Teenagers in Shetland

[JustMe]

Thanks to peeriesooky for posting the letter in full. I think that it explains why the act was serious and also tells us that the door was closed which rules out any sort of accident. This is nothing new in Lerwick.......going back about 8 years I can recall similar things happening with kids throwing assorted nasties into shops........and as for snowballs!!!.....ok I admit that there is more of a sense of fun with that although I do recall pointing out to one young lad that the snow he made his snowball from was full of doggie poo and broken glass.

 

Shopkeepers on the street have a hard enough time trying to make a profit without having to cope with the lunchtime onslaught of bairns set free from the AHS and as I have already said somewhere on Shetlink some residents in places such as, for example, Leog, are feared to leave or return to home during the time of massed school bairns passing their doors.

[BigMouth]

It depends which end of the cake you were on as to whether this is funny or not

[Ghostrider]

Sounds like a new take on one or more old tricks....

 

The obvious one is a modern day version on kastin kale, although we reserved that for Halloween only, this version is no more messy.

 

Too many years ago when I was one of the hordes of AHS "hooligans" that "terrorised" the street at dinner time and evenings, a crowd of us wandering along would sometimes "set up" one member, by getting them placed at the front of the group, then "suggesting" we visit some shop or other. Of course the lead guy was totally oblivious to the winks and nods behind him, and was completely taken by surprise when as soon as he opened said shop door whoever was immediately behind him gave him an almighty push in the back, sending him careering who knows how far in to the shop or in to what inside it....

 

As I had an after school job at the same time I could see the down side of it though, having someone creating in a shop where you worked quickly lost it's comedy value. However, had the cake flinger existed at that time, where I was would have been a very bad choice for him, we'd have had plenty of ammo to retaliate with more of the same, I was in Malcolmsons....A barrage of pan loaves under his lug might have been discouraging....

[NewMagnie]

 

You're off the mark Magnus.

 

It was a cake not a fancy, as you put it. A two tier caramel cake with, no doubt, lovely cream in the middle.

 

The woman who owns the shop is more than entitle to write to gher local paper about it given her shock and the fact that hand made Shetland knitwear is expensive. What the nationals do with the story is up to them.

 

On the level of social decline, are you suggesting the boys actions were "aright, just a fun?"

 

On meriting debate, didn't you reply to that same debate?

 

Magnus? How familiar.

 

Yes, mea culpa, I admit to prolonging and sustaining a debate which gets more witless by the minute. Wheesht, you have me there. And since I'm about to do it again, you are free to hammer home the point.

 

Now, for the purposes of pedantry, I think you'll find the description of the offending missile as a 'fancy' two or three posts up from mine, so not my choice of words. My point really, is that it wasn't exactly a molotov cocktail.

 

I'm not making any suggestions as to the merits of the boy's behaviour - It's simply not important enough, although, I'm forced to concede that were I the victim of the said fondant projectile, I'd be inclined to introduce the miscreant's ass to the toe of my boot.

 

As for being 'off the mark' - you're entitled to your opinion wrong as it might be. I don't really care whether the offended party wants to make her case in the press or not. What does concern me is the level of debate occasioned by this 'offence' and the fact that it's being held up as a representative example of reprehensible behaviour. I'm inclined to the view that the complainants above simply don't know they're livin'.

 

Personally, I wouldn't describe it as 'aaright, just a bit o fun' - its a pain in the hinter end for those concerned but, in common with most of the examples posted above its extremely small beer. Now, I'll confess that my view is somewhat coloured by the fact that I live too close for comfort to an area that rejoices in the title of 'knife crime capital of europe' and since I moved to my new job just under year ago, the same area has suffered about half a dozen murders and a couple of suspicious 'accidental' deaths. As a consequence, I tend to struggle with addressing a bit of cake flinging, ball kicking, sullenness and general adolescent mooching as much of a problem and certainly not one that merits ASBOs and increased police patrols.

 

The tendency of young people to annoy those of us of advancing years simply by their very existence has been eloquently made earlier in this thread, so I'll not revisit that, I'll simply point out that most towns south of Kirkwall would give their eye teeth to be able to describe their youth populations in these terms.

[NewMagnie]

Shopkeepers on the street have a hard enough time trying to make a profit without having to cope with the lunchtime onslaught of bairns set free from the AHS .

