Wednesday, May 14, 2008

The neds on the bus.

Three anecdotes on the poor state of British society and how family really is the answer.

Cont…

posted by Benjamin Nakizo at 5:08 AM

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Blogger Benjamin Nakizo said...

There is a long cycle path that cuts up through the west end of Edinburgh before moving northeast towards the river. It starts very close to my flat and I often go for long jogs up and down its length. It weaves in and out of various housing estates that I would otherwise have no need to visit. The largest estate it moves through is not what you might call the nicest area. As you approach the litter and graffiti begin to build up, discarded shopping trolleys line the path and the debris of countless beer bottles becomes ingrained in the soil. The people look a little more feral than usual too. They seem to move in packs, mostly of kids between eight and fifteen. Frightening kids. As I go running in the evenings these groups of kids are almost always drinking. I am used to them now and they don’t invoke the apprehension that they used to. Often they make a point of impeding your path and then shouting something aggressive sounding as you detour around them. The other day I saw a child, without exaggeration, no older than eight who was swigging from a bottle of wine. Which may be a testimony to just how classy Edinburgh is, or it might be a symptom of something worse. More likely it is the latter.

Today on my way back from work something happened on the bus that has happened a number of times before. A group of kids climbed aboard and immediately made their way to the back rows. Nothing unusual. Then they all got out their mobile phones and began playing music at an indescribably loud level. I didn’t realise mobiles could make such a noise; I had to glance back to make sure it wasn’t a small hi-fi system they had set up. Everyone on the bus was looking at each other and occasionally starring towards the back end of the bus with a look of disgust. But no one did anything. I have seen this before, on many occasions, and what’s strange is that the kids aren’t saying to each other ‘listen to this new tune’ or even ‘see how loud my mobile can go?’ but they are simply putting it on as background noise. As if the bus was one of their bedrooms. This habit seems to be the ‘done’ thing among kids of that persuasion and it is highly, highly irritating. I actually had to leave the bus since I was trying to listen to my ipod but couldn’t hear it, even when set to maximum, because of the overwhelming noise from the back.

Another bus story. I climbed aboard a bus the other day behind a small black man. He struggled with his English when buying a bus ticket and when he sat down he could not seem to stay still. I sat next to him and noticed the pure excitement and fascination in his eyes. Every person, building and vehicle he saw out of the window seemed to utterly surprise him. My presumption is that he had only newly arrived in the UK and our way of living was entirely different to anything he had ever encountered before. My flatmate later claimed he was ‘fresh off the boat’. I found this spectacle quite charming but then to my horror something occurred directly in front of us that stole the mans attention. A young local couple got on the bus, pushing a buggy. The man was covered in tattoos and was drinking from a beer can. The women who, and I jest not, was about the same width as the bus, carefully navigated her track suited posterior onto the wide disabled seats and pulled her buggy, complete with wailing child, to her side. They then proceeded to argue. “F*cking this and f*cking that” it was clear that these two people hated each other and neither of them paused to comfort the child. A shouted command to shut up would have at least confirmed they acknowledged the poor things existence, but it never came. Throughout this argument the women was also incessantly picking her nose and inspecting the results. I really wish I was joking. There was a thud beside me as the newcomers jaw hit the floor. A mask of total horror on his face. This is the new world he had sacrificed everything for.

Sure I sound like an old, upper class toff commentating on the unruly behaviour of the lower classes. A much enjoyed pastime of the upper classes since the very inception of the class system. Yet I can’t help but feel that these outward, surface signs of poor manners and alcohol abuse are indeed something to be worried about. Bad behaviour in children, and I mean real bad behaviour, is linked to low academic achievement, teenage pregnancy and crime. Now I have some pretty strong views on the family, too many to fully go into here. They aren’t very flattering views since I believe the family unit is by design oppressive of women. As much as I despise feminists – I will grant them that one concession. Yet this is not to say that it isn’t also the best system man (ha!) has yet devised to bring up children. When families break I have seen for myself the ugly results. When single parents, as courageous as they might be, bring up their children they are constantly fighting to overcome a major handicap.

Two parents are better than one. This can be proven again and again and again. Families should be encouraged and supported. And I don’t mean to suggest we introduce the Louisiana practice of assessing students on mock wedding proposal technique. But I feel financial benefits and educational programs are at least a start. It is one building block towards some much needed social stability. Other elements include more powers for civil society, more drug rehabilitation programs, more parenting classes and more parent/teacher interaction among other things. It will also take generations and it is probably not something that can even be achieved in totality, there will always be this underclass of poverty and low aspirations. Yet it is manageable.

And if this sounds elitist then so be it. I don’t intend to celebrate mediocrity in the name of equality.

5:11 AM  

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