ANDERSEN GRAFFITI

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jackiemac

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Saw a link to this on one of the Facebook pages I follow where it alleges the Andersen Hitch guy (Ryan Andersen) was caught on camera damaging Corona Arch.

Think there might be some backlash on his business because of this.

https://idahostatejournal.com/members/idaho-falls-family-facing-backlash-for-reportedly-defacing-corona-arch/article_06e2e5fe-de1a-5094-a557-95e53287525d.html

http://kutv.com/news/local/alleged-corona-arch-vandal-sparks-outrage-on-social-media

Google reviews seem to have disappeared as people were leaving 1 star reviews......
 
Howdy Jackiemac,

Thanks for the post. This is beyond appalling, and if true (and I hope it isn't, but the pattern of evasion reported on the first link seems to indicate that the Andersen guy has at least something to hide on the matter) , would mean a major black mark on the company and its products.

I for one won't buy anything from a company in any way involved in anything like this, no matter how good its products.

Cheers,
--
  Vall.
 
I have mixed feelings when I hear a story like this. The "no comment" replies from the company sure seem self-incriminating but on the other hand based only on the two links provided in the original post there seems to be a lot of "what appears to be" speculation on the part of the media. Perhaps there are clearer images out there that show him to be the vandal. I hope not - I actually talked to him when I was in the process of buying my hitch in early 2016. If he is, shame on him - there there is no excuse for that type of behavior!
 
Joezeppy said:
I have mixed feelings when I hear a story like this. The "no comment" replies from the company sure seem self-incriminating but on the other hand based only on the two links provided in the original post there seems to be a lot of "what appears to be" speculation on the part of the media. Perhaps there are clearer images out there that show him to be the vandal. I hope not - I actually talked to him when I was in the process of buying my hitch in early 2016. If he is, shame on him - there there is no excuse for that type of behavior!

Yes see attached where the family faces are clear, the kids faces are blocked out...  and graffiti right behind them.  There is also a picture of damage on a place near Delicate Arch with the word ANDERSEN it big writing....  coincidence maybe.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/graffiti-etched-famed-rock-formation-arches-national-park/story?id=38761196
 

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Howdy JackieMac,

jackiemac said:
Yes see attached where the family faces are clear, the kids faces are blocked out...  and graffiti right behind them.

The kids' face would probably be blocked because of exposure-of-minors legal concerns, no? Not sure how this kind of stuff works in the US.

Anyway, I just did a quick search on YouTube for one of the official Andersen videos, and found this: https://youtu.be/K_Y2H5hTS6Q

The boy shown carrying the hitch, from 00:00 to 00:10, looks physically a lot like one of the three kids shown in the picture you attached. But the real kicker is from 00:10 on: to my eyes, there's no way to deny (besides outright forgery) that the guy on back of the truck is the same guy on the graffiti picture, ditto for him again *and* the woman sitting at his side at 00:24.

EDIT: in case Andersen decides to remove that "official" video (as they reportedly did to their 1-star Google ratings), I've just saved stills of the 3 moments in the video I mentioned above, and attached them to this post.

Now this has turned not only appalling, but disgusting as well. As I said, the only way I can see for Andersen not being guilty as heck is for the graffiti picture being somehow a forgery (eg, someone photoshopped their faces into the graffiti picture and turned that forged picture over to the press in order to smear them and/or the company). But if that's the case, the Andersens have to come out right now and issue a firm denial, as well as providing proof (forensic analysis of the picture or whatever) that it's indeed a forgery.

There is also a picture of damage on a place near Delicate Arch with the word ANDERSEN it big writing....  coincidence maybe.

I do not believe in coincidences in that case, specially given what can be seen on the video as I noted above.

This is all very sad.  :-[

--
  Vall.
 

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VallAndMo said:
Howdy JackieMac,

The kids' face would probably be blocked because of exposure-of-minors legal concerns, no? Not sure how this kind of stuff works in the US.

Anyway, I just did a quick search on YouTube for one of the official Andersen videos, and found this: https://youtu.be/K_Y2H5hTS6Q

The boy shown carrying the hitch, from 00:00 to 00:10, looks physically a lot like one of the three kids shown in the picture you attached. But the real kicker is from 00:10 on: to my eyes, there's no way to deny (besides outright forgery) that the guy on back of the truck is the same guy on the graffiti picture, ditto for him again *and* the woman sitting at his side at 00:24.

EDIT: in case Andersen decides to remove that "official" video (as they reportedly did to their 1-star Google ratings), I've just saved stills of the 3 moments in the video I mentioned above, and attached them to this post.

Now this has turned not only appalling, but disgusting as well. As I said, the only way I can see for Andersen not being guilty as heck is for the graffiti picture being somehow a forgery (eg, someone photoshopped their faces into the graffiti picture and turned that forged picture over to the press in order to smear them and/or the company). But if that's the case, the Andersens have to come out right now and issue a firm denial, as well as providing proof (forensic analysis of the picture or whatever) that it's indeed a forgery.

I do not believe in coincidences in that case, specially given what can be seen on the video as I noted above.

