Nazi Tweenies

[EmilyRose1982]

Small bit of BG:

Corporate decided to paint a huge chalkboard across one wall of our lobby/seating area. Every store has this now. It's called the "Dream Board" where we write a fun question and invite customers to write their answers (eg. what's your favorite summer activity?)

I predicted there would be issues, mainly with tweens writing inappropriate things. Oh, how I hate being right, sometimes.

So far, we've only found small, stupid bits written on the board (eg. pooping) and sometimes people's names.

Today:

The board was rather full of answers; I was planning on erasing it later. The question was "what's your favorite ride at [local amusement park]", and it was littered with girls' names.

But then, three tween boys came in. Two of them just asked for water, which I gave them. Moments later, I witnessed absolutely shocking behavior.

These little asshats began drawing SWASTIKAS all over the board!!!!!!

I walked over immediately, struggling to contain my absolute rage.

Me: You guys need to leave RIGHT NOW. That is not even CLOSE to funny!!!
Boys: Uh...oh...okay.... *nervous laughter*

One boy tried to object, saying he hadn't been drawing any, but I couldn't be sure, so I told him again to leave.

After texting my ASM (asst store manager) about what happened, she told me to call the cops if they--or anyone else--drew that shit again.

And as humor would have it, these brats tried to sneak back in only 10 minutes later.

Me: I told you, you boys need to LEAVE.
Boys: Oh...
Me: And if we EVER catch you writing that stuff again, we're calling the cops!
Boys: Ok, sorry...


Now, I know tweens are inherently idiots---I'm in the education field (between jobs now) and know plenty about how their brains work. But SERIOUSLY?!?!?!?

Finding lewd crap on the board is standard, but swastikas??? Something is wrong with those kids. Maybe I should have called the cops anyways, so they could have reality frightened into them a bit. But who am I kidding, even that wouldn't work.

And yes, after I threw them out, I erased the whole board.

[dragon_wings]

I'm speechless.

[Erin]

Maybe their schools have been slacking off on teaching the history of World War II??

[EmilyRose1982]

My brother's response: "Maybe they were studying for their ancient Hindi archaeology class?"

[Festival_Worker]

It's completely inappropriate, but don't read too much into it. For kids of that age, WWII is something of the far distant past. The only meaning a swastika has to them is as a symbol you draw to be offensive and show you friends how much you dare to do. I knew a guy in high school who'd occasionally draw swastikas, he was far from a Nazi, but he knew it'd piss people off. Still, good call on kicking them out and wiping it out ASAP.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Well, you all are free to agree or disagree all you want, as long as you don't do it here.

You may do it here, though.

This is not a debate board. And it's sure as heck not a debate board about whether or not this particular symbol is offensive or not.

[Kanalah]

I used to have a chalkboard in the most awesome toy store ever's bathroom walls. I don't think anyone ever drew anything offensive. I would go in and check between customers and erase stuff if I needed to, but agian I don't recall anything offensive.

We did have a radio DJ draw a huge classic car though.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Putting up what amounts to an unmoderated forum and inviting the teeming unwashed public to comment was clearly masterminded by someone who has never spent any time at all on YouTube.

[emax4]

I'm not defending them, but these are two different age groups; the mature and immature. When they have rules and responsibilities to follow later in life, they may encounter the same stuff one day and think, "ugh, i can believe i did THAT SAME stupid shit.. What was i thinking?? Now I'M payin for it.."

Yeah, it sucks that you have to police what patrons and non-patrons do near the store's entrance, but it looks like nobody in corporate management has kids, at last kids that are old enough to do stuff like that. Not to threadjack but I think parenting in some degrees has gotten lazier. I've done some stupid things too, but I was always told to respect authority, never to push anyone's buttons like those kids did. Those kids just haven't been taught right from wrong yet, or just different rules.

[morgana]

Putting up what amounts to an unmoderated forum and inviting the teeming unwashed public to comment was clearly masterminded by someone who has never spent any time at all on YouTube.

Or hanging around teenaged boys.

[xaenon]

Or hanging around teenaged boys.

ANY teenager. Male OR female.

[zombiequeen]

Is this like the "diary of Anne Frank" play button my cousin had on her purse that is a HUGE white swastika on a black button with teensy words with the play on it? I tore the button off of her purse and threw it out before she got in REAL trouble for it.
She to this day does not understand why everyone was so upset, the play's about how the nazis were bad, but they advertised it in an inappropriate way. Her defense "I have Jewish in me so it's not so bad! I wasn't offended!"
(1. she's like...1/100 jewish, 2. she has some very severe developmental disabilities, and so she cannot understand the effects of these things)
ETA: The people in the play got in some big trouble when they passed out the buttons to her school group when they went for their field trip. Like, death threats bad. So I think I might have helped prevent her from further bullying by getting rid of the button.

TL;DR some people are really ignorant of history's affects on how we view things. I really wish that we could just beat history into their brains.

[Mystic]

This seems to be happening everywhere. What started as trolling on the internet due to the anonymity people found is making it's way into the real world. People seem to, in general, care less about what people think about their crude behavior. What was once deemed unacceptable moral is now becoming common among younger (and even some older) people.

The bad thing is that, especially in a field of profession such as retail, you're going to see a lot more SCs as they get older.

[RedRoseSpiral]

This is nothing new. I remember laughing at the morons at my high school who were trying to be edgy and piss people when they'd draw swastikas around school. They drew them wrong.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

The board was rather full of answers; I was planning on erasing it later. The question was "what's your favorite ride at [local amusement park]", and it was littered with girls' names.

Would it be wrong of me to say I laughed at this?

I'll just mosey on back to my gutter now. thnxbai.