Two stories in the media this week that speak volumes about young people’s attitudes. The first is quite disturbing and involves a thirteen year old girl’s letter to Santa in which she requests, amongst other things, a BlackBerry. She warns Santa that if she doesn’t get this, and another electronic gadget, she’ll kill him and eat his reindeer.
Notwithstanding the idea that surely thirteen's a bit old to be writing to Santa; if that was my daughter her present count would be reduced to zero and we’d be down the homeless shelter Christmas day helping out. perhaps that would teach her something about materialism. Typically, and this is probably where the problem starts, her mother’s reaction is to make sure she gets what she wants then. Her daughter’s sense of entitlement comes across in the article when she states that, well I want these things and don’t see why I can’t have them. God knows what she’ll turn out like when she’s older, although I can venture good guess.
The second story concerns an attack on a 79 year old Manchester man, he was pelted with eggs and then had a concrete block thrown at him by Ryan Girdlestone. Although Girdlestone professed to the court of his great remorse the first thing he did, after receiving the non-sentence of a curfew and restraining order with an electronic tag, was to brag on Facebook:
Jus got out off court wiv a 4 mouths tag hahahha.
Other than the notable achievement of five mistakes in such a short sentence his mental attitude comes across well. His victim, Bernard O'Donnell, summed it up well when he said:
It is quite disgraceful. There's a terrible lack of grace. In its place we've got evil and it's spreading I'm afraid. I think it reflects a general attitude of many of the youth of today. They lack moral fibre, they lack morality. Good or bad doesn't come anywhere in their vocabulary.
(At least Mr O’Donnell can string a sentence or two together and, I dare say, can spell too.)
As many have claimed surely this is contempt of court, perhaps in future judges will be less gullible when criminals claim they’ve learned their lesson.
Now I know that the media only like to report bad news, no one gets in the papers for writing a letter to Father Christmas along the lines of:
I have too many things already and I hardly ever use most of them, please give my presents to someone less fortunate.
and I’m sure that the majority of young people are caring, responsible and not illiterate, brutish louts like Girdlestone - but it would be great if there was some encouraging news over the Christmas period.
For my contribution I promise that my next article will be a cheering one rather than a rant.
Merry Christmas
