Attitudes to young people hit the wrong notes

The aftermath of the summer’s disturbances is still reverberating.  The sentencing authorities have released demographic figures which show the ages of the people involved, again shining a light on society’s attitude towards anyone younger.  Here are a couple of quotes about young people:

"The young people of today think of nothing but themselves."

"When I was young, we were taught to be discreet and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly disrespectful."

Pretty damning.  In addition, The Times reported "organised terrorism in the streets." 

You could be forgiven for thinking that society has gone to hell in a handcart.  Indeed, a recent survey showed that a huge percentage of adults think that is the case, and the reason they point to is the behaviour of young people.  Around a quarter of people think that children can be ‘written off’ at the age of 10, no hope of transforming themselves into anything meaningful.

But are young people any different today?  The short answer is no.  My mother used to regale me with tales of the mischief the Land Girls used to get up to at the tail end of the Second World War.  Apparently this now revered group of women were seen as feral upstarts by the local farmers, who wanted them to be packed back off to the towns as soon as possible, air raids or not.  My uncle also pointed out that my Dad in his teenage years was not adverse to using his boxing skills to sort out problems, whether he was inside a ring or not.

We need to pause for a moment and consider our attitudes towards young people.  We regularly pave over their green spaces to build car parks.  When they continue to pass exams in ever increasing numbers, we tell them it must because exams are getting easier.  We tell them what they are and are not allowed to wear when they are spending their money in shopping centres, contributing to the economy.  We criticise their music, their dress sense, their beliefs.  When we see more than two of them together, we refer to them as a ‘gang’, a word we would never dream of attributing to a collection of men standing outside the British Legion, or ladies gathered outside a Bingo hall.  In short, we behave appallingly towards young people, then have the barefaced cheek to complain that they show us no respect.

Most worryingly of all is the fact that in law, the only group of people against whom physical violence is permitted is young people.  The Welsh Assembly is promising a free vote on outlawing the smacking of children, something I wholeheartedly support.  What possible justification could there be for using physical violence against somebody half your size and a third of your strength?  None whatsoever in my opinion.  In any other sphere of life, this kind of behaviour would be greeted with outrage.  Imagine it in the workplace.  Someone further up the hierarchy comes over to you, tells you that you have done something wrong and strikes you for it.  90% of people would hit their superior back and almost all would issue some kind of complaint, many pursuing a legal path.  Physical violence simply breeds more physical violence and a desire for retribution.  When used against children, it teaches them that people who are bigger in size than them have the ultimate say, without any need for explanation or justification.  I am bigger than you.  I can hit you.  you do as I say.  When it happens on street corners we call it mugging, bullying, assault.  When it happens in the home it’s called chastisement.  There are a million ways to discipline children and it is often necessary.  The use of physical violence is an admission that the parent does not have the ability to parent in any other way.

Shamefully, the cowardly M.P. for Monmouth, David Davies, feels that violence against children is not only justified, but also wishes to prevent the Assembly from attempting to outlaw it:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-15353564

A typically underhand way of preventing something you don’t agree with.  Perhaps Mr Davies wants to protect people like him who feel that hitting children is justified.  I'm sure he would have been perfectly happy had the Whips beaten him up after voting in favour of an EU referendum recently.

Just in case you are wondering where the comments at the top came from, I’ll tell you.  The Times report wasn’t from this summer, but from 1898, that golden Victorian age that many would like us to return to.  The first quote was attributed to Peter the Hermit in 1274.  But attitudes like this aren’t simply a recent phenomena (i.e. the last millennium).  The second quote is from Hesiod, in the 8^th Century BC.  Yes, folks, the world is going to hell in a handcart, and it’s young people’s fault.  Just as it has been for the last 2,800 years.

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