“Military veteran” occupies sculpture in Berkeley
One of our ninjas send us an article from Berkeley Side about a “military veteran” who had a break with reality for a spell and occupied a sculpture in Berkeley while disrobed.
A military veteran reportedly having a mental health crisis climbed on top of the metal bear sculpture at the downtown Berkeley BART plaza Saturday and refused to come down, community members reported.
The man climbed on top of the bear sculpture, which was installed in the plaza in March, sometime prior to 11:15 a.m.
Authorities taped off the area and were attempting to speak with the man to see how they could convince him to come down.
[…]
“I just spent 45 mins talking [to] and counseling a Coast Guard guy who is involved in a standoff with the Berkeley Police,” [ Charlie Verrette, who posted about the incident on Facebook] wrote. “A very nice young man, unfortunately off his medication and having difficulties. I couldn’t get him to get down but the Berkeley Police let me try and we did have a very nice conversation. He is military though and he might be up on the Bear for a while. A Mental Health Unit is on the way.”
According to the article, he eventually came down from his perch atop the fairly ugly thing which is supposed to be a bear, I think. It’s called “Ursus Redivivus” and made from old elevator parts.
The thing I take exception with is that they seem to hit the “military veteran” thing pretty hard. I’m not saying that the Coast Guard isn’t a military service, but I’m thinking that the fellow had problems before he joined the Coast Guard and whatever made him climb the sculpture had little to do with his time in the puddle-jumping service.
But, him being a veteran makes it easier for the stank-ass hippies in Berkeley understand why he did it – the evil Bush killing-machine, you know, the one that throws veterans away after the parades are done and the memorials are built.
Category: Dumbass Bullshit
Is he sitting buck naked on top of that bear sculpture?
I hope the bear bit him.
I believe he was bear ass naked
I think I did this once after a fest in Germany…and probably in Korea too. Alcohol makes you do strange things.
They call it the Soju experience in Korea. What do they call it in Germany?
If Korean Soju is anything like Japanese Soju… that stuff is EVIL!!!
I was in 2ID from 92-93, and I’m convinced that Korean Soju could turn the Pope himself into a fighting drunk that would cuss like an oldtime Sailor! There was an urban legend about that stuff when I was there, it was that it was made with a touch of formaldehyde which would percolate to the top of the bottle if you left it at room temperature for a few days, and gently uncapping that bottle, then sloshing it from side to side would get rid of the stuff!
They used to say that Singha Thai beer had formaldehyde in it. I tend to believe it cause I NEVER had a worse hangover than the one I had in Pattaya Beach. And THAT is saying a lot!
Korean Soju (the Jinro brand was the most popular during my time there)was dirt cheap, it got me and countless other “Joes” shitfaced, and like you say about that Thai beer, it gave us a wicked-assed mutha of a hangover, but try to get between a GI and an alcoholic buzz…
The Honcho bar districk had a few places that would serve ebu (snake) sake, and more which would serve chuhai, which was almost as bad as soju, but not quite.
In Germany it’s known as a Gluhwein Brain Cramp.
Ha! Love it!
Did you know that at the Munich Oktoberfest they have a hill that they call the “Besoffenenhuegel”? For those of us never stationed in Deutschland, it roughly translates to “Drunks’ Hill”.
By the way, if anyone heads to Germany for the beer fests, go to the one in Stuttgart called the “Bad Canstatter Volksfest”. MUCH better than Munich which is all touristy and shit. Much more authentic. All the Germans I know (my frau is German) tell me that.
In Alaska they call it Matanuska Mindfuck. It’s a combination of grape Kool Aid ice, Everclear and whatever else somebody brought to the party…
And they paid good money for that…. ‘sculpture’???
Someone needs to demand a refund.
It was commissioned by a guy who has a WalMart in that area. I couldn’t learn what it cost but it took three guys two years to build.
Not a WalMart–I forget what it is now, but it’s a store.
Bi-Mart? I never heard of that chain of stores until some brave Tigard Oregon Social Security Lawyer/Ace Pricate Aircraft Pilot sued them because their garden wares display caused his aircraft to run out of fuel.
