The British youth are in a crisis. In fact, the entirety of British society is in a crisis. As a member of the British youth, I feel qualified to write on this. The British youth are now more likely to abuse drink and drugs, have underage sex, join gangs, and get into fights than other European kids their age, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research.
First and foremost, allow me to educate my American audience about British Youth Culture (BYC):
Terminology:
council house: House provided free of charge by the state. Known to be sites with high crime levels. What you yanks might call "project housing."
chav or charv/charver even chavster (male) and chavette (female): backronyms: "Council House Average," "Council Housed And Violent," or "Cheap And Vulgar." Love large, shiny jewelery, speak in street slang, wear sports clothes and hoodies but rarely engage in any sort of exercise, sometimes wear fake Burberry, have a built in love for hip hop and rap. (See photo above).
townies: Not to be confused with chavs. Live in towns. Listen to rock pop, also sport tracksuits but in brighter colors with slogans written on the back, and wear fake Burberry.
neds: backronym of "non-educated delinquents." Very much like chavs and townies, but tuck their trouser bottoms into their socks and drink bad fortified wine out of boxes.
All of the above walk around in big groups, sometimes get themselves into fights, few engage in "happy slapping" (filming yourself beating someone up). Also, these BY engage in the ’anti-posh’ movement (beating up anyone who speaks the Queens English and has been to university/college). Then we have pikies, emos, goths, kevs, oiks, scallies and sloanes (or sloan rangers; BY who hang out in Sloan Square, an upmarket part of London). To find out more: click here.
The Brits in power have moaned and wailed at the state of the British youth, blame has been sent flying back and forth from the government, to the parents, to the teachers. The most effective thing the policy makers have managed to come up with are ASBOs and youth clubs.
ASBOs (anti-social behavior orders) involve trying to stop a person who has committed and anti-social act from doing it again. So typically if a person is found causing a disturbance in a public place, he or she will be banned from said place. If the ASBO is breached, the person may end up in jail. Needless to say, they are not very effective and somewhat overused. An ASBO has even been given out banning a 13-year-old from saying the word "grass."
The government seems to be on a never-ending blind run from the causes of the problem. The creation of the welfare state has allowed yobbish individuals (people who spend their lives doing very little) to lie back and let the government give them a house, unemployment benefits, and child benefits. It’s now more profitable to be a single unemployed mother than to be married and have a job. In short, it has allowed for responsibility for an individual to be taken off of his shoulders and placed onto the State. If I crash whilst manically driving my illegal motorbike down the road, the NHS (National Health Service) will take care of me.
So, what will I add to the great pool of righteous suggestions? Correct the concept of rights and dues: teach that one has to earn rights rather than simply receive them. Bring back school discipline to teach respect. Help the poorest and most in need in our society, but help them get a job and stand on their own two feet. Punish those who deserve to be punished, don’t just give out ASBO’s. And please, stop hugging hoodies.
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