Public intolerance of young people has reached such levels that more than half of all adults think that British children are beginning to behave like animals, a poll has found.
The poll, commissioned by the children’s charity Barnardo’s, found that 49 per cent of adults regard children as increasingly dangerous both to each other and to their elders, while 43 per cent feel that “something has to be done†to protect society from children and young people.
More than a third of people agree that “it feels like the streets are infested with childrenâ€.
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9 Comments
Haha! This seems like an article out of the Onion
It could be real. Britain has aging population who used to be part of the hooligan culture themselves so they know what they’re up against. They’re not that tolerant of effective self defense anyway and real weapons are so hard to come by that the thugs have to attack people in gangs to be threatening. Add to the mix that non-white people are reproducing at a faster rate than white people so it’s just another reason for older people to feel uncomfortable.
I’m on the Ted end of the spectrum on this one. Enact concealed carry laws and let people shoot their attackers w/o too much of a legal fuss and it’ll all be over in a few years.
There is definitely a big problem with kid crime in the UK but it’s almost certainly some kind of negative version of the 80/20 principle at work. Or more like 95/5. I know I’ve read several articles in the UK press that have featured stories about how small gangs of 5 to 10 kids (often as young as 10 or 12) have been responsible for something like 90% of crime and vandalism in a particular neighbourhood.
It’s amazing how a small vocal minority can so easily shift the perceptions of the silent majority. I think you can find examples of this in all areas of life.
As a Uk resident: yeah, this stuff is for real.
It just seems like the way this is worded: to be in a mainstream media source is outrageous and dangerous
Yup.
That’s how we report things in the UK now, didn’t you get the memo?
Yeah, coming from the UK, this is real. I think a lot of it has to do with a big increase in youth knife crime in London, that had blanket coverage for the first few months of the year (probably the ‘main story’ until the credit crisis hit).
For a long time the massive-circulation middle-market papers (the mail, the express) have been talking about hoodies and yobs taking over the street. Just glancing over today’s mail frontpage, there is this, which is a very typical story.
The reality is somewhat different, Mark Easton writes an excellent blog for the BBC and he has covered this in some of his posts, for example:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporter...markeaston/2008/07/youth_justice.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporter...n/2008/07/shocking_crime_figures.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporter...aston/2008/06/happy_birthday_yjb.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/markeaston/2008/07/
I think it’s a real shame. There are problems, but people are so full of misplaced anger/fear that the general public response is ‘lock them all up!’, rather than trying to find compassionate solutions. I think right-wing britain has always been like that though, now we aren’t threatened by anyone trying to invade us we’re turning on our own population.
Just look at how well that has turned out here in America!
Is this concerted media campaign against youthful violence in the UK turning into regulations like widespread curfews, etc?