Excuse Me?

What the heck did the parents teach this kid? At the age of 6 I wouldn't have stuck gum on something that wasn't mine, much less at 12.

CNN.com - $1.5 million�painting gets 12-year-old's gum - Mar 1, 2006: "The gum stuck to the painting's lower left corner and did not adhere to the fiber of the canvas, officials told the Detroit Free Press. But it left a chemical residue about the size of a quarter, said Becky Hart, assistant curator of contemporary art.

The museum's conservation department is researching the chemicals in the gum to decide which solvent to use to clean it. The museum hopes to make the repair in two weeks and will keep 'The Bay' on display in the meantime, she said.

'Our expectation is that the painting is going to be fine,' Hart said.

Holly Academy director Julie Kildee said the boy had been suspended from the charter school and says his parents also have disciplined him.

'He is only 12, and I don't think he understood the ramifications of what he did before it happened, but he certainly understands the severity of it now,' said Kildee."

Severity? Kid should be measured for dentures, then he won't need to chew gum. This is ridiculous. Unless this was a school for mentally impaired children there is no excuse for this behavior. At 12 one should be able to comport oneself in public without destroying property that doesn't belong to your family.

This does not bode well for his future, he was either pressured into doing it to impress his classmates or just a bad seed.

Tags: gum on painting, bad seed, little brat