Kid knocks over 132k statue, museum sends bill to parents

[Shoemaker]

How can any of you support this? Should be insurance for museum and protection around the item. Maybe small fine for parents but 132,000 is lot of money that can make people go bankrupt. It is just not fair and is cruel

That was my take. There’s no reason for that kid to be climbing on things at the museum unsupervised. One of his parents should have been watching after him. I know parenting is difficult and tiring, but they made the choice to have a kid. So they bare some responsibility for what that kid does under their supervision.

But $130k is unreasonable. That will financially ruin the family, and the museum also bares some responsibility. From the look of it, someone accidentally bumping into it would’ve sent it over.

Given it was the museums responsibility to house the work, I’d say their responsible for paying the artist. But I’m okay with the family being made to pay something for their negligence as well. Just not 6 figures.

 

[BassAckwards]

Who gives a shit. People need to mind their dumbass kids in public PERIOD. Museum, grocery store, restaurant. Keep your kid behaved and stfu

wait.... so what youre trying to say is that parents should be responsible for their children's actions? that's a little too much responsibility for people these days

 

[BassAckwards]

Sounds like it was the museums fault for not protecting it better.

you cant dummy proof everything....

 

[oldshadow]

The world does need to be child proofed for your little snowflake.

Control your kids no matter where they are.

 

[milliniar]

Sounds like it was the museums fault for not protecting it better.

that's probably what the insurance company said so they aren't paying. So the community center went after the parents.

 

[Shoemaker]

It’s not a binary problem. Just like 2 people colliding on the sidewalk, it took both parties to make this situation a reality. So, to me, the question isn’t about which party bares all responsibility, but how it gets distributed. Mostly the museum. But the parents aren’t completely absolved of blame either.

 

[CrazyN8]

Wonder of she could sue the community center for endangering her kids life by having an unsecured statue just sitting there.

 

[Jorge Luis Borges]

The main point is that parents should watch their children and teach them to behave properly no matter where they are. The problem is not just limited to statue situation in this thread. I have seen many parents let their children bully and harm other children on a playground or at the children's section at a library while they are glued to their cell-phones. There are even times when the parents of the harmed child try to address the situation and the negligent parent will start an argument instead of disciplining their child.

A child should be taught to be considerate and well-mannered at all times.

I completely agree with this take. I do think it needs mentioned that teaching kids thusly is often a dispiriting war and the very best parents may lose a lot of the battles in that war. I think parents need to be responsible for their children. This is one of my core beliefs. I additionally think our society often needs to be (and often is) merciful to parents. Sometimes when a kid is screaming in the grocery store and mom is ignoring the little brat, she's doing exactly the right thing. The incident in question here does not seem to be one of those cases.

 

[LMP]

This whole thread is basically a litmus test of who didn't read the article. It was not a museum.

Museum: a building in which objects of historical, scientific, artistic, or cultural interest are stored and exhibited.

I'd say from watching the video that it was a museum wing, but don't let that stop you from shitty comments.

 

[ArtemV]

Fuuuuck, if my child (future, child) would ever do something like this, I would dis-own him/her for life, lol. But it is a museum, everything has a value (usually a big value). It is common sense to look and watch over children in the museum. Parents should think what is better to do: take the child around with you and warm them of things (what to do, what not to do in museum); or take your eyes off them, let them do what they want and complain when things go wrong.

 

[JSN]

This. Honestly, I get the argument against the parents - they should be watching - but if you don't protect a $132,000 item at all, that's you inviting calamity -> your ass dumb as shit.

man y’all people blaming the museum are part of the problem. Probably talk loudly on your phone in the library and other such idiocy.

 

[llperez22]

i definitely side much more with fuck the family for not watching a young child. But jeez some form of protection should be expected. Or maybe a security guard to inform people of the value of objects or something. Ropes around it couldnt be considered unreasonable. Museum or whatever the fuck the place is should shoulder some responsibility for not doing jack shit to isolate the statue.

 

[Ruprecht]

The world does need to be child proofed for your little snowflake.

Control your kids no matter where they are.

I think the mother's protest that her kids were being "well behaved" in spite of that video says it all.
Then again I was at a very old fashioned British boarding school from the age of 3, so my standards aren't the norm.
Also, if this is a venue which hosts functions like wedding receptions and birthdays, having a fragile and expensive item displayed like that in the lobby seems like a bad idea.

 

[Taco Loco]

I see it all time where ever I go, parents not watching their kids and they let them touch everything. Pay up! Fuck that! Be a parent! You know what kind of people their gonna be when mom and dad release them to the world.

Shit!

 

[sweede]

city's fault if no signs. Any museum in LA with high ticket items will have docents brush the kids away. It's unreasonable to think kids will just leave it alone.

Parents don't feel any need to teach their kids good behavior, consequence or discipline. These people probably really think they're being picked on.

Both posts are reasonable and fair.

The issue I have with the whole incident is glass sculpture.
Why on earth do you have an expensive item that is made out of glass in a room that looks like a waiting room to the dentist? Would you have iconic Swedish glass art or a Ming vase exposed like the statue? Where are the guards?

The reason why I mentioned the waiting room to the dentist is because I was in a room when a child with a stick of some kind was crushing a large bowl containing guppies. Maybe he wanted to say hello, who knows. But you could tell he was in shock. We all were shocked. And the few people in the room made a quick job of alerting the receptionist and we collected the guppies on the floor and none died to my knowledge.

 

[Rational Poster]

I would pay the scrap value for the glass.

 

[Cid]

Kansas City artist Bill Lyons created the sculpture. He told the paper it was uninsured and damaged beyond repair.

"I want to be reimbursed for the amount of time that I spent on it and for what I think it is worth," he said.

Fuck that guy.

 

[method115]

Fuck that guy.

Yea the guys a POS trying to get a free ride with an insurance pay out. No one should be supporting this. If they don't have a receipt showing they paid $132,000 for this than fuck off.

 

[Cid]

Yea the guys a POS trying to get a free ride with an insurance pay out. No one should be supporting this. If they don't have a receipt showing they paid $132,000 for this than fuck off.

Dude didn't even insure it.

Did a little googling and both community centers have child care facilities.

If you lend a $132k glass statue to a community center that has a child care facility with no thoughts as to what would happen if it's broken you're a fucking dumbass.

 

[method115]

Dude didn't even insure it.

Did a little googling and both community centers have child care facilities.

If you lend a $132k glass statue to a community center that has a child care facility with no thoughts as to what would happen if it's broken you're a fucking dumbass.

Literally every time I come into this thread I learn something new about the situation that makes this whole thing sound more and more ridiculous.