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British adults 'fear youngsters'

Apparently...

I guess they're not that far off the truth. With the amount of these little fuckers brandishing all manner of weapons and whatnot, I'm not surprised people feel intimidated by them.

Thoughts?
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Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    When you hear about 14 year old shooting dead a father of three, I am not surprised.
  • SkiveSkive Posts: 15,282 Skive's The Limit
    "We know, for example, young crime in itself has remained fairly static in the last 10 years - it is a minority that cause problems and retaliate.

    "The demonisation of children and young people in some sections of the media and when politicians refer to youngsters as yobs - that breeds the actual fear."

    :yes:
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  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Watch those gangs of little kids in the film 'Hostel' and it's bound to make you shit scared of any youngster! :lol:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I guess they're not that far off the truth. With the amount of these little fuckers brandishing all manner of weapons and whatnot, I'm not surprised people feel intimidated by them.

    Thoughts?

    I think you're exagerrating a little bit.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    HIT wrote:
    When you hear about 14 year old shooting dead a father of three, I am not surprised.

    One case makes you fear kids?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    People are scared coz they are a bunch of pussies. Evil feeds on fear.
    If more people stood up for themselves, less people would be intimidated, or people would be less intimidated.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Blagsta wrote:
    I think you're exagerrating a little bit.

    Perhaps, in as much as I've never had any problems from anyone in the streets. However, I do read the papers and watch the news, and, whilst they only report the negative stuff (obviously), it does seem like this is more than an isolated incident or two.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    God, imagine if the media and politicians mentioned every time someone was hurt in a car crash? Nobody would ever drive. The roads would only have the rational, the fearless, and the too thick to read a newspaper on them. No more middle class parents with their one kid in the back of a 4x4. It's a win win situation.

    British adults fear youngsters? Good. They're ignorant enough to judge people and make assumptions about people based on their age, they deserve to live in fear.
  • SkiveSkive Posts: 15,282 Skive's The Limit
    British adults fear youngsters? Good. They're ignorant enough to judge people and make assumptions about people based on their age, they deserve to live in fear.

    Word.
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  • Teh_GerbilTeh_Gerbil Posts: 13,332 Born on Earth, Raised by The Mix
    Whilst thier is obviously a problem with ob youngsters, if the laws meant the victim had some right and some serious punishments were dished to the offender - then maybe this would be a resolved issue. ASBO's are a stupid idea and don't work.

    The problem is probably overblown though. In Essex here though, it is a fucking problem and a half. You are forever reading of occurances in the paper. You go other places though and it isn't half as bad!

    Vigilante groups will start if something isn't done. And we all know where than can lead...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Blagsta wrote:
    One case makes you fear kids?
    Simply an example.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    activate those minds and you could see great things.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yes and no.

    Largely no, of course not, but there does seem to be a fairly active minority around where I work which does have a history of violent muggings, fights, carrying knives and the like. They just dont seem to care about anything or anyone.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It's too easy to simply blame the media, but obviously their reporting of incidents makes people worried.

    There has been more than an isolated incident of young people fighting back with guns, knives and bats after people have stood up to them, and that is why people are afraid. 9 kids out of 10 won't beat you up, but there are enough victims in the news to make you realise that there is a risk, and its easier to just walk to the next bus stop than get the kids to stop smashing up the stop by your house.

    It isn't even just violence- how many times have you seen it that the old lady who complains about the kids kicking a football against her gates gets her windows egged and floured every weekend? How many times have you seen it that the man who reports the kids smashing up the bus shelter gets obscene graffiti written about him all across the village?

    People don't want to get involved because kids can, do and will retaliate, and its very rarely worth the effort.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Kermit wrote:
    It isn't even just violence- how many times have you seen it that the old lady who complains about the kids kicking a football against her gates gets her windows egged and floured every weekend? How many times have you seen it that the man who reports the kids smashing up the bus shelter gets obscene graffiti written about him all across the village?
    In the media? All the time. In real life? Never.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    In the media? All the time. In real life? Never.

    I wish I lived in the place you live...

    It happens a lot, not every time, but its not an uncommon reaction. I've seen it loads, it happened to my parents after they complained about the shits on our street who put our car window through with a football.

    Especially as we're coming up to Halloween, it gets worse. And in my job before now I've dealt with cases of people having their houses attacked and having things thrown at them every time they leave the house simply because their child was disabled.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I've seen kids shouting and using abusive language when people complain about them doing something, but that's all it is - talk. I've never seen them come back and knife the guy or something. I've never even seen them attack someone they're in an argument with, like some 20, 30 or 40-somethings in arguments I've happened to witness.
  • SkiveSkive Posts: 15,282 Skive's The Limit
    I've seen kids shouting and using abusive language when people complain about them doing something, but that's all it is - talk.

    :yes:

    We used to hang aound on a memorial on our village green. Of course we made a bit of noise but nothing to deserve the abuse we got by older villagers.
    My parents used to phone calls complaining that I shoudn't be 'loitering' around with others beause we're seen as a nuisance, and we disrupt the traquillity of the village ...or some crap similar. We never vandalised anything, though we did drink, smoke and make a bit of noise.
    In the end we just told the silly old cunts to go fuck themselves.
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  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    In the part of the country I live in, its out of control with "kids".

    They all group up (atleast 50 per group) smash shop windows, smash & set light to buses, run cars of the road then steal them, rape and beat up women, randomly attack people which they might also stab or shoot them if they felt like it. The police raided one of the gang members house and found a small arsenal of guns and knifes.

    The list goes on, and they are still in school! People are feeling threatened by kids, because its only kids that are doing all this damage! The police cant do much and they just advice people to stay away from certain parts because of the gangs.


    I wished I lived near you im with stupid. :D
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I have seen it where the kids come back and start harrassing people though, I've seen it too many times. I don't want my windows to be egged or have stones thrown at, and not many other people do either.

    I don't mind kids hanging around, and I don't think people should be scared of that, but when kids start vandalising things I can see why people don't want to get involved and don't want to be near it.

    I don't think kids have got worse, and I do think the violence is an exception, but it's an exception that seems to be getting more common in certain parts of the country (usually areas full of poor immigrants, it has to be said).
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    HIT wrote:
    I wished I lived near you im with stupid. :D
    Ironically, my area is full of kids that fit the stereotype. Low education, working class, some of the highest levels of disability allowances in the country (not all genuine either), few prospects. I don't blame people for being afraid when they do live under constant attack, but that isn't common. But I do blame the media for people being scared every time they walk past a group of teenagers.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Ironically, my area is full of kids that fit the stereotype. Low education, working class, some of the highest levels of disability allowances in the country (not all genuine either), few prospects. I don't blame people for being afraid when they do live under constant attack, but that isn't common. But I do blame the media for people being scared every time they walk past a group of teenagers.
    Of course the media do play up a situation in some cases, as an example shaved heads = yobs, baseball caps = yobs, hoodies = yobs. I remember that being stereotyped on the papers.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I work on a local paper and as part of my job have to cover parish council meetings in small villages. The councils are made up of middle aged and old people, and every single time they complain about young people. Most of the time all the kids are doing is hanging around because they have nothing to do.

    If young people rang up or wrote to their local papers/national papers, it could help them. Sadly it's mainly older people who do so. It's hard for papers to give youngsters a fair voice when you can't contact them.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hope you all noticed the quote from YouthNet in the BBC article as well...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    LucieLu wrote:
    Hope you all noticed the quote from YouthNet in the BBC article as well...
    Didn't see it tucked down there at the bottom. I did enjoy this bit though.
    Britons were also three times more likely to cite young people "hanging around" as a problem than they were to complain about noisy neighbours.
    :rolleyes:
  • SkiveSkive Posts: 15,282 Skive's The Limit
    PussyKatty wrote:
    Most of the time all the kids are doing is hanging around because they have nothing to do.

    Exactly. Without any where to go or anything to do, what do people expect? Kids want to socialise outside school too so local areas such as parks, outside shops are obvious spots when there's nothign else ...for us it was the village green.

    I lost count of the amount of times I was told by silly old fuckers that I should be doing my homework or doing something more constructive. Fuck em.
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  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think its really sad that people are scared of a few teenagers standing on a street corner swearing at each other, because they don't cause problems for most of the time. I don't know why people are so terrified of them, the kids on our street corner normally just ask how our night's been when we get home late.

    I can understand why people are afraid of people who are committing vandalism or otherwise being anti-social, though, I wouldn't want to stand up to them either. It happens all too often where the people who wouldn't think twice about kicking in a bus shelter wouldn't think twice about kicking in your car and your windows either, and then there are the news stories of people being beaten and stabbed too.

    I avoid saying things when I see people doing that because the risk isn't worth it, and that's why only 30% of people would stand up to some kids destroying the area. It isn't worth getting involved and getting the aggro, getting spat at, getting your windows egged. And that does happen, far more often than it should and more often than it used to.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    In the media? All the time. In real life? Never.
    me neither!
  • SkiveSkive Posts: 15,282 Skive's The Limit
    Kermit wrote:
    I think its really sad that people are scared of a few teenagers standing on a street corner swearing at each other, because they don't cause problems for most of the time. I don't know why people are so terrified of them, the kids on our street corner normally just ask how our night's been when we get home late.

    I can understand why people are afraid of people who are committing vandalism or otherwise being anti-social

    :yes:

    Though it seems many people consider kids hanging around together and making a bit of noise anti scoial.

    We also used to get abuse because we hung around in the kiddies playground at the local rec. OK that would be a problem if kiddies wanted to use the playground at 7 or 8 in the evening but they didn't, it was almost alwayts empty.
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  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I went out with some mates one night, was meeting them on the intersection of our streets. As you do. They were late, as they often were, and there was a bike locked (with a fairly crappy combination job) to a lamp-post a couple of metres away. Some boy showed up and made no secret of the fact that he had a screwdriver, seeing as he was using it to attack the mortar between the bricks. I was most uncomfortable and would have walked to my mates house had he not been standing between me and it. I couldn't get the thought of that screw-driver buried in my back out of my head, however unlikely it would have been.

    Eventually he nicked off, tired of waiting for me to leave so he could snap the lock open i imagine, and i relaxed. Incidentally, when I came home a few hours later, the bike was gone and the lock was shattered.

    I'm not really all that alarmist, but when you know one 14yr old is carrying a screwdriver up his sleeve, you wonder if they all are...

    ETA: Saying that we had exactly the same "type" of kid at the tournament I played this weekend just gone, they all turned out to be lovely kids, really great fun.
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