[mieses]

cutting an annoying random tree down in your annoying random neighbor's yard is just as bad as this event. this is the foundation of western civilization. prioritizing one tree over another leads to bad stuff. many have thought this through and many have argued the opposite (as you) and have sought opportunity in dismantling this principle. it's not a new debate, despite what this HN clickbait makes it seem to be.

[xyzzy123]

Is defacing the Mona Lisa the same as defacing a train car, in your view?

If there is any difference, would it be related to the value of the object? Would you say a random tree in a backyard has the same "value" as an iconic tree whose destruction is causing widespread outrage?

[jemmyw]

I'm not sure what your argument is, but as far as I'm aware this tree didn't have specific, out of the ordinary, protection. I believe it may have even been on private land so the offense is exactly the same as cutting down a neighbors tree. It also happened to damage a protected heritage site, but those are hardly unique in the UK...

[fdb345]

it had no specific protection. it was just a tree in law. but they have a silly way of 'working out' how much it was valued and that is apparently almost a quarter of a million pounds!