No, WAIT! The store personnel ruthlessly displayed a couple of pallets of potting soil for their outdoor promotion which caused his catheter to make him crash his Cadillac into them, I think, something like that. This article even has a pic of him in his “OH, poor me!” pose with crutches, were these the same crutches that he no longer needed the moment MCPO NYC’s presence miraculously healed him? He DID take a hike very suddenly sans those crutches that day!
http://portlandtribune.com/component/content/article?id=71559
Well, in the Bay area . . . “Bi”-Mart would indeed be apropos.
PetSmart?
😉
Clear proof that some people have way too much time on their hands, and others have too much money…
Some people have more money than brains and common sense!
Here’s the history of that bear sculpture in Berkeley’s downtown BART plaza. It was named “Ursus Redivivus”. http://www.berkeleyside.com/2014/07/08/berkeley-spark-2-0-will-feature-more-ideas-metal-bear https://ebmakerfaire.wordpress.com/2014/10/16/oakland-art-orion-fredericks-and-alex-nolan
I have a friend who retired from the Coast Guard, and during his career, he saw and did more stuff than most sailors in the United States Navy.
He has that VERY rare, “Square Knot Sailor” award, which means he is formally documented as having sailed all seven of the Seven Seas and visited all four of the Four Corners of the Earth.
He and his brothers started out in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War, but after his initial hitch was up, he switched to the Coast Guard because he wanted a military career, but he also wanted to stay alive long enough to be able to retire from it.
He and I would carpool together when we worked the graveyard shift at the Utah State Prison.
“He has that VERY rare, “Square Knot Sailor” award, which means he is formally documented as having sailed all seven of the Seven Seas and visited all four of the Four Corners of the Earth.”
Now THAT is cool.
They didn’t bother vetting his bit about being a Vet? Berserkely, is there something in what little water they have there, or di he drop some bad acid?
According to Berkelite hippies, anybody and everybody who does something they don’t like is supposedly a “military veteran.”
And speaking as a Californian, most of the rest of the state doesn’t have a very high opinion of Hippieville.
First, my son a Chief in the Coast Guard. Cause I tell everybody. 2nd, I agree with you, how do we know he is a vet. The article also said he was a amputee, and without saying how, implied he lost a limb in a war. Lot don’t add up.
While working in the SFBA a number of years ago, we had the tree sitters at Berkeley. There must be something in the water. ?
Assuming he is a veteran of the Coast Guard, why the fuck would anyone here judge his service without actually knowing what his service is? He could be a rescue swimmer having done and seen far more shit than the rest of us. Save the “not real military” comments for the hippies, not us using it against our own brothers in arms (assuming he is a real veteran)
Who is judging his service? Are you willing to concede that every veteran with PTS is one psychotic break from climbing an ugly statue naked?
As if Soldiers need PTS to climb a statue naked. All we’d need is a weekend pass and some alcohol to do that.
Good point.
Walked up Park Avenue very late one evening trying to score some coin by wading into the fountains and picking up change. There are a lot of fountains. I seem to recall alcohol (much) and police (a few) and running (poorly).
I just needed 70 days at sea and first night at Andy’s Hut. Just getting back from there to the pier less than a half mile away proved to be more than a lot of folks could handle.
No shit. All grunts need is to be bored to climb up a bear statue naked!
We have set off arty simulators and small piles of 81mm mortar donut charges on the campus of UCSC Santa Cruz. The few stank ass hippies who joined us thought it was bad ass and were ready to hand over their girl firends.
At UC Santa Cruz, the statue would be a banana slug, and the girlfriend you might want to hand back.
Lol. True. There were a few normal ones there although I have no idea how they ended up there. I’m not sure they had ever seen real men in there life up until that point. Lol.
I worked joint service for a while and I have to tell you, the Coast Guard folks I worked with were pretty tight and squared away.
Yeah, we Navy guys love to dump shit on them, but it’s all in good fun. They routinely go into seas that make us “Blue Water Navy” guys break into a cold sweat.
So, a naked guy is sitting on top of a bear….
