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Malden teen charged with smashing Holocaust Memorial panel; bystanders grab him

Natalia Pfeifer posted photos of a smashed pane at the Holocaust Memorial at 6:50 p.m.

Just watched a man run away after smashing Boston's Holocaust Memorial with a rock. These acts of hatred are everywhere. We must resist.

Boston Police report arresting a 17-year old from Malden - with the help of a couple of people who witnessed the vandalism and grabbed the alleged punk and held him until officers arrived.

He'll be arraigned tomorrow on a charge of wilful and malicious destruction of property, police say, adding they are also considering whether to charge him with a civil-rights violation.

The memorial consists of six glass towers, with panes etched with numbers representing the six million Jews killed by the Nazis.

The memorial stood for 20 years without vandalism. In June, a man was charged with smashing a panel at the memorial with a rock.

In a statement, Police Commissioner William Evans said:

Clearly, this type of behavior will not be tolerated in our city. And, in light of the recent events and unrest in Charlottesville, it’s sad to see a young person choose to engage in such senseless and shameful behavior.

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Comments

Part of his sentence should be to change his legal name to his court docket or inmate number.

Heck, tattoo it on him so he'll remember it.

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would you say differently?A 17 year old smashing glass at the memorial at 6:50PM ,in front of visitors, is indicative of an unsound mind.

The man in June is a homeless schizophrenic.

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He needs to be in a cage.

Not to punish him.

Not to rehabilitate him.

Simply to prevent him from breaking other people's stuff.

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Harsh much? Awful thing that he did but are we going to cage every teen that commits a horrible act or just pick and choose?

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tattoo a number on him? Do you honestly think survivors of the Holocaust would agree with that? Should we make him wear a red V (vandal) on his clothes as well?

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He just needs to learn a lesson about why those numbers are there.

Those numbers were people, reduced to numbers.

Maybe spending some time in society with a legal name of a number would explain why what he did is so horrible.

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they're not dancers in a club.

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Maybe I am crazy but I think we should try to figure out a few things before tossing him into the crowds with a number tattoo on him... like what his mental state is. Why he did it etc. I am not going to excuse this act at all but seriously the mob mentality in this city is insane. 17 year olds are generally not the brightest bulbs. They act without thinking, they latch onto movements, they can be crazy.

If we go your route and kick him out of society, what then?

As a nation we have failed out youth when the reaction is always just toss them in jail forever. This is the same type of fight we have over minority youth who do something stupid and get caught in the system and are made worse for it... adults are supposed to stop and think. We are supposed to teach youth how to behave. If we start acting like a wild mob that does not bode well for those under 18 watching how we act.

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Omg right?! These comments are insane

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Great job by bouncers who caught and body slammed this clown. If the hate circus comes to Boston on Saturday the clowns will get their fifteen minutes of fame and entered into the hall of shame.

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Latest is that many of the lead clowns, at least, are staying away. They're blaming it on the city for "rescinding" their permit (the city says there was no application) and BPD for saying they wouldn't protect them (BPD calls bullshit on that). We shall see if their nitwit followers decide to show up anyway.

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And there's no cure for stupid.
You got to wonder why some names are withheld from the media.
Maybe to see if his parents have juice?

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of his age, as under the law he's considered a "juvenile ".

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If he was a minor who was also a DPW employee arrested for assault in Dorchester, then his name wouldn't be in the papers.

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I wonder if he's looking forward to being sent to jewvi.

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Clearly, this type of behavior will not be tolerated in our city.

The damage to the Holocaust Memorial is reprehensible but repairable. Sadly, under the Democrat legislature and Deval Patrick in the Acts of 2013, police can no longer release the name of a 17 year old accused felon. Hopefully there is a reporter left who will dig into the background of the suspect.

