Damn, I was hoping Santorum was caught in an airport bathroom or something.

Flutco, I couldn't agree me. Some douche wants to kill a living organism that has been on the earth for 3500 years, Jesus H Christ.

more, dammit.

What kind of a douchebag would destroy a 3,500 year old tree? It's managed to weather everything Mother Nature has thrown at it for millennia, and then along comes Bored Johnny the Asshat with a pack of matches and ten minutes later it's gone.

More anti environment thugs.

Ha ha ha, take that stupid libtards!

This one is for JESUS!

TheShavingofOccam123: Never ever tell anyone anything good about Nature. Let it be. Leave it alone.

I hope they tie this guy to a slightly younger tree and light it up cactus.

May the asshat be attacked by Ents.

See, humans? See this? This is why we can't have nice things. You intolerable prick.

I liked that tree.

It's one god damned tree, you will get over it

Some men just want to watch the world burn.

Or to be famous like Herostratus

I imagine the person being like this sad piece o shiat, who poisoned the Treaty Oak.


Some people are just vicious asshats.

The comments on that page are...sad.

More proof that you need to get off their lawns.
All joking aside, what would possess someone to do something like this? No matter how batshiat crazy it is, there must have been some sort of train of thought put into this.

Hey Vangor: fark U.

Pelvic Splanchnic Ganglion: What kind of a douchebag would destroy a 3,500 year old tree? It's managed to weather everything Mother Nature has thrown at it for millennia, and then along comes Bored Johnny the Asshat with a pack of matches and ten minutes later it's gone.

Although the fire could have been set by some local yokel who heard this tree is special, I worry that the Internet, while making it easier for people to learn about and appreciate wonders of the world, also makes it easier for malicious jerks to research ways to make their vandalism really stand out. I understand the precise location of certain ancient trees is deliberately withheld on some sites, but you know that only encourages others to reveal the information on other sites.

I wouldn't be surprised if all notably ancient trees are destroyed in a relatively short time just because they're famous. There's no good answer. Do we make the information secret and known only to a group of sworn protectors? We ask if a tree falls in the woods, does it make a sound? Well, if a tree grows ancient in secret, does anyone appreciate it?

I'm agast. Why? Just why? They come face to face with an living example of natures eternal beauty and resiliance, and their instinct is to burn it down? How small and flaccid must their ego have been to have gotten a charge out of burning down a tree thats older than most nations.

Agred about the kick in the crotch. By ents.

KiplingKat872: I'm agast. Why? Just why? They come face to face with an living example of natures eternal beauty and resiliance, and their instinct is to burn it down? How small and flaccid must their ego have been to have gotten a charge out of burning down a tree thats older than most nations.

Agreed about the kick in the crotch. By ents.

It's just like the drunk guy who tore apart a museum. There's absolutely no reason. Some people are just destructive assholes who cannot fit into society so they act out.

praxis44241: All joking aside, what would possess someone to do something like this? No matter how batshiat crazy it is, there must have been some sort of train of thought put into this.

Maybe it was something like, "I'm gonna burn that old tree down"?

wow. that takes a special kind of asshole to do something like that.

Nem Wan: does anyone appreciate it?

Does anyone need to appreciate it? It is more important that things like this are preserved, not appreciated. You could make the argument that the only way to ultimately preserve it to make sure it is appreciated, but you'll never get to that point. Better to hide it away and not call attention to it at all. Let biologists, game wardens or anyone with an actual stake in the tree's existence know about it. The tree certainly doesn't care that everyone know where it is and any reasonable person should not get their feelings hurt if they can't find out where something like this is. The alternative is what happened to this tree.

Well, hopefully the woefully underfunded and understaffed National Parks Service can guard Prometheus and Methuselah for a while.

It was time for that tree to go.Leeching off the gov'ment teet waaaaay too long. I'm sure Obama's death panel took care of that one.

Very sad for me on a personal basis. I lived in the subdivision across the street from Big Tree park (Crystal Creek...formerly Dead Soldier Creek) for many years.

Sounds like something this kid in my neighborhood would do. Just destroy something priceless for the sake of destroying it. Like those asshats that destroyed the natural arch years ago.

TheDirtyNacho: I imagine the person being like this sad piece o shiat, who poisoned the Treaty Oak.


Some people are just vicious asshats.

You scared me there dude. I thought someone had killed the Treaty Oak (new window) in Jacksonville FL.

Man, that tree really tied the woods together.

Nem Wan:

I wouldn't be surprised if all notably ancient trees are destroyed in a relatively short time just because they're famous. There's no good answer. Do we make the information secret and known only to a group of sworn protectors? We ask if a tree falls in the woods, does it make a sound? Well, if a tree grows ancient in secret, does anyone appreciate it?

