It was interesting yesterday being at a family get together. The subject of ASBOs came up, even before Joseph arrived, deliberately, in his hoodie and baseball cap. Laurence was arguing that he ought to have been ASBO'd for firing paintballs out of the bedroom window at passing cars. He and Jack were furious at the signs in many shops that say 'Only two schoolchildren at a time'. Joseph has made it quite clear to me that the wearing of a hoodie and baseball cap does not a criminal make. And I totally agree with all of them.
And, you know, I do agree. But the simple fact is that all three of them, and Dom, who I never got round to talking to, are all nice guys, good company etc and indisputedly, boys. The kind of men that I really like. There again, quite apart from their genetic headstart in life, they've all got good parents, and, in different ways, are all fully functioning members of society.
I can appreciate the frustration expressed by Jack, Laurence and Joseph, that they are being targeted and labelled. Laurence felt it's similar to racism. And, honestly, I agree and understand. I recall as a teenager the indignation I felt at being queue-jumped by old bags who decided that I didn't matter. I also sympathise entirely that whilst they are being banned from shopping here and wearing that, they are also being bombarded with messages to buy this and that, which translates into peer pressure. They've got the intelligence and background to have a sophisticated understanding of that. But who can blame them for lacking the maturity to resist - they are, after all, children, even Jack at 17.
I'm not sure that they ever intended to lobby and persuade me, but they have caused me to think. In my defence, way back at the start of the hoodie debate, I laid the blame firmly at the feet of Bluewater. Perhaps it would be just easy to say, "Hey guys, that's life, get used to it" but that's just not fair.
But, when it boils down to it, I don't suppose any one of them will be ASBOd, because they are being brought up to have high aims in life, to think for themselves, to develop a range of interests. Of course, I'm entirely biased, because it's family etc, but they've got a flying start in life from their parents, and, I would argue, from the extended family, too, and whatever minor hiccups they may have along the way, they'll get over them.
The problem society really does have is with the tiny minority of the alienated. Perhaps it makes me seem like an old bag, but it does feel intimidating to be face a gang of people, of whatever age, with intimidating body language. And I will say, the installing of CCTV has transformed my road in that respect. What is sad s the lack of inter-generational communication. One of the great things about my extened family is the age range - as a child, I had cousins well into adulthood who treated me with respect; the least I can do now is return that respect to the youngsters of the family. But that's easy, because it's family, because I'm showing respect to the creme de la creme. There are so many 'Youth' organisations crying out for volunteers; there are so many adults who moan about the Youth of Today, who moan about the lack of meaning in their lives, who fill their leisure time with crap telly, or whatever. I'll be honest, I'm not prepared to make that time commitment. But I would argue that I have in the past, and probably will do in the future. And I'm pretty damn sure that the old bags who pushed me out of queeues when I was a child would never have dreamed of giving their time.
Did you know that 2005 is International Year of the Volunteer
