* Check out his most recent post on Britain's "War on Youth" for a good example of the former.
Something like 90% of urban England has a curfew for young people, giving police (and fake "citizen cops") the power to send kids home after dark for any reason, if, in their judgement, the kids are apt to be disturbing "real" people. Many stores and restaurants have signs on the door that say "no more than two kids at one time" (imagine if it said "No more than two Jews" or "No more than two blacks"). And there's a kind of para-law called the Anti-Social Behaviour Order that gives courts the power to invent laws for people (mostly kids) who face complaints about their behaviour (the accused aren't allowed to rebut the evidence against them).
Many stores and restaurants have signs on the door that say "no more than two kids at one time"
ReplyDeleteSo friggin what if they do? If people with income don't like the sign, let them shop elsewhere.
Lots of youth = a huge headache for shop owners. They loiter. Break things. Spoil inventory. Petty theft. They don't purchase enough to make the headache worthwhile.
If Cory doesn't know this .. perhaps he should run a convenience store next to a high school for a few weeks. See how much hair he has left after having a herd of Youth in during lunch break.
Sure, sure. I should have made clear that I put private property owners with "anti-youth" policies in a completely different bucket than I do state "anti-youth" policies. Same as I do for banning smoking, etc.
ReplyDeleteI am troubled by the wider point that British governments are beginning to treat anybody younger than the median voter as a de facto threat to peace and order.