Hug a Hoodie

[woodbloke]

SWIMBO was cycling home yesterday evening about 7.00pm when it was dark and was on the receiving end of some agro from youths in hoodies who chased her down the road kicking the rear wheel of her bike and giving her general aggravation, not for the first time, as we usually walk to work, but the first time on her bike. I have also been targeted by these delightful 'children' but yesterday was the final straw so I went this morning to see HM constabulary in the town, who sympathized and offered the following advice, which is the text of the e-mail I sent to her as soon as I got home:

Dearest - have been down to the Police station and had a long chat with the boys in blue. Their advice is as follows:
1. Ignore them, or even better be nice to them, smile at them and give them a big hug (....hug a hoodie) as they will thrive on a negative reaction which will ramp up the aggro as its what they're after.
2. If you feel intimidated or threatened with violence of any sort, warn them first (while giving them a cuddle) which will give you time to get a description (very important) and then call 999.
This is their advice, so make sure you have your mobile on you and its switched on.
I mentioned that the ginger thing had been throwing stones at me and he (the community bobby) is going to have a word in her dainty ear.

Sincerely hope that no other SWIMBO's or anyone else for that matter has to tolerate this sort of thing. My own personal solution involves a nice lump of ash or oak about 1000x50x50mm, the lathe and some kneecaps 8) .... but that might be over-stepping the mark a little - Rob

 

[mr]

My own personal solution involves a nice lump of ash or oak about 1000x50x50mm, the lathe and some kneecaps 8) Rob

Quite so - call for a Priest. Works wonders.
Mike

 

[Waka]

Behibd the bike shed springs to mind, get them ne at a time, they're only brave in groups.

 

[suprasport]

totally unbelievable, im afraid i would have been out there within a few minutes and sod the consequences, but they wouldnt be doing it again. :twisted:

 

[Scrit]

totally unbelievable, im afraid i would have been out there within a few minutes and sod the consequences, but they wouldnt be doing it again. :twisted:

Maybe not a good idea.... I tried that once, many years ago. With odds of 8 to 1 against me I ended up with concussion. The only plusses were that three of them did get done for assault (£30 fine, but a criminal record), a further three were given verbal cautions and the police were then a lot more active in patrolling the locale, at least for a while. It could have been worse, though, if one of them had possessed a knife or worse a gun then the personal consequences for me could have been a lot worse.

But as for the little "tyke" who was busy for a while banging my head against a gate, well he did complain of a "gross indecent assault" on his person by myself. The police, bless them, ignored the complaint - after all it's perfectly normal for the victim of an assault to grab onto almost anything they can and punch like blazes - and apparently I refused to let go my vice like grip until the cuffs were on - him. Sadly I don't think I managed to damage him permanently, more's the pity.

Scrit

 

[Paul.J]

No.It's the innocent victim who always comes off worst.
I had a group of lads outside our house causing trouble playing football,well kicking the ball at cars,buses, people on bikes.
We were watchinG them for about half an hour when i decided to phone the police.
I was the 13th caller to complain about the same incident.
Then the ball came into our garden just missing the windows so out i went and grabbed the ball.
"Gis the ball back mate."
"No chance,it's on my property now it's mine now."
To which the biggest of these brave lads approached me.
"Gis the f------ ball back."
To which i grabbed him and pushed him out of the garden.
Then one of them ran straight acroos the road to a property that used to be let,and he too phoned the police.
They turned up in seconds.
I went over to them trying to explain what had gone on,and the officer said that they have just had a report of an assault on a minor.
I almost said theres no mines round here, but he didn't look too happy.
The lad came over pointed me out and i was almost arrested.
Fortunately the police recognised some of the lads as been known trouble makers and he told me to go back in the house.Nothing was done.
Then after this we had bigger gangs of kids just messing about outside for weeks.Even had some of their so called parents coming down threatening to fire bomb the house and put me in hospital.
When you've a wife and kids to think about,and not much support from the police i won't be doing anything like that again.
They can do what they like.And this is why kids are like what they are today.In my oppinion.
Paul.J.

 

[suprasport]

They can do what they like.And this is why kids are like what they are today.In my oppinion.
Paul.J.

couldnt agree more. :evil:

 

[DomValente]

I'd like to join in and support what you are all saying, but the server would probably crash.

Dom

 

[TonyW]

After a run in last week at a local shop with a group of school kids hurling abuse and threats. I can certainly support all your views.

I would have dearly loved to have slapped a couple of the "little darlings" but as one of them suggested they would "ave me for GBH".

Pity the schools and police do not have at least some of the power they seemed to have when I was at school

Tony

 

[woodbloke]

We've had an encouraging and supporting e-mail from the local PC who suggested that they are in cahoots with 'other agencies' to have these troublesome families removed, but it takes time and there is the due process of law to follow. My guess is that they are building up a 'case file' and when enough evidence has been brought they will start to take steps to move these families on.
Still prefer the alternative, more direct method tho' :x - Rob

 

[Steve Maskery]

they will start to take steps to move these families on.

The problem with that approach, though, is surely that it doesn't solve the problem, it just displaces it. A new group of people have to put up with the behaviour. What is need is a change of behaviour, not just a change of location.

Steve, who, if he had a solution, would get rich in promulgating it.

