Give them XXXIV years in jail

I know many people think nothing of getting on a plane and flying over the big wide deep blue ocean and making tourists of themselves in far-flung France, interesting Italy or sunny Spain.

I think nothing of it, too.  Wouldn't do it for all the tea in China, and that's an even further trip.

However, if I took a notion to traipse around the great spots in the world, I hope I could refrain from embarrassing my home country by defacing ancient landmarks like these two dizbangs, aged 21 and 25, from California on a Roman holiday, who snuck away from their tour group last Saturday and began scratching their initials into the amphitheatre of the Colosseum with a coin. They managed to scrawl a “J” and an “N” around 3 1/2 inches high, before taking a selfie with their handiwork.

You really have to be proud.  The Colosseum, the stadium in Italy that looks like Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh used to before they tore it down, was completed in 80 AD and was the site of events such as gladiator fights and chariot races and Madonna concerts.  (She has been around for a while!) It held 73,000 people, and today people from all over come to see this ancient building and walk where those fallen gladiators once hung around waiting to be eaten by lions.

These two women will be appearing in court soon.  I hope they are not fed to the lions, but only because I don't like capital punishment.  Maybe they could just have some lions chase them for 20 miles up the road or something.  What they did is awful.

Someone needs to tell me what it is about people that makes them feel entitled to deface the property of others, or the treasures of antiquity.