As for this type of behavior (malicious damage to a sacred site) how about the behavior by the BPD Court Prosecutor (usually a Sergeant or Lieutenant in each of our district courts) who agreed to the outrageous deal that dropped two Armed Bank Robbery charges caught on camera to "pickpocket" then agreed to a cute, 364 day sentence instead of 365, allowing green card holder Bampumim Teixeira to evade deportation then brutally murder two doctors in South Boston? Commissioner Evans are you looking into that type of behavior? Has anyone been referred to IAD or have you referred D.A. Conley or any of his staff to the BBO for disbarment? The glass in Government Center can be replaced, the lives of the MD's can't. Crickets.

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We weren't talking about the two doctors today, as horrible as their case is. Even the Herald wrote about the case, though, so I'm sure you could look it up.

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n/t

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This fish's act is so old, it's stinking the place up. Time for it to be put out with the trash. At least give it a timeout, until the stench fades.

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Commisiomer indeed.

Deflection like this pretty clearly puts you on the side of this misguided young man.

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atmosphere that Mango Mussolini has created, it's that bigots of all stripes feel emboldened to come out in the open and show themselves for who they are, right where we can see them.

After responding to dozens of local incidents of anti-Semitism, racism, misogyny, religious bigotry and homophobia of the kind that Trump has clearly enabled and encouraged, using the same tired, bald tactic -- "Yes, but look at this totally unrelated thing over here!" -- Fish needs to come out of the closet as a neo-Nazi sympathizer.

It's okay, dude. Everyone already knows. Your charade is a joke at this point. Might want to hang onto the fake cop uniform, though. I hear there's a brownshirt cosplay convention coming to town.

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Cosplayers are a welcoming community made up of all ages, races, orientations, and identities bound together by our love for crafting and our geeky source materials :( :( Nobody wants Fishy at our cons.

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there is an actual cosplay event on the Common this weekend.

I was jokingly referring to this weekend's planned Neo-Nazi Hate Rally as a brownshirt cosplay.

(As noted earlier, their key speakers have already chickened out of the event. What I did not know was one such Nazi-wannabe calls himself Augustus Invictus. Do they all choose hilarious cartoon-asshole names like that?)

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translation: "Majestic Unconquered Sun". " Invictus" always reminds me of Timothy McVeigh, who left a quotation from the poem of that title as his last words prior to being executed for mass murder.

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GWAR Replacement Bassist" contest.

Oh, and he's a really loony, repugnant, Holocaust-denying shitbird.

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...but FISH stinks right out of the gate, as do the 12 bigots who upvoted your stupid comment.

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What does that have to do with the price of rice?

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It was not malicious it was an accident I talk to the kid he's really sorry about it and he grew up going to that memorial he really enjoys it and he actually remembers what was written on that glass that he broke he feels really sorry about it but it was a complete accident he threw a rock towards the street because he was angry and it curves into the memorial he paused seen what he did and paniced he's just a kid everybody makes mistakes and you don't fight hate with hate all you people making these disgusting comments are worse than him because you are intentionally doing this maliciously doing this and he accidentally made a mistake nevertheless it's a very serious mistake and he's willing to except this punishment but it is not malicious at all this can be resolved with a fine it's not a hate crime

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Throwing rocks at busy streets with enough force to break thick glass isn't accidental.

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Throwing rocks at busy streets with enough force to break thick glass isn't accidental.

In particular, people who throw rocks at busy streets "because they're angry" need to not be on busy streets until they sort out their shit.

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it was a complete accident he threw a rock towards the street because he was angry and it curves into the memorial

I admire your ability to say this with a straight face.

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"That.. is one magic loogie."

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From Webster's Dictionary:

Medical Definition of enabler. : one that enables another to achieve an end; especially : one who enables another to persist in self-destructive behavior (as substance abuse) by providing excuses or by helping that individual avoid the consequences of such behavior.
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threw a rock towards the street because he was angry and it curves into the memorial

Somebody get that kid a tryout with the Sox!

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He couldn't hit a street with a rock! What makes you think he could hit the strike zone with a ball?

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Didja see that curve??

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Not a major-league pitch.

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repertoire. Per our totally-not-a-lying-liar anon scout, the kid can put a sharp curve on a rock!

Certainly it defies the laws of physics, and is jaw-droppingly stupid as a defense against vandalism, but you gotta admit: promising in baseball terms. Add maybe a 90-mph heater and you've really got something. Is he a lefty, by any chance?

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It sounds like he was apprehended very quickly. So when exactly did you have this lengthy conversation with him ,and under what circumstances?

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in a busy street, and ended up damaging property, as a result. That's endangering people, as well, first because somebody driving by who was unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time could've been hit by the flying rock. Even though he's just a kid, seventeen is plenty old enough to keep his anger under control so that he doesn't endanger people when enraged.

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The streets don't curve. There is also a buffer of grass and trees.

None of this "explanation" makes any sense unless the intent was to break the glass panel.

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One Long Run-on sentence.

I call BS. Or sarcasm without the correct font.

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I have my doubts what you say is true, but if so he should be telling his lawyer to apologize, plead, and plan on restitution.

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You probably typed that on a mobile device... which is still not an excuse to omit punctuation. Sounds like both and your friend should pay a little more attention in school. "He grew up going to that memorial" - is that even a thing?

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A message from Mayor Christenson:
On behalf of the City of Malden, I am deeply disheartened to hear of the destruction caused to the Holocaust Memorial by a Malden individual. This memorial represents a sacred dedication to the memory of the Jewish men, women, and children that were killed by the Nazis and the alleged actions of this young person are reprehensible and in no way reflects what our community stands for. Instead, it reaffirms the continued need to work together to stand up against racism, violence, and hatred.

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Why does the Malden mayor have to comment, he didn't destroy it.

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And because he doesn't want people thinking his city is full of Hitlerjugend?

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Because Malden has a pretty long and rich history of having a pretty large Jewish community. It's not as large these days, but Malden's Jewish heritage holds a decent place in its history.

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Because decent leaders step up and clearly denounce hateful acts. See: Mayor of Charlottesville, Governor of Virginia

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When I first heard this, my first thought was "Oh my god, Malden is full of anti-semite racists." Now, when will the maker of the rock (God?) disavow this persons actions? Follow the lead of those who make Tiki torches and disavow immediately. If not, you're also a racist, so are your friends, neighbors, relatives!!!

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Keep it up, it's all part of the plan. You may not be a racist, jury's out on that, but you sure as hell are one lame-ass apologist.

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The kid? The rock?

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Kid + Rock = Kid Rock. Senator Kid Rock.

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Norton had a skinhead problem some years ago and it became a constant refrain for what the town was known for.

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For 20 years this monument has been up, and for 19 I've been amazed that someone hasn't done the symbolic act of hatred that would dovetail with the symbolism of the work itself. Now, twice in 2 months this happens. Not good. Not good at all.

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...that the timing is purely coincidental. Really. Count on it.

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There are been unhinged Nazis in Boston probably since the 1930s. It only takes one to do a horrible deed.

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The first incident was by a typical street hoodlum in a breaking random stuff in public mood and not specifically targeting the memorial for any particular reason other than to be an antisocial waste of life.

This second incident isn't clear yet whether the perpetrator is another hoodlum, mentally ill, or a deliberate hater.

I'm baffled that with City Hall, the Public Market, Quincy Market, the JFK Federal Building, banks, and a million pubs around it, that the memorial doesn't have extensive video surveillance coverage 24/7/365 from different angles.

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I was there when it opened, it's a beautiful structure, lucky it's only been vandalized twice in 22 years. A glass structure is an open invitation for rocks/pellet & BB rifles. Maybe it's time to move the entire thing to inside the ICA.

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the first "hoodlum" and "antisocial waste of life" had a lengthy record of mental illness. OK?

