I can't help but notice 2 incidents this week which is disturbing in how school leavers are abusing the law. What has gone wrong? Has the cultural tone against authority in a "nation of lies and corruption" taught young people to disrespect law in such a nasty way? Or have they been spoilt rotten?

In Penrith a birthday party within schoolies week went out of control. About 3 police officers were injured trying to keep the peace. There were literally hundreds of young drunks in baboon like behavior.

The Gold Coast, the Police Constable and his wife were mobbed by more baboon drunk behavior of drunk and violent youths.

Pubs in Sydney are turning violent with drinking turning violent. The Gold Coast will be hell this week. I'm so glad I don't live there this week.

I am one of the critics of the APEC heavy handed breaches of human rights. I have in past been critical of over thug like police strategy. This was never in criticism of the individuals on the beat, but poor strategy in management level.

Now the challenge is even more complicated. Generation Y doesn't believe a word we say. They get violent when they are drunk. They make no apologies for this. And this generation gap is turning "us and them". Where have we gone wrong and what can we do better?

this one is too hard for olo. needs philosphers and social workers, a lot of discussion and some testing of theories.

or, you could just lock your doors, bars on the windows, and travel in convoys.

or, you could refer to that inscription on the egyptian tomb, 4000 years old, which said: "young people nowadays are getting rowdier and disrespectful of elders."

"young people nowadays are getting rowdier and disrespectful of elders."
yes Demos, look what happened. it's the same with every society that's plateaued. if you really want to know where we're heading start reading history books.

Young people nowadays are constantly bombarded by violence. They have access to technology and mass information that wasn't available to older generations. Also, the breakdown of communication between older and younger generations adds to the problem.

Not all parents take an interest in their children's lives. And the end result is tragic, both for families and society as a whole.

I know that this could be just another generation gap. Maybe I'm showing my age now.

But riots in the past usually had a reason.

The kids that surrounded the couple, the constable and his wife, off duty, probably doing their shopping or something, where is this anger coming from? It seems alien to this country. There is no reason for this. I just don't understand. That is cowardly mob mentality of scavengers, in short, scum.

In Penrith, a birthday party. A random arguement. I dunno. But it snowballed to hundreds of angry violent kids who probably forgot why they were angry. This is real trailer trash scum behavior. How embarrassing!

If this is celebrating the end of school, then I'd rather mourn in a funeral or watch repeats of Parliament during a fireworks display. This is not celebrating.

Is there a criminologist or psychologist who can explain this on OLO? I know Linda Scot from the ALP in Sydney is a criminologist and psychologist.

What happened to fun?

I have no respect for police who beat their own countrymen. They serve the people. As soon as they start serving government interests then there is a huge problem. I don't like hearing them whine about violent protesters. For one, they are hypocrites on that front since they use violence themselves and two, that is what riot police are paid for. If they don't like it they can exercise their right to resign immediately.

There's just more of them, and they know their rights. Consequences aren't a concept young people get till they're in front of a judge. Even then some are so trained by their feral parents that they think it's them against the world.

The worng people are being held responsible for raising others kids.

You wait till the new borns from this kid payments scheme grow up. The problems of now will be 5x as bad.

I deal with the little sods every day.

I can see what you are saying, and I'm glad that I did a career change last year as I used to work with them everyday. I used to think I could "make a difference" as a teacher, but unless anyone has the parents on their side and have a good communications, levels of trust, or know the parents, say, all your life, then there was a firewall to actually doing anything. The kids could do no wrong according to the parents. Even when they admitted to any problem, the child was expected to be above reproach, otherwise it was not their problem.

I tried methodologies in teacher technology in "Glasser Strauss and Apple", an extension called "the Ford" systems of responsible thinking, cooperative learning, partnership programs. There are so many ways that schools, and I dare say police officials (?) try to do at the best with their training, ability, and duty-of-care. In the end, I found the department was deficient on any "duty-of-care" to those in my profession only parroting "retraining" or doing better or so on. I got to the stage where I didn't care any more and there was no point continuing once I came to that realization. I am no use to the kids if I no longer care. There was so much erosion and water under-the-bridge before I came to that decision.

How many are just giving up? I never wanted to give up. It was my life ambition and a career that should be rewarding. Today, for me: no.

Can I really say that they were just "horrible little sods"? I think the parents were worse, refusing to see each situation rationally.

Steel you just have no respect none at all.
I do not trust most police officers, I have seen them thieve whole loads from rolled over trucks, long ago, now it does not happen.
Seen kids flogged just because they can be while in hand cuffs.
Seen young female police use the uniform to win personnel fights they start.
But without a second to think I would have gone to this couples aid, while they could not have been known to be police my actions would be no different if they had been in uniform.
Overruling the rudeness that comes with the discount suit, police uniform is the understanding laws are laws.
And the knowledge a good cop is worth more than any community can pay, a bad one? nothing.
I could never tell them apart but would not stand by and watch such thugs in action, it is such a shame they will not be sent away for as long as they should, maybe not at all.
But worth noting too actions of bad police, we have too many, continue this country's distrust of cops that started with the first convict ship.

"Steel you just have no respect none at all."

For whom? Police who beat their own countrymen? No I don't and that's what I said

"When I was in my salad days (fresh and green)" ... or put another way, "When I was young" ... How many times have we heard that before?
And yet it does have relevance to the way kids are being brought up today.

I was raised with a strong religious foundation (Roman Catholic). Educated in an all girls' high school - that had a very strict code of behaviour - run by a Scottish headmistress. And my parents set rules that all of us kids had to abide by.

I had a strong family life - and my parents made it their business to take an interest in who my friends were and what I did.

Perhaps part of the problem with the kids today is that they're given too much too soon. They're not taught to be accountable for their behaviour. Their parents don't know what their children are doing, or who they're doing it with. There's far greater peer pressure on the kids to conform. Drugs and alcohol are more easily available...

Education - getting back to the basics - needs to be looked at. Both of parents and their children. Because feral behaviour can't be allowed to continue.

Saintfletcher
How right you are. What happend up here on the Gold Coast was outragous.
Steel perhaps some parents no longer teach their kids the right thing.
I get that feeling by reading your comments.

Its very sad- especially for the kids who never are taught right from wrong.

Most of public look down on them