Yes. Keep them secret. History has shown that humans (generally, not individually) cannot be trusted to protect things like this. All it takes is one asshat and there are an abundance of them in this world.

In the photos with the article, there was a fence around the tree, and it's mentioned as being the centerpiece of the park, so I'm assuming its location was well-known.

If whoever did this is so interested in trees, they ought to be hanging from one. Until pretty recently, they would have been.

I first went to see this tree when I was about 8, in the 1980s. My dad took me--he was always taking me to random, out-of-the-way instructive sights. It really taught me about Time. Looking up at the Senator was cool it was impressively tall. But what really struck me was looking right across at the trunk, and imagining how long it took a tiny sprout to grow that wide and massive.

That thing was around during the Roman Republic. And now, because of some piece of redneck scum, it's ashes. I'm no Peta-head, I'll always say that a human life is worth more than an animal's or a plant's. But for this sort of thing I'll make an exception.

trappedspirit: It's one god damned tree, you will get over it

I don't think that's the point here. Why is it that someone had to be so destructive just to get a kick out of it? To put it in perspective, this tree would have already been nearly a thousand years old when the Roman Empire was founded. Ii would have been 1500 years old when Jesus walked the earth. But, so much for appreciating the absolute wonder of nature, I guess. It's one thing for something like this to be destroyed in a natural event, like lightning, but for a person to willfully destroy something like this is unconscionable!

SOUNDS LIKE ORC MISCHIEF!!

Pelvic Splanchnic Ganglion: Nem Wan:

I wouldn't be surprised if all notably ancient trees are destroyed in a relatively short time just because they're famous. There's no good answer. Do we make the information secret and known only to a group of sworn protectors? We ask if a tree falls in the woods, does it make a sound? Well, if a tree grows ancient in secret, does anyone appreciate it?

Yes. Keep them secret. History has shown that humans (generally, not individually) cannot be trusted to protect things like this. All it takes is one asshat and there are an abundance of them in this world.

In the photos with the article, there was a fence around the tree, and it's mentioned as being the centerpiece of the park, so I'm assuming its location was well-known.

Some men just want to watch the world burn. It's cliche, but true - some folks don't necessarily have a motivation other than to simply cause harm, solely for harm's sake.

I'm appalled at many of the comments left for the article itself - not just the religious nutcases, but also the idiots that really have no clue about basic science. It's a wonder the tree survived this long, to be honest, what with being surrounded by Floridians.

If they killed all of the teenaged boys in the immediate area, they'll almost certainly get the culprit.

angelwolf65: trappedspirit: It's one god damned tree, you will get over it

I don't think that's the point here. Why is it that someone had to be so destructive just to get a kick out of it? To put it in perspective, this tree would have already been nearly a thousand years old when the Roman Empire was founded. Ii would have been 1500 years old when Jesus walked the earth. But, so much for appreciating the absolute wonder of nature, I guess. It's one thing for something like this to be destroyed in a natural event, like lightning, but for a person to willfully destroy something like this is unconscionable!

Jesus never existed, but it was around when the Vedas were composed.

That park is full of those guys that like to have sex in the dirt behind the bushes, the same guys that hang out in rest areas, that and homeless bums. You can't go to these parks anymore, you're either going to molested by ultra horny weirdos, robbed by hobos or questioned by cops.

Axias: Hey Vangor: fark U.

What? I think I'm missing part of a joke.

Vangor: Axias: Hey Vangor: fark U.

What? I think I'm missing part of a joke.

I've been seeing a lot of posts appearing in wrong threads today, that might be one of them.

EleventyOne: That park is full of those guys that like to have sex in the dirt behind the bushes, the same guys that hang out in rest areas, that and homeless bums. You can't go to these parks anymore, you're either going to molested by ultra horny weirdos, robbed by hobos or questioned by cops.

..or burn down a 3500 year old tree.

rebelyell2006: angelwolf65: trappedspirit: It's one god damned tree, you will get over it

I don't think that's the point here. Why is it that someone had to be so destructive just to get a kick out of it? To put it in perspective, this tree would have already been nearly a thousand years old when the Roman Empire was founded. Ii would have been 1500 years old when Jesus walked the earth. But, so much for appreciating the absolute wonder of nature, I guess. It's one thing for something like this to be destroyed in a natural event, like lightning, but for a person to willfully destroy something like this is unconscionable!

Jesus never existed, but it was around when the Vedas were composed.

I guess you really didn't get the farking point did you? Personally, I could care less if he existed or not, however, most people would get the point as a "historical reference."

trappedspirit: It's one god damned tree, you will get over it

Obviously you have never been there. I live in Orlando and ride my bike by there once in a while. I used to play at the park when I was a kid. That tree was friggin cool.