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Tuesday, December 06, 2022

“VANDALISM” 1953 Juvenile Delinquents and Law Enforcement

 Sid Davis Productions presents “Vandalism,” a 1953 social guidance / educational film that focuses on the travails of three groups of juvenile delinquents and their brushes with the law in Inglewood, California. The “pranks” pulled by the teenagers featured in the film range from throwing a scarecrow in front of a moving vehicle, stealing merchandise from a shop, spiking the punch bowl at a party, and “borrowing” a stranger’s car. The narrator intones that although these teenagers may often view such actions as lighthearted and fun, they will all inevitably lead to jail time and a police record.

VIDEO HERE  (10:22 minutes)

13 comments:

  1. all well-dressed, clean-cut ( ) kids

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    1. If only today's Juvenile Delinquents were so well behaved...

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    2. I can still remember my mom disapproving something I was wearing by saying "That looks hoo-dy...."

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  2. Well, I'm 70 and we used the trick of getting the store owner to go to the back of the store, while an accomplice stole candy from the front...worst part, was, when my Mom discovered the candy, she made us return it to the store...no juvee hall for me!

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  3. We stole gas caps and stored/collected them in an abandoned trailer. One day the trailer and our treasures were gone. We also stole Christmas lights until a homeowner with a shotgun dissuaded use from future malfeasance.
    !966 Raytown MO. Best of times.

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    1. In 77 A friend and I traveled and worked from Texas, Louisiana to Alabama. He had a Pinto wagon. In under a year I'll bet we replaced it six times. I figured someone had a garage full of those things. I never figured on a trailer. YOU!!?

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    2. Not me. By 1977 the tender traps had attracted me big time.
      I had a 1972 Pinto Hatchback. My gas cap AND gas were stolen from my apartment carport a couple times. Whoever it was, and we had a clue, returned the gas cap and put it on my roof.

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  4. I remember when I was 10, a buddy swiped a set of cutting torches and we set put cutting high-tension guy wires on 765K poles.

    Good, harmless vandalism, put hair on our chests and made it stand on edge.

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  5. 1967 10 yrs old had 5 us in our squad we New our asses was going to the nam, and we were training early for it UDT/Gurila , the jungle and swamps in so fla had the same look to us as our area had a man made mtn,lake,connecting canals every where,an island,a chiki hut(Seminole hooch), foot bridges,and tropical terrain like we saw on Walter Cronkite every night.
    After a full day blowing up shit on the bottom of the lake boat models and few old tires,free diving with sack of M-80's and a spool of fuse. Make the set,lead back to shore and staying under using reeds to breathe and coping a squat in the Bush we would wait to lite it off&up when the rest of kids came to take a swim got a lot of shits & giggles with that op.
    Back in the day the whole Neighbor hood after a Hurricane everybody in the family's would pile Brush in huge rows in the field off of a qtr mile long rd which had about 8 houses. Was 0200 and we was sitting on top of the mountain I asked the guys (want to have some fun) took a vote for yes !
    We could sit up there and see the whole nieghbor good through the glasses we propped brush from the row at each house all doors and made our way back to the top of the mountain to watch the Show!
    Just about 0400 I let out a long loud wolf howl !! And the show started with the dogs barking and I let out several more howls and got the whole lot of them barking good.
    One by one the lights came on all down the road,the more I howled the louder they went off,then the phones started ringing one by one until everyone was a calling everyone else
    Hell we were all laughing and doing hand to hand trying to get the glasses to see who got out first.that was our Q to slide down the back side and head to our (hobby holes) plywood topped with brush camo over our Fox holes with gear so we could stay all day any day under huuge holly bushes to our flank field.the lake was between us and the road
    Hold & Watch boys and don't lift that top more than you could see out and keep a close eye 360 and keep ya gaps shut till sundown dammit!!!I
    My Dad was USMC wore a. black panther with blood dripping paws tattooed on his right forearm,loved a good prank,would right a wrong in heartbeat,was a gentleman,and held his honor til his last day,had a laugh you could recognize in a crowded room,and loved by many,and had a canning ability to know what you did before he would ask you (is there anything you would like to tell me?) Son.
    If you owned up to it, he would smile and laugh and tell you (you got yourself in this mess -you can get yourself out).if it was serious you would hear the belt clear the loops,it it weren't he would give you your due.
    Our due was Hard work and mowing for each of our fellow family's,our house was the last one on that road which was also brushed,his last word on that event was him telling us 5 little hardheads (GOOD ONE well get to it,it ain't gonna happen by itself ha ! Ha! Ha! Ah! Ha! Ha!) As he Walked away after we came in from our camping trip that Sunday afternoon.don't recall anyone getting all mad about it but do remember all the parents sipping ice tea in the shade of there porches laughing&chatting & keeping us busy for the fun of it all.Twas the Talk of the bonfire at the burn off that fall.what a hoot it was when growing up was REAL.

    Thank you Mr. Wirecutter for all your post I enjoy them every morning in my older days always brings a good laugh or dozen to get my compass straight.
    Capt'n Kracker


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  6. Habitual criminals, all of you!

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    1. some habitual criminal throwback behaviors have good life lessons too! a friend rolled a watermelon with a 80 in it in the back door of a pub to get my buddy's old man home before he got to tearing up the house pretty bad after closing time. Timed it to his usual spot at the bar 2am,his dad came home took a shower sobered up went to bed didn't bother anything anyone didn't remember shit,but magicly drank less and left early from that bar from then on much easier for all of them too they both graduated school in stead of Putin the house back together every morning. I learned not too run no shoes through a scrap wood pile, got a 16 nail deadcenter right foot walked into the house with a 2x4 form board shoe dam glad it wasn't a ringshank

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  7. Speaking of habitual criminals. Back in the 70's I may or may not have witnessed my uncle breaking into a junior high school science lab. He may or may not have opened the top drawer of a certain science teacher's desk, the old wooden ones with the long pull out drawer, and took a long shit. The draw, which may or may not have actually existed, was slid back into place.

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  8. If you watch the video to the last crime, you'll see a shiny new Studebaker black & white patrol car!

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