 

Shopkeepers on the street haven't exactly grown thin selling sweeties, and marlboro's to the AHS bairns either. You can't have it both ways.

[Njugle]

Drawing a point from Ghostriders post, it was certainly common in my day for there to be a stooge/sucker/victim system of sorts whereby an individual would fall for some pre-conceived dare out of naivety, or just plain peer pressure, resulting in the true orchestrators finding humour in both the target and the perpetrator.

 

I think the point may well be that the cake(caramel? what a waste!) flinging may not have been malicious in any way and though the perpetrator may well be due a 'hot lug' it may well also be the case that he is also a victim, of sorts, in this.

 

I'm not excusing it, just reminiscing on some fond/regrettable memories of misadventure.

[Jay_Corolla]

Why dont they keep them in the school grounds at break? Those in Brae aint aloud out with the school grounds during breaks until their in 5th year atleast!!

[shetlander]

 

Shopkeepers on the street have a hard enough time trying to make a profit without having to cope with the lunchtime onslaught of bairns set free from the AHS and as I have already said somewhere on Shetlink some residents in places such as, for example, Leog, are feared to leave or return to home during the time of massed school bairns passing their doors.

 

Would they be the same shopkeepers that got in a pan sharn at the threat of losing lunchtime custom from the AHS when the Council were speaking about building the new school at Clickimin? The raucous behaviour of school bairns must be a pain in the ass sometimes but I don’t hear any of them complaining about the contribution they make to their profits, which I’m sure is fairly significant in some cases - if not for the Spiders Web. They can’t, erm, have their cake and eat it (sorry).

 

But seriously, youths cake throwing, playing football at the cross, attacking each other with deodorant – irresponsible, witless and potentially dangerous yes but high order criminal or anti-social behaviour? I wouldn’t have thought so. I’m not implying that makes it acceptable (and I sympathise with the Spiders Web if they lost stock or custom as a result of the cake attack) but lets put things into context here. None of this behaviour sounds in any way different to what used to go on when I was at the AHS (13-17 years ago) and certainly fairly tame compared to the type of anti-social behaviour shopkeepers and the police in many town centres in the Central Belt have to put up with on a daily basis. As far as ‘moving’ youths to the Fort, the Knab or anywhere else goes, how exactly would that be done? Doesn’t that imply that all youths are troublemakers? Doesn’t the street afford that bit of informal surveillance from shopkeepers and other members of the public so that if and when anti-social behaviour does break out, it can be reported to the police or whoever quicker than would be the case if they were away elsewhere?

 

As others have said, the street always has been a gathering point for young folk, most of whom (despite the perception from some) are well behaved and are doing no other than we or their parents did before them. It sounds to me that all that’s needed is more of a police/community warden presence at busy times (or maybe a town centre ‘crime’ forum to be set up to discuss common problems and ways to overcome them) as opposed to some of the draconian measures that are being suggested here. The approach shouldn’t be to target youths as a single group but to deal appropriately with the individual perpetrators who make the experience of being at the street that bit more unpleasant for law abiding folk of all ages.

[Mario]

Personally I don't think this "cake-ing" is much to be concerned about. It's true, compared to the mainland, this is nothing. It's not as if there has been a spate of "cake-ings" over the past few months - although maybe, seeing as it's getting so much press, there will be.

 

When the cake becomes a flaming ball of fire or a swarm of locusts, then maybe I will care.

[Wheesht]

 

Magnus? How familiar.

 

Yes, mea culpa, I admit to prolonging and sustaining a debate which gets more witless by the minute. Wheesht, you have me there. And since I'm about to do it again, you are free to hammer home the point.

 

Now, for the purposes of pedantry, I think you'll find the description of the offending missile as a 'fancy' two or three posts up from mine, so not my choice of words. My point really, is that it wasn't exactly a molotov cocktail.

 

I'm not making any suggestions as to the merits of the boy's behaviour - It's simply not important enough, although, I'm forced to concede that were I the victim of the said fondant projectile, I'd be inclined to introduce the miscreant's ass to the toe of my boot.

 

As for being 'off the mark' - you're entitled to your opinion wrong as it might be. I don't really care whether the offended party wants to make her case in the press or not. What does concern me is the level of debate occasioned by this 'offence' and the fact that it's being held up as a representative example of reprehensible behaviour. I'm inclined to the view that the complainants above simply don't know they're livin'.