 

[mr]

All said, I have on two occasions been grateful to yoofs / kiddies for their behaviour. Some time back I suffered a SMIDSY on my bike, t boned a car at a junction at about 40 mph, did the airborne thing over the roof etc and it was a wee girl of probably no more than 12 who called the emergency services (police and ambulance) to come and scrape me of the road. More recently my other half lost her mobile and a few days later I got a call from a pair of ten year olds who had found it while walking their dog. "Did I want to come down the local shop and pick it up from them?" Not sure what the "moral" of that story is though it would seem that there are still some people (not just kiddies) with "values" and the danger, personally speaking as I get older and grumpier is that you can throwaway the baby with the bathwater so to speak. Though going back to my original response to Robs post there are times where a smack round the head is certainly the required response.

Cheers Mike

 

[woodbloke]

they will start to take steps to move these families on.

The problem with that approach, though, is surely that it doesn't solve the problem, it just displaces it. A new group of people have to put up with the behaviour. What is need is a change of behaviour, not just a change of location.

Steve, who, if he had a solution, would get rich in promulgating it.

Steve - agreed - Rob

 

[Paul Chapman]

the local PC who suggested that they are in cahoots with 'other agencies' to have these troublesome families removed, but it takes time and there is the due process of law to follow.

Sorry to hear of your experiences, Rob. The way I see it you need to complain to the police each and every time you have a problem. These issues take far too long to get dealt with. Once these problems become the norm in an area, they are very difficult to eradicate.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[mailee]

My neighbourhood is great and everyone looks out for everyone else but it has not always been that way. Before we moved here is was locally known as murder mile and you can gather by that statement what went on. Most of the trouble was through drugs and the gangs of kids used to demolish almost everything in site. Since then they have all been moved out into other areas of the town and our area is again one of peace. Luckily the areas they have been moved into are already inhabited by undesirables so they will feel well at home and can rob and annoy each other, not us. This coming year the old homes are to be redeveloped and turned into private housing so we should get an even better class of people in. I am lucky living in a cul-de-sac off the main estate which is reserved for us toffs. So it does prove that eventually the authorities do do something about it even if it did take eight years!

 

[Losos]

Woodbloke,
Your story is all too familiar in the UK today - OK I'm out of it for a few years, but, to be honest, I do not relish my return no matter where I choose to live simply because of crime and violence.

Steve,
You say "If you had a solution........" but surely there is a solution, it's just that the PC 'Do Gooders" (who seem to have the media in their pockets) will not allow it to be implemented. See Paul J post.

mr,
Yes, the majority are good kids, but it seems to me there are always a minority of yobs where ever you go, and it these who cause the trouble.

 

[RogerS]

I can empathise most of what has gone before.

There is one aspect that I believe has still to be addressed. It seems to me that the common thread running through the posts and other threads is that it is always 'someone elses fault' and that 'someone should sort it out'. I would argue that we have got the society that we deserve as my belief is that it is us, as society in general, who have abrogated our responsibility to actively take to task anyone with obnoxious behaviour/vandalism etc.

Now, before you all jump down my throat and say that you wouldn't like to do this today as you could get knifed or beaten up, then I'd probably agree with you. But, going back to when I was brought up as a lad in the '50s, anyone would take me to task if I stepped out of line. I soon learnt what bad behaviour was as did most of my mates.

So, sometime between then and now, our society has stopped doing this and so let the rot set in. We abrogated our joint responsibility.

 

[Colin C]

I can empathise most of what has gone before.

There is one aspect that I believe has still to be addressed. It seems to me that the common thread running through the posts and other threads is that it is always 'someone elses fault' and that 'someone should sort it out'. I would argue that we have got the society that we deserve as my belief is that it is us, as society in general, who have abrogated our responsibility to actively take to task anyone with obnoxious behaviour/vandalism etc.

Now, before you all jump down my throat and say that you wouldn't like to do this today as you could get knifed or beaten up, then I'd probably agree with you. But, going back to when I was brought up as a lad in the '50s, anyone would take me to task if I stepped out of line. I soon learnt what bad behaviour was as did most of my mates.

So, sometime between then and now, our society has stopped doing this and so let the rot set in. We abrogated our joint responsibility.

Roger

I whole heartedly agree with as I was brought up in the '70s-'80s and in my area ( Totenham ), it was the same and would not have tried to back chat someone as you would have been put straight very quickly.

I will show how bad it is as I have been working in a club with my brother in law and had to get a youth to take his hat off ( which he had been told to do a few times ).

So I took it off for him but as you can guess, he did not like this and ask why I was disrespecting him :roll: .

In the long and short of it, he ended up say he would shoot me ( this is for taking off his hat in the club ).

At this point I did want to drop him but there is just on point.

We should all give this nanny state a kick up the you know what [-(

 

[Scrit]

So, sometime between then and now, our society has stopped doing this and so let the rot set in. We abrogated our joint responsibility.

We didn't abrogate our responsibility at all. We allowed the more PC amongst us to hold sway with the argument that all these people are victims - the hoodies are "victims" of their upbringing......

As are the kids with "attitude".

Great world we've allowed to happen because of the so-called do-gooders, when probably all that was needed was a modicum of respect to be taught.

Scrit

 

[Losos]

Scrit,

You talk about the 'more PC amongst us.........' yes it's true, but have you noticed how the media will fall over backwards to highlight some one with a PC 'view' but when it comes to good old fashioned discipline & respect they don't want to know.

A lady I've been corressponding with recently told me that she contacted the media about a prison officer who was beating up someone, the media were very interested when they 'assumed' it was a prisnor, but when she explained it was his wife he was attacking they didn't want to know.

I mention that as an example of how the media will always IMHO go for the story which has the most 'PC' angle. They IMO are very much responsible for the situation you describe in modern day society.