Years ago a friend of ours used to maintain that children are basically selfish, even inherently evil beings who need to be socialised. At the other extreme there are those who maintain that all children are innocent. The truth is probably somewhere between the two. The matter is confused because in our society we have a tendency, especially in the media, to refer to anyone under 18 as a child. Legally this is no doubt so but socially young people of 15 or 16 upwards are no longer children. They certainly believe hey are quite grown up. And they are old enough to know the difference between right and wrong. Let’s make it plain and refer to them as adolescents.
Reports about the riots that took place after the death of children, small girls, at a dance activity in Southport this summer ask “why did children take part in the English riots?” Lawyers defending the adolescents say they joined in “to fit in”, wanting “to belong to something”. One of these was 16, admitting to joining in riots on Bolton and hurling a rock towards riot police from the steps of Bolton’s cenotaph.
His solicitor said his political views were “generally nonexistent”. His parents said he was not racist and had a mixed-race sibling, as if that somehow absolved him. So did he join in because his mates were doing so? He knew he was doing something wrong because he covered his face with a black mask. And surely in the personal and social education lessons thatvschools now have to offer such questions should have been explored. A lot of young people join in protest groups because they believe in a cause; they aren’t all political blank sheets. Here’s a link to an article about this.
Not all protests end in riots but it seems that increasingly they end in arrests. In the USA this certainly appears to be the case and I read that this is more and more the result of pressure from the people being protested against:-
“Fossil fuel lobbyists coordinated with lawmakers behind the scenes and across state lines to push and shape laws that are escalating a crackdown on peaceful protests against oil and gas expansion, a new Guardian investigation reveals.
Records obtained by the Guardian show that lobbyists working for major North American oil and gas companies were key architects of anti-protest laws that increase penalties and could lead to non-violent environmental and climate activists being imprisoned up to 10 years.
Emails between fossil fuel lobbyists and lawmakers in Utah, West Virginia, Idaho and Ohio suggest a nationwide strategy to deter people frustrated by government failure to tackle the climate crisis from peacefully disrupting the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure by enacting tough laws with lengthy jail sentences.”
Here’s a link to the rest of that article.
That’s the USA but I get the impression that similar repression is on the cards here too.
This morning I was very strong and resisted the temptation to send this headline to Granddaughters Number One and Two:
Great news, everybody! We’re about to be over-run by giant spiders.
It would have been a cruel act to remind them that it’s spider season when they both have a fir of the heebie-jeebies whenever a spider of any size is around.
Nell Frizzell writes:
“As a child, I was as terrified of spiders as I am today by droughts and unfiled tax returns. I would watch in amazed horror as my country-born mother picked up arachnids the size and heft of dogs and calmly threw them out the window. There were whole cupboards I refused to open for fear of spiders. Once, after accidentally walking into a web during a game of hide and seek, I actually vomited at the thought of a spider being close to my skin (they found me quite quickly after that).”
That sounds so much like my granddaughters, the smaller ones as well. Nell Frizzell grew out of it, living independently and realising that spiders are actually useful. She signs off with:
“So spiders and I are fine. Just don’t ask about slugs.”
Yes! I can fully understand that!
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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