwing the brick didn't even know the driver of the car. He just assumed something. I've met a lot of people who would be considered rich who where assholes. I've met a lot of other people in the same income bracket who where the best folks in the world. Same goes for those without so much money. You can't buy character. That's what's wrong with today's society. Around here I Keep hearing "we're poor, can you give us some kind of break?". Back in the day, my Grandmother never had much money. When I was a kid I would stay with her and we'd hit the TG&Y or whatever. I'd asked to buy something and she would always say no. Her response was never because we where poor, we don't have any money or whatever but because "you don't need it". "Poor" implies you lack something. "You don't need it" implies you already have everything you need and anything more would just be more. The most valuable inheritance I ever received. I really don't understand society these days...
- Rated: 38 ↑
Aug 21, 2008 11:39 a.m. bobbyrivera:

Joel nailed it IMO. I couldn't say it any better.
- Rated: 47 ↑
Aug 21, 2008 12:23 p.m. dignan:

Well put, Joel.

Ratrod said: "At least in the USA you have the right to protect your belongings and loved ones.

If I protect my belongings or loved ones with force, it's ME who will be facing the judge."
Despite our fairly avid "gun culture," it's not quite so simple as you may think.

Most states have a provision for use of deadly force in self-defense (that is, you genuinely believe your life or the life of someone else is in immediate danger); some have what is known as "castle doctrine" - the idea that once someone has broken into your home, it is assumed that they mean you harm and you are justified in using force.

I'm sure JJ was being glib with the "respect" line, but doing something like brandishing a gun in order to intimidate another is simply asking for a world of legal trouble.

Now, I'm a big an advocate of individual self-defense and responsible gun ownership, but there is a lot of research one needs to do on the matter - it's not as easy as buy gun > smite thine enemies > happily ever after. Media portrayal to the contrary, America hasn't been the Wild West for a long, long time.
- Rated: 66 ↑
Aug 21, 2008 4:12 p.m. Walter Broes:

Ratrod said:
At least in the USA you have the right to protect your belongings and loved ones.

If I protect my belongings or loved ones with force, it's ME who will be facing the judge.
First of all, I really don't think things are all that different in the US than in Holland (or Belgium) , and then again, the U.S. is made up of fifty states with slightly different laws. But they're all much more similar to ours than both sides think a lot of times.

But I'm very, very happy to be living in a society where there's no vigilante justice. To me, that's one of the things we call civilization.

And I think nobody will really "punish" you for "protecting" your belongings with some force if that's the only available option.
If you catch some guy in the act of stealing or damaging your belongings, and stop him, physically, you might have to explain yourself, but if your behaviour was reasonable or the only course of action left, you'll be OK in 99% of the cases.

But if you're talking "revenge" your belongings or loved ones, that's an entirely different matter, and rightly so, I believe. Revenge never did anyone any good.

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