<<Your grandparents will tell you that the problem comes down to the lack of respect by today’s young people for their elders. That may sound simplistic - but I feel that there is a lot of truth in it.>>

For what it is worth, my take on the situation is if young lack respect for elders then surely the parents (and perhaps even grandparents) have to wear some of the responsibility. We're all in it together.

salaams

What a depressing article Mr. Holden.
I agree with others when they say that all older generations blame the younger generation for all society's problems.

Yes, todays young people are different from when we were young, but I don't think that makes them 'worse'.
We were different to our parents or grandparents generation.

What amuses me is that many of the older generation who are now complaining about the young, were of the generation that were young when Elvis and 'rock and roll' were born.
That generation were expected to come to no good because they loved the 'evil' rock and roll music, and danced like the 'devil'!

My Grandfather was a bit of a gambler and womaniser, so was my father.
They were both considered 'bad boys' in their day.
My brother and nephew are both wonderful young men though, holding down good jobs and in stable relationships.

At the end of the day, there are good and bad amongst every generation. There always will be.

Recently I hated living through the wall from a procession of ill-behaved youths. They didn't have a clue about their impact on those around them, and every decision they made seemed to be wilfully irritating or worse.

Just like me 25 years ago.

Who was it said crime levels are falling? Must have been a politician, as it sure isn't true.

We have all these apologists who want "harm minimisation" for the young, not punishment for drug, & alcohol fuelled crime, & then they blame the victim, the elderly.

My motherinlaw lived in the same Chatswood house for 40 years. In what then was a poor working class suburb, in the first 20 years they had no problem at all, & could not find the front door key for many years.

In the next 10 years, as the suburb gentrified, they were broken into 3 times, & had to find that key.

In the last 10, with the place full of the flotsam & jetsam from the rest of the world, despite deadlocks, bars on the windows, & "crimsafe" screens, it was 12 times, twice while she was at home.

When she had got to feel so insecure she had to move to, yes a high rise in a gated community she joked that it would be hard to get used to not having a new TV every 10 months, courtesy of the insurance company. Of course the much lower insurance premiums will probably pay for something more useful.

I suggest you apologists go try to convince her that crime is down, & society is no worse.

That's the thing Hasbeen.
If we had proper crime figures that broke down offenders by ethnic background we'd know one way or another whether certain groups commit more crime than others.
As it is people live in a state of apprehension regarding the "other" in less salubrious neighbourhoods.
I grew up in "poor" areas, nothing causes more problems than rumours and suspicion among the disadvantaged and if good people are divided then hoodlums can just run roughshod over them.
Where I lived as a teenager everyone knew who the drug dealers were in the neighbourhood but everyone kept their eyes down and said nothing until some "viglilantes" jumped the two main dealers and severely bashed and tortured them.From that point we had to keep another open secret about the idetity of the assailants, whom everyone knew as well, more suspicion, more paranoia.
If people hadn't been so scared and suspicious of each other it would have never gone that far, the dealers would have been disposed of by legal means.

In my neighborhood the police don’t come. Someone breaking down your door and you know the police wont come, Thursday – Sunday, forget it.

BUT when they do come into contact with young men (teens) the police hurt them deliberately, I’ve seen it. There isn’t respect for the police here in any way shape or form and they deserve none. They are as bad as the ones they chase.

So how do we blame our boys when the grown men act this way? Same with girls Vanna, they are just as rough and the police hurt them too.

How do I deal with it… I have a fish donga hanging behind the front door (and a copper roof tile beater) and males and females in the house that know if anything happens they have to be ready to step up, it has happened and I am sure will happen again. I do not want to be here at 65 that’s for bloody sure.