Young vs Old
11 May 2017
I was always taught to respect your elders, something that seems to have been forgotten in today’s society. Don’t get me wrong, I am sure there are a lot of parents out there who still strive to teach their children the same family values their parents taught them. But there is a lost generation out there with no such values.
The world has changed a great deal since I was a child. I grew up in a small village with no mobile phones or video games. The internet didn't exist and a clip round the ear was still acceptable if you did something wrong.
Fast forward to yesterday. I just finished teaching at my ‘ITs Easy’ class. Something I set up to make computers and phones easier for mature people. I had a new student turn up today who lives a few doors down from me. Peter is his name and he's 92 years young. We walked down to the bus stop and a kid who must have been 14 rode his bike straight at me on the pavement shouting and swearing at us to get out of his way. Joint in hand, he barged his way past and still cursing, continued on his way.
We are the most watched society on the planet there are more CCTV cameras in this country than anywhere else. Yet we read on a nearly daily basis of yet another gang related stabbing in London. The latest is the scooter gangs roaming our streets mugging people and dealing drugs. The law states that they cannot be chased if they aren't wearing a helmet so that’s what they do – knowing this - ride around with no helmets. The ‘nanny state’ people. Something called ‘common sense’ is now called Health and Safety.
If a member of the public tries to intervene they get arrested for assault. The kids know this and think they are untouchable. Teachers in the schools are powerless to do anything, frightened by what might happen, and are quite happy to let them get away with anything. And some parents really don’t care.
Meanwhile the coffee shop brigade stare at their phones, ignoring what's going on around them. The only police we see are speeding through the 20mph zones at 80 on their way to nick the latest shop lifter in the Co-op. It’s time to put the police back on the streets. We have the largest police station in London just down the road so where are they? It’s sad and something needs to happen.
11 May 2017
I was always taught to respect your elders, something that seems to have been forgotten in today’s society. Don’t get me wrong, I am sure there are a lot of parents out there who still strive to teach their children the same family values their parents taught them. But there is a lost generation out there with no such values.
The world has changed a great deal since I was a child. I grew up in a small village with no mobile phones or video games. The internet didn't exist and a clip round the ear was still acceptable if you did something wrong.
Fast forward to yesterday. I just finished teaching at my ‘ITs Easy’ class. Something I set up to make computers and phones easier for mature people. I had a new student turn up today who lives a few doors down from me. Peter is his name and he's 92 years young. We walked down to the bus stop and a kid who must have been 14 rode his bike straight at me on the pavement shouting and swearing at us to get out of his way. Joint in hand, he barged his way past and still cursing, continued on his way.
We are the most watched society on the planet there are more CCTV cameras in this country than anywhere else. Yet we read on a nearly daily basis of yet another gang related stabbing in London. The latest is the scooter gangs roaming our streets mugging people and dealing drugs. The law states that they cannot be chased if they aren't wearing a helmet so that’s what they do – knowing this - ride around with no helmets. The ‘nanny state’ people. Something called ‘common sense’ is now called Health and Safety.
If a member of the public tries to intervene they get arrested for assault. The kids know this and think they are untouchable. Teachers in the schools are powerless to do anything, frightened by what might happen, and are quite happy to let them get away with anything. And some parents really don’t care.
Meanwhile the coffee shop brigade stare at their phones, ignoring what's going on around them. The only police we see are speeding through the 20mph zones at 80 on their way to nick the latest shop lifter in the Co-op. It’s time to put the police back on the streets. We have the largest police station in London just down the road so where are they? It’s sad and something needs to happen.
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