The Blame Game - Part 3

The Youth

And now we come to what many see as the biggest piece of the puzzle – the youth that took part in the riots. What made these youngsters, many who are still in primary school, go out on the rampage and cause so much destruction and chaos? Well one thing for sure is that not all of those involved were youngsters, there were many grown men and women also taking part. One of the first points I want to tackle is this whole notion of them not having anything to do, not having jobs, not having anywhere to go. Fair enough, the job market is very tough out there at the moment and many youth clubs and centres have closed down. But I find it really hard to feel sympathy when I’m hearing them complain about their current situation. I’ve heard time and time again that society has failed them, the school system has failed them and everyone is to blame apart from themselves. I went to an inner-city London secondary school and made the decision (with my parents support and influence) to study, do my homework and try and achieve good grades in my GCSE’s, this led me to doing my A’Levels, a degree and a postgraduate degree. However there were many of my peers in school who decided they weren’t going to go for that route and it’s sad to say but a lot of people I knew ended up doing jail time within a few years of leaving school. These kids roaming the streets make the decision to bunk school, to be disruptive in class, to take no interest in their education – and then they have the cheek to blame society and expect others to feel sorry for them?? No, enough of this ‘feeling sorry for yourself’ culture, you need to stand up and take responsibility for your actions, don’t try and now pass off the blame on the school or the teachers. Just like me, there are thousands of other kids who go to the same schools and have to work with the same teachers, resources and within the same environment as these ‘failed’ pupils and they still make something out of their lives. This country provides us with a free education up to the age of 18 but so many disregard it like a waste of time. Obviously it helps if parents are playing an active role in the education of their child, but the child also needs to accept a level of accountability. It’s hard enough for someone with qualifications to get a job so obviously for someone who didn’t even bother attending school it will be a nightmare, but don’t blame the employer for this, take a look at yourself.

My final point on the youth is that I sit and wonder what makes them want to take part in these types of events, is it out of sheer boredom or is out of the sense of belonging to something? Maybe they just want to hit back at the system they feel has deserted them? The press have reported many different types of youngsters took part including the daughter of a millionaire – I mean what made her want to get caught up in this? Surely she didn’t need to loot to get herself some new trainers? For me this is an example of why the government need to ask themselves how broken must this society be that people seem to take part just for the sake of it. One harrowing event that stuck with me for nearly all of my life was the brutal murder of toddler James Bulger by a 10 and 11 year old. I clearly remember the furore that surrounded the fact that the killers had been watching horror film Childs Play and how this was a massive protagonist in their action. To this day I refuse to just accept this as the defining reason and still question why in this modern day and age two little boys would even contemplate doing what they did. It infuriates me seeing these judges and ministers passing the blame from one thing to another, but never actually tackling the real issue at heart which is what kind of society, what kind of world do we live in that makes little boys commit murder. Yes I accept that the media is very influential and plays a big part in our day to day lives, but stop pointing the finger at the media alone and making it a scapegoat for the ills of society.

I have no doubt that in the weeks to come we will see many well constructed PR events of David Cameron, Nick Clegg, Boris Johnson and others sitting down with the ‘youth’, blazers off, ties off and sleeves rolled up. I’ve had enough of these gimmicks, I want actions, I want to see change and I want to see the real people making the change. Politicians will always have an end game – a seat in parliament – but for the real people their end game is life and life is certainly worth struggling for.