Liberal England points to an intriguing story from BBC Leicestershire:
People are lying to the police about anti-social behaviour to get groups of children dispersed, police have said.
A senior policeman admitted there was an increasing trend of residents calling to complain about innocent behaviour, like playing football.
Inspector Andy Ramsey, from Leicestershire Police, said incidents were exaggerated or even invented to ensure officers intervened.
I get the sense this story is merely the tip of the iceberg. And while the young are the obvious victims here, there is something sad about a society where adults are so disempowered and infantilised that this is what they resort to. But then, isn’t this what the “Respect Agenda” is all about?
Back in the 50s streets were communal areras, of course, and children played with the local community looking out for them. Now, of course, most streets are lined with vast ‘SUVs’ mostly paid for by middle-aged people ‘freeing up equity’ in the homes that were paid for by 70s and 80s inflation effort-free (AKA ‘It was hard in our day too’).
Personally, I don’t see the ‘boomer generation’ as being something the young should aspire to emulating with their three-car families, consumerism, throwaway culture, gorging on the planet, enjoying the fruits of the state half their lives then kicking away the ladder from the young by voting for selfish political parties. That’s not to say ALL boomers are guilty, of course, but the was certainly a big shift in attitudes between the pre and post-war generation.
Let the kids play football. Heck, if you can afford kids these days you must be some kind of miracle worker. Let’s celebrate it.