Phud

28 August 2011 7:59PM

Hysterical 24 hour news coverage and seedy documentary series about policing in troubled areas with endless footage of hooded, tracksuit-wearing-baseball-capped teens hanging about on street-corners or litter-strewn concourses, doesn't help.

I live on a council estate and I see these sorts of kids every day; most of them are polite and respectful (and believe me, I don't look as if I'd give them any trouble), and I can tell you - they're just as scared as the rest of us. They hang about in gangs because it makes them feel safe. The only time we get any bother is on Fridays or Saturday nights when they smoke some green and drink too much cheap cider, but because we actually know them as individuals, they're less likely to be belligerent. Maybe it's because we're Irish and we have a better sense of community, I don't know. But remember, they're only kids going through adolescence - and that's traumatic enough without having the world judging you and calling you a 'national disgrace'.

If you point a TV camera at them, they tend to act up. And if you demonise them, they will act accordingly.

Don't get sucked-in by the hype.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/aug/28/public-nervousness-young-people-riots?commentpage=all#start-of-comments