This is all very sad.  :-[

--
  Vall.
Hi Vall, yes I know that young people seem to commonly have a desire to write on things - it seems to be a phase people go through, but why an adult?  I don't see the reason for it nor understand why someone would vandalise a thing of beauty and worse, teach their children to do the same.  I noted that someone had actually asked him to stop but he ignored them.  I think that is who took some of the photos and reported him.  They said he sent the kids to change the number plates on the truck!!  That sounds like intentionally going to deface something and having a back up plan just in case, seems a bit far fetched but who knows!

Anyhow, he was caught and will no doubt be fined for his stupidity.
 
Joe, ditto here :-/ Can you tell whether this was the guy you talked to (on the phone, I presume)?
 
Jackiemac: Ignoring pleas to stop?! Changing licence plates??!! Isn't that illegal? And getting their kids to do the changing?!!?! This becomes worse the further we delve into it :-( And all this would yield legally is a fine?! I may be exaggerating, but to me this looks like the case for hard jail time. Otherwise, what's stopping all the rest of the vandals going right now to Utah and doing the same to these and the other Parks? What about the rest of the nation!? IMHO this guy should be made an example of.
 
jackiemac said:
Vall, off topic but how is your Visa coming on?
Thanks for asking. Will PM you on that so as not to veer the topic further off.
 
Vall, I had traded some emails with Dave (his email was "davea@..." so he might be family) prior to purchase and then got a call from someone after purchase to tell me the order would be a little delayed. I am 99% sure it was Ryan because I remember being impressed (1) that anyone would call to tell me that and (2) that it was someone in power in the company and not just a service representative.
 
Joe, thanks for the info. That such a until-now-great company's owner would stoop to something so low -- degrading the parks that are the main reason for RVing which in turn is what their products are for! I have no more words, all this just makes me want to sit down on the bare floor and weep  :'(
 
The thing is I bet he is probably a nice guy.....  just doing something stupid and I bet he regrets it now!
 
A tourist from another country could possibly plead ignorance of the seriousness of the vandalism, but an outdoorsman from Idaho is without excuse. He deserves absolutely everything that he gets from this. So much vandalism occurs without being witnessed. I am thrilled they caught this a-hole.
 
Howdy,

jackiemac said:
The thing is I bet he is probably a nice guy.....  just doing something stupid and I bet he regrets it now!

Given his previous history (including the excellent contact Joezeppy here had with him) I would say this is a distinct possibility.

If he indeed did do it and he's at the bottom a good guy, I think there's only one avenue open to him to get out of that mess:

(a) stop evading and own up to what he's done;
(b) apologize humbly and profusely;
(c) pay from his own pocket whatever fines he's got coming his way;
(d) pay from his own pocket for an expert restoration team to remove his defacements and repair the rock to look as much as possible as it was before;
(e) make a large donation to the Park, with the express purpose of installing a system of unobstrusive, wireless, solar powered cameras to record whatever happens next at the same spot, as a means of deterring further vandals.

It would be nice if someone with some acquaintance/contact with him would call his attention to that.

Joezeppy, note wanting to saddle you with anything, but you got email addresses and phone numbers from him/them, right?

Cheers,
--
  Vall.
 
Was that photo actually at the base of the arch?  Honestly from what i can see it could be anywhere.

if it was....
gasp!  they walked on that rock next to the arch too!
No doubt their footprints wiped out those of the Anasazi, and also accelerated the erosion rate that will ultimately undermine the arch!

Seriously though, I'm not one to ever support anyone marking up anything with graphiti, especially sites like that...but even on much more temporary things like picnic tables in a state park.  the next person coming along doesn't want to look at your "art"

but I do think we can get just a bit too carried away with criticizing. 

Think about it this way, how is what they supposedly did any different at all from what the anasazi folks did drawing their little pictures all over that region 400+ years ago?  And we revere their graphiti.... why is that?  Honestly, when I see that indian art I have pretty much the same opinion as I do about what I see here from these folks..... it's a real shame that those anaszi parents din't keep their kids in line better than that, now I have to look at their "art" and can't just enjoy beauty in the nature

Again, I don't condone it.  I guess I'm in the camp that we are all leaving marks all over this planet every day, and there is nothing wrong with that.  We just have to be smart about it. 
It was likely a stupid mistake by a nice family... a moment of not thinking things through.  We all do that too.
 
blw2 said:
Think about it this way, how is what they supposedly did any different at all from what the anasazi folks did drawing their little pictures all over that region 400+ years ago?  And we revere their graphiti.... why is that?  Honestly, when I see that indian art I have pretty much the same opinion as I do about what I see here from these folks..... it's a real shame that those anaszi parents din't keep their kids in line better than that, now I have to look at their "art" and can't just enjoy beauty in the nature

400 years ago the Anasazi people didn't have any other way to preserve their memories.  That's hardly the case today.

They also didn't have thousands of people visiting those sites every year.

 
VallAndMo said:
It would be nice if someone with some acquaintance/contact with him would call his attention to that.

Joezeppy, note wanting to saddle you with anything, but you got email addresses and phone numbers from him/them, right?


I do have contact info for the sales person with whom I traded emails but I'm not a knee-jerk reaction kind of guy and although I appreciated the way they treated me as a customer, I'm really nothing more than that - a customer. I'm going to follow the story and if I feel there is anything I can communicate to the company or owner directly as things unfold, I will.
 
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