Ok so we've all seen those videos of idiot kids who go into the Packard or MCS or one of the hundreds of other abandoned and trashed buildings in Detroit. These kids make me want to scream. I hate what they're doing, using my backyard as their playground and getting their kicks from knocking over beautiful pieces of Detroit history. I've read many threads on this forum about such "evil" urban explorers and how deplorable their actions are.

A conversation I had with my 20 year old brother the other day went something like this:
him - me and some friends are gonna check out the packard, wanna come?
me - what? no. don't do that.
him - why not?
me - because kids who do that are [[[[[[[[[s.
him - why? i don't plan to ruin anything, i plan to treat it the same way i treat a state park. i just want to see. i just want to take pictures. i just want to be in one of those giant rooms and picture what it was like when the assembly lines were humming.

Then we went off into "but its dangerous," followed with a very sarcastic "ohhh gee thanks, mom..."

I guess I'm just wanted to get people's takes on what is appropriate urban exploring, and what isn't. Is it just 100% not OK? or sometimes?

For example, the thought of the urban archaeological sites that sit [[half-assedly) fenced off just waiting for a young anthropologist like myself to explore and catalog and respect and put what is found in the Wayne State Anthropology Museum are sometimes too exciting for me to bear! But that's stealing, right? But I'd be respectful of the history and trying to save it, not trash it or demolish it or pee on it. But does that make it ok?

Another example: some friends of mine took some floor panels from the Packard Plant and are refinishing some floors with it. The floors are in a place that [[without getting into too much detail, don't want to get anyone into trouble...) will serve as a positive addition to Detroit, a communal space that will be a headquarters for local artists and initiatives like anti-littering campaigns. They've explained to me that these beautiful floor panels are sitting under inches of dust and trash and in this new place they'll be seen and admired. Basically its stealing in the name of making Detroit a better place [[in their eyes).

I just wanted to see what people think. Is there a "grey area?" or is it black and white, exploring is bad and that's that?

Found this cartoon, thought it'd fit here: