The Joshua Tree, made famous by U2's 1987 album Joshua Tree, has reportedly been vandalized by a fan looking to take some of it home as a souvenir. The tree has been a popular and revered site in the Mojave Desert for U2 fans for the past two decades, despite its collapse back in 2000. Hopefully the vandalism isn't related to the fact that the band put out a free album, Songs of Innocence, on everyone's iTunes last year.
A limb of the tree was found hacked off by a fan making a yearly visit to the site. The fan, named Hwy 190, posted photo evidence on the band's fan forum with a condemning note.
"I've been visiting U2's Joshua Tree in the California desert for nearly 20 years now; the Mojave is my home," the fan wrote. "This past Sunday, I made my proverbial yearly hike out to the Tree with my dog to reminisce only to find that some hack and I do mean hack, decided it was a bright idea to take a hacksaw to one of the Tree's limbs — evidently to remove an inch thick cross section as a souvenir. Are you kidding me? I won't even elaborate as to how pathetic this is.
"Let's just say it was a good thing I didn't happen upon this ignorant low-life degenerate in his course of action. ...It's hard to imagine that someone would be so motivated, to travel that far into the desert, to commit this selfish deed.
"In short, leave the damn Tree alone, so that future fans can enjoy it. Left alone, the Tree will be there for many, many decades to come."
For U2 fans hoping for a souvenir, we recommend just taking a photo like everyone else. However, the may soon be revealed on eBay.
See the photo of the vandalized tree below, and leave us your thoughts in the comments section!