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Not ok. Someone that's a danger to the public like that needs to be institutionalized before they graduate from smashing property to smashing people.

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I trust you and your other upthumbers are in favor of increased spending on such.

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They just can't read thoughts yes. The kids was tackled immediately after he did it btw. Waiting for you to be baffled that each pane of glass doesn't have it's own guard 24/7/365. (Welcome to forensic blaming, after the fact).

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All those economic disillusioned "independents" that traditionally didn't identify with the GOP? It was because the GOP didn't go far enough to "take back America".

That's the thing with independents; they partisans on the fringe that are disillusioned with their closest match. Not some middle of the road guy.

It why he can't and won't unequivocally denounce Nazis. They put him over the top in 4-5 states by only a few thousand votes.

And now theyre energized for action.

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Fish’s comments are intended to do nothing more than to sow discord on UHub by starting quarrels or upsetting people. His posting of inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages are done so with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal, on-topic discussion. He does this for his own amusement.

His peculiar species of internet slithering creature is not unfamiliar to us…he is an internet troll. They all exhibit a common number of characterics…

1) They all posts inflammatory comments, not to engage in serious conversation, but to "grief" or annoy an online community.

2) Lacking human companionship, they seek a sexual-like satisfaction (are aroused) when people join the fight and reply to their deliberately disruptive comments.

3) They are not original thinkers often copying and pasting large blocks of other peoples’ text - they also do this to exhaust the readers of a topic thread, thus driving away legitimate posters of sincere comments. These blocks of text are often recycled and appeared on a variety of threads.

4) They never end a debate because they love arguing and disrupting civilized conversations.

5) The repeat arguments longer than a normal person would, to the point where people will start asking a moderator to turn off comments or block the them. The “red flag” of a troll such as Fish is to keep hammering away at a point in an obsessive manner.

6) Notice how Fish acts innocent when called a troll, resorting to statements like "I'm just stating a contrary opinion, and you can't handle it.” The reality is he is not innocent, he is simply a trouble-maker who only post inflammatory remarks, rarely contributing any real value or good information to a discussion.

7) Fish talks openly about his past but has been meticulous in keeping himself anonymous. This affords him the ability to avoid accountability thus he can get away with saying anything he wants to even telling outright lies about his dubious experiences, expertise or direct knowledge of a subject or topic.

8) When confronted or exposed sufficiently, Fish will seek to have the last word in an online discussion. When nobody responds to their last troll comment, they will proudly proclaim that they "won" what they fantasize as a "content" or “fact".

As for banning Fish, I say let him remain - let him keep posting - and let people keep hammering away on him…he will eventually trip himself up and give up that seemingly innocuous piece of information that will expose himself for the fraud he is.

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Look up the whole "would pull someone out of a car if their SSN didn't match their birthplace" crazy.

If there were any doubts about being a fraud ...

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I enjoy Fish's posts, I've only been in the area 20 years and he has historical knowledge of the city and Boston.

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Could be he just learned about Ninja Rocks and got carried away by the feeling of unlimited power.

Or not.

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As the mother of 4 young boys two black and two white these comments scare the hell out of me for all of their futures. Calm down. I don't know which side is worse! Both are filled with hate and there is no excuse for hate when it comes to children/teenagers.

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What's scaring you, specifically? The over-the-top punishments that some say they would like to mete out to the perpetrator of this crime? That's not really a "side", is it?

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What scares me is that at 17 years old I thought a lot differently than I do today and we have an almost 17 year old son who we are still guiding through life. Teenagers do stupid things and I think we should get all the facts before we send him to his doom. While growing up if I didn't have a mentor that loved and guided me unconditionally then I know that I would be a different person today. It's just not cool to hate on a high schooler. Not to me anyways. Punish him accordingly.

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being a bigot is bigotry against bigots."

You either believe anti-Semitism is evil, or you don't. There aren't two sides to this story. Opposing hatred is not also hatred.

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