Sunday, 30 October 2011

Stating the bleedin' obvious

Is it a leaf falling in autumn?  Is it a CGI confection?  Are those raindrops reflected in a window or fairy lights on a tree at Christmas?  It looks to be a cityscape but can we be sure?  It is certainly an arresting and attractive image, but of what exactly?
Anyway, just imagine for a moment this lovely street scene suddenly being filled with gangs of young people, feckless and footloose,  uninhibited by any sense of moral decency and clearly looking to exhibit anti-social behaviour whenever they get the chance to do so.  Gangs are a curse on British society, Prime Minister Cameron has averred, and a principal cause of the proliferation of gang culture is poor parenting.  In a groundbreaking report soon to be published, the solution to troublesome gangs is declared to be, wait for it, 'better parenting'.  Exactly how 'better parenting' is to be achieved presumably lies in the small print of the report.  I can't wait.  I'll wager it does not involve increased investment in schools, community education, social services, youth employment, or similar.  Perhaps Cameron will look to the Womens' Institute to run 'better parenting' classes as part of their contribution to his 'big society',  He could offer them all British Empire Medals as a reward.

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