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May 25, 2005
Youff, Yob-ism, and libertarian approach to discipline
The stark difference between the way some decent young people conduct themselves and the sort of worthless yobs who go through a cemetary and destroy graves and headstones, scatter the ornaments, and generally mindlessly desecrate things that have religious or special meaning to others, is so sharp in the UK that it is almost as if there are two different nations here. The first, the decent youth, are almost invariably the children of hardworking and strict parents who have raised their children to respect others and other peoples' rights, while the yobs are almost invariably the product of parents who followed the "don't discipline your toddler" thinking and instead went down the route of pleading with them to be good. Those that aren't from the world of parental discipline (or total lack of!), are from that end of the social stratum that also abrogates all responsibility, lives on benefit, and pleads that "poverty" is the root of all their ills.
This is encouraged by the "save the children" lobbyists who believe that all discipline "harms the child" and want to make it a criminal offence to apply appropriate discipline to a misbehaving child. It is further encouraged by the numerous "Trusts" who publish reports detailing "child poverty" and insisting that "poverty" lies at the root of all societies problems. I would agree that it is one part of a very complex and difficult puzzle, but by the same token, this argument is used to encourage dependence on state handouts, to encourage the destruction of families, and to excuse the sort of behaviour that leads to the "happy slapping" assaults these sick thugs indulge in when not destroying graves or people's homes and lives.
The net result is that we have a small number - and let's be fair, it is a small percentage - of young people who know of no discipline but their own, who acknowledge no authority but their own, and who know that the law is almost powerless to stop them. The much vaunted ASBO (Anti-Social Behaviour Order) is a joke to most of these kids; there is one in my area who is regarded by his "group" as a hero because he has FIVE of them! Have these stopped him? No, he sees this as some sort of recognition of achievement!
I hardly need to tell anyone that his family is extremely dysfunctional, the father a drunk, other children on drugs, and generally there is no parental discipline or authority. Which came first, loss of parental authority, poverty, or the problems with abuse of drink or drugs? Again, a complex question and I would suspect, as I have done for some time, that the Biblical injunction that the "sins of the father are visited upon the children unto the hundredth generation" may have more truth to it than many would care to admit. Once a generation goes bad, it tends to clone itself. It is the exceptional child who manages to break out of the mould and make a new beginning - and the current nannying system does not allow for this or encourage it.
Excuses no longer cut the mustard; it is time to get back to a proper balance on discipline and respect. Children do not have all the answers and are not yet wise enough or knowledgable enough to rule. Adults and the older generations do not have a corner on getting it right, either - but they do have the knowledge and the experience that the younger people lack. Unless we restore respect and discipline in our society - and I do not mean the sort of draconian kowtowing that goes with the feudal barony image - we are in serious trouble. The nannies and the do-goody "report every parent who smacks a child" time-wasters must be put firmly and permanently in their little cotton-wool wrapped boxes and made to stay there. How about making them responsible every time one of their "poor deprived, underprivileged" and over-indulged creations causes mayhem. That may focus their minds.
In the meantime, let the sensible people of this country start a campaign to restore the rights of parents to discipline their offspring. Reward good parenting and punish bad parenting, but take the measures and the control away from Civil Servants and Social Workers - neither have sufficient sense or brains to do it. Let it be returned to the commonsense of parents and take away the right of those cretins to interfere in families who are doing their best. Let them focus on the end of society which is causing the problems and not on those who are not.
Then, let us also campaign for a return to punishment as an element of justice. For justice to be effective there has to be an element of retribution; the criminal must not be seen to be rewarded or let off with some soft option - and all the present options from "Community Service" through to "Electronic Tagging" and "ASBOs" are just that, soft options. The injured party is often treated more harshly than the criminal - and children do and are committing "adult" crimes, a fact of which they are very fully aware! It is high time that the justice system was given back its teeth and the Judges made to use them. Only then will this disruptive and dangerously out of control culture of yob-ism be curtailed.
It is time to drop the nonsense of the Human Rights Act which gives the criminal more "rights" than the law-abiding citizen, and make them recognise what they are - outlaws. They have chosen to step outside the law; why should the law protect them?
If young people from the troubled end of our society can see that the law is powerless to stop them, then why should they show any respect at all. As for those who advocate and support their "rights" - make them pay the compensation and deal with the people whose lives those "deprived" children have wrecked.
Let's make this an "issue" for our politicians!
Posted by The Gray Monk at May 25, 2005 09:30 AM
Comments
I don't know if making the issue one for the politicians is the right course, but then I don't know what options you have, either.
In Carlos Casteneda's books, the shaman character was asked what to do with a child acting up. He said [I paraphrase] to get some adult he'd never met to give him a dressing down [and a good boot, if needed] the next time he did something bad.
Not an option, I'm sure, but the lesson is true: The society about one should police itself & not just leave it to the police.
Curiously, there are persons here in the USA who lament the fact that inner city black youth have lost the community of 'old heads' that performed this self-same role in the past. They blame the flight from the cities during the '60s & '70s for breaking up a previously stable & middling-prosperous social structure. That's also happening amongst whites too, which just proves the rule, IMHO.
Posted by: urthshu at May 25, 2005 06:06 PM
'... "poverty" lies at the root of all societies problems. I would agree that it is one part of a very complex and difficult puzzle...'
I would disagree; there is no poverty in the UK. Poverty means not having enough to eat, or not having rags to wear. Whatever factors have influenced this behaviour, poverty cannot be one of them, because it simply is not there.
Similarly if you go to poorer countries, countries with far greater wealth disparity, countries where people are really poor you don't find this delinquency.
The poverty argument is an excuse to hide the delinquency resulting from the obvious failure of socialist control games with the family and society.
Posted by: fdm at May 26, 2005 07:35 AM