Man Goes Batty with Bulldozer

Flipping through the news stories topping Yahoo headlines today, I noticed one that read:  Man Bulldozers Neighbor’s Home 

It caught my attention so I read on.  It appears that a man was upset because a fence blocked him from easily being able to move his logging equipment in and out of his property, so he wanted to have the fence removed.  Evidentially, there was a dispute over the fence because several neighbors did not want it removed.  Thus, he took his bulldozer and bulldozed the fence, three homes, a boat and a variety of other items not belonging to him.  This is not the part of the story I found amusing.  It is sad and tragic and I am thankful that in this rampage, no one was physically hurt or killed.

What struck me as comical is the comment from the man’s brother, who told reporters, “I think he snapped.”

You THINK he snapped?!  I mean, did we have to stop and think about whether he was of sound mind when he bulldozed not one, not two, but three homes? 

I’m not one to cast judgment.  I, being part Serbian and part German, have quite a temper of my own.  I can understand what it feels like to “lose it” or “snap” momentarily.  I’ve chucked a deodorant bottle across the room, put a hole in a wall, broken a glass door from slamming it too hard, and bunny-footed the passenger side door of a black, Hyundai Scoupe.  I’ve thrown a punch or two in my lifetime, broken a beer bottle over a guy’s head, thrown a chair at my boss and kicked a man in the nuts as hard as I could.  I get it.  People do stupid things out of anger and I’ve done my share.  So, I can understand bulldozing down the fence.  It was a source of contention and he wanted to destroy it.  Hell, if I were there I’d have probably helped him take the fence down.

But… when he took to the homes and the boat, he obviously crossed the sanity line.

I feel sorry for the neighbors who had their home and personal belongings destroyed and I feel sorry for the bulldozing man as well.  Anger is a powerful weapon and one that leads us all to actions and words we most assuredly regret afterwards. 

What can we learn from this bizarre bulldozing news bite?  Treat your neighbors with kindness and be considerate of their needs.  Compromise when you can and sacrifice to help one another…because everyone has the ability to “snap” and you don’t want to wake up with a bulldozer in your living room.  ~