 

Personally, I wouldn't describe it as 'aaright, just a bit o fun' - its a pain in the hinter end for those concerned but, in common with most of the examples posted above its extremely small beer. Now, I'll confess that my view is somewhat coloured by the fact that I live too close for comfort to an area that rejoices in the title of 'knife crime capital of europe' and since I moved to my new job just under year ago, the same area has suffered about half a dozen murders and a couple of suspicious 'accidental' deaths. As a consequence, I tend to struggle with addressing a bit of cake flinging, ball kicking, sullenness and general adolescent mooching as much of a problem and certainly not one that merits ASBOs and increased police patrols.

 

The tendency of young people to annoy those of us of advancing years simply by their very existence has been eloquently made earlier in this thread, so I'll not revisit that, I'll simply point out that most towns south of Kirkwall would give their eye teeth to be able to describe their youth populations in these terms.

 

Magnie it is then, sorry to offend.

 

I take your points but, there's always a but. Your comparison to crime in Glasgow is all very well, and I agree that from that perspective this may be small beer but all things are relative.

 

I have no problem with our youth, in my experiance the very large majority cause no more problem than I did, but making light of things that cause others pain, financial loss etc just simply can not be part of that growing up process.

 

I am not advocating ASBO's (was anyone?) just that the boy is man enough to face up to his stupidness and gives an apology. Simple.

[Wheesht]

And...............sorry to go on, and I am not a shop keeper nor do I have vested intrest but I note a couple of posts here almost suggesting that it does not matter and that shop owners do not moan when they are taking the bairns money etc.

 

That is irelevant and in this case I doubt many of the bairns buy many Fair Isle garments at lunch time while they are doon the Street.

[NewMagnie]

 

Magnie it is then, sorry to offend.

 

I take your points but, there's always a but. Your comparison to crime in Glasgow is all very well, and I agree that from that perspective this may be small beer but all things are relative.

 

I have no problem with our youth, in my experiance the very large majority cause no more problem than I did, but making light of things that cause others pain, financial loss etc just simply can not be part of that growing up process.

 

I am not advocating ASBO's (was anyone?) just that the boy is man enough to face up to his stupidness and gives an apology. Simple.

 

Wheesht - No offence taken - just my funs.

 

re ASBO's - was there not a comment on page 1 of this thread lamenting that only 1 ASBO had been handed out in Shetland? Or was that somewhere else? If so, apologies for any confusion.You have a point though, nothing wrong with facing the consequence of one's actions as part of the growing up process.

 

I did make a couple of those comments in relation to the Street shopkeepers making money out of the AHS bairns, and I stand by them. The point I was making was in relation to an earlier comment about confining AHS kids to the school grounds and their rate of spending across the Street as a whole. I do understand that not all shops benefit from this - in fact, in the case of your example, their presence and actions can be harmful to trade, but on the whole they're a cash cow for many of the traders.

 

Your comments on the whole are well balanced and I don't mean to single you out. But some of the more hysterical comments on this thread need to be addressed and put in perspective. Yes, all things are relative, but relative to what? Lerwick, and indeed Shetland, are not so idyllic that the offences listed on this thread - not all by you I hasten to add - represent a crime wave.

[peeriesooky]

but at da same time, do we hae tae wait til behaviours etc have gotten tae da extreme end o da scale afore action is taken?

 

i'm no saying lock em up or onything as extreme (and heavy handed) as dat, nor is it fair tae tar aa kids wi da saim brush, but nor does some folks dismissal of it no being aa dat bad help matters either.

 

nip it idda bud afore it gets too bad.

[JustMe]

Now when I were a lad this sort of thing would not have happened. Anyone lucky enough to get hold of a cake (or fancy) would have been so glad to get it that it would have got eaten straight away. How times change.

 

As for the income kids bring to the street at lunch time almost all of it goes to sellers of food, sweets and indeed fancy cakes.....perhaps a bit to Clives record shop. And even that is not without problems.....I know of one shop that has extra staff on duty not to serve but to keep an eye open for shoplifters.

[Sam]

i hear what you all say but i think its not good to put all the young in the one pot. sometimes its the older eens that give the most greff. being rude, picking on youngers due to their lack of knowelge etc.

 

as they say they are good and bad in everyarea