He’s acting unsorted and says “I’m in the Coast Guard!” and they immediately believe him?
If he had said, “I’m a member of her royal majesty’s Army! I got lost moving from Kathmandu to Banglapore!” they’d believe him at Berkley.
It is Berkley after all.
Berserkely, ain’t that where Larsie-boy says he goes to school? Hmmmm…
Was his name Commissar?
No.
Sore subject, Lars?
No, just a guarded subject.
I do not know this guy, I have no idea what stressors are in his life, I have no idea his history. I was not there to see this and I heard about it here first on this site.
I feel guarded about this subject because I have had friends I served with commit suicide. I have had a classmate at Berkeley that served with commit suicide. I have had an ex-girlfriend and good friend commit suicide. And I have had a family member commit suicide.
I think it is absolutely bullshit to ridicule someone for mental health problems. Particularly veterans ridiculing a veteran. Just as it would be bullshit to ridicule someone for a physical injury or disability.
*I have had a classmate at Berkeley that served commit suicide. (I did not serve with him).
Nobody ridiculed the veteran. Everybody ridiculed the Berkley mindset that was so willing to automatically believe that crazy + unsubstantiated vet claim = PTSD. It ain’t rocket science to figure that out.
Larsie-poo ignores facts like that when he’s crying for his Kool-Aid and group hug.
This is the exact kind of stupid mindless school yard shit I was trying to avoid.
I know. However, the comment about me was posted by someone who has a very low opinion of me and by asking if it was me on the statue the implication is he has a very low opinion of the guy being on the statue.
I did not want to get into a further discussion with him because any attacks he might levy against me in this context might also reflect on the guy in the image.
Also, having lived in Berkeley I did not experience the “crazy” + “unsubstantiated vet” = PTSD narrative the people on this board claim. There is a lot of homelessness in Berkeley and a significant number have severe and obvious mental health issues. I rarely see anyone claim to be a veteran. I think there is not much incentive to falsely claim veteran status in Berkeley because there is no real social benefit to come from it. Berkeley (until recently) has had very tolerant and accommodating municipal codes and the police are well trained to deal with mental health issues. So people do not “need” to try to claim veteran status and gain little benefit from doing so.
The most effective method of not getting into further discussion is to stop speaking.
“Tis far better to remain silent and thought a fool, than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt”
Just wondering if I had gotten on your nerves to the point where you would do ANYTHING for some Kool-Aid and a group hug with everyone singing “Kum-ba-yah! 😈
Nothing unusual here folks, now move along. Hey, for many years I have been seeking a statue of Superman’s chick, Lois Lane…..just so I could crawl up and sit on her face. My three day get away bag is ready, complete with two quarts of Mad Dog and a couple of Moon Pies. Directions please.
Ladies and gentlemen, not all hippies’ are brainless ? bags. Dylan, Cream, Donovan, Joni Mitchell, Bands not known marched against the war in Vietnam that fathers, brothers, nephews and friends didn’t come home from. They brought fellas in uniform on stage and publically thanked them for their service.
County Joe and the Fish at a concert, had every one in uniform or with his Military ID brought to front of the stage and after the concert had them bussed to Iron Butterflies lead singers house and had a catering company bring food. A hippies dad supplied sleeping bags from his business. Not one fella left until Monday
These are things that you didn’t read in the paper. One very successful Band sent flowers to every funeral of those that were killed from the bay area. Yes, there are worthless piece of crap hippies just like John Louis Woodward from Hemphill, FL a disgrace to the Army, wearing a zoot suit and black head band at Arlington. His ass hasn’t been beaten enough, lying poser.
HEMPHILL, TX. I got pissed thinking about IT ?
Anyone who wants to pound on the real puddle pounders should spend a little time watching them in the winter doing practice rescues in cold water. That’s for practice, in case they need to go into the water to pull someone out, like when an ice fisherman over-estimates the thickness of the ice and its load-bearing strength.
When I lived in Chicago, there were many times when they were called to rescue someone who thought the ice would hold him up during a walk, or who slipped and fell in.
I do not envy those guys their chosen field of work.