The Kids Are Alright

Delinquent crime is out of control here compared to when I emigrated two years ago. (Honestly, I can't leave you people alone for five minutes!) The news is full of acts perpetrated by minors that are so vile and disgusting I can't even bring myself to report them to you here. Keep one eye on the B.B.C. News homepage if you want to go half-blind.

Ten years on, friends from university are still in regular contact via e-mail. Ranting and venting are commonplace! You can play devil's advocate on hot-button issues and rarely cause offence... it's that "friendship in the bank" thing again. The Rt. Hon. Count von Schmell wrote something this week that struck a chord in this bleeding heart liberal more concerned with tackling the root of the phenomenon than inventing new hardline punishments. Here it is, reproduced with the author's kind permission:

We have to ask why our kids are in such a mess.

It's a sad fact that we have virtually abandoned an entire generation. We are all complicit in this - it's not the kids' fault. For government ministers, etc. to peddle the line, "just because you dont have a playing field doesn't mean you can throw stones at the police" is missing the point. These are children, not adults! They are not like us; they are like coiled wires of energy. We've taken away their recreation areas, destroyed the sports curriculum and we pander to their want for video games. By treating our children like normal consumers and fleecing them of their cash we're storing up problems that we will pay for in the future.

Our children should be part of our society in a positive way. How do we expect them to show respect when they see their elders lying, going to war, etc. and acting like imbeciles in Parliament? I had a lot of contact with The Yoof during the Iraq war build-up and, as a single event, I think it did more to harm our relationship with the younger generation than the last twenty years of school F-ups. They watched how we supposed "matures" conducted the whole war debate at a level lower than their playground. Believe me: they took note.

Why should they show respect to a police force that went in so heavily against the peace protests? A couple of friends of mine who were 16 at the time were quite badly manhandled while protesting at the ExCeL Centre in London's Docklands, at the International Arms Fair. At a peaceful sit-down protest they were hit across the backs and shoulders with truncheons.

No wonder children have no respect when that's how adults behave.

I'm at ExCeL for most of next week but it's an International Toy Fair so the only truncheons around should be made of foam rubber, require two AA batteries and give off a sound effect when you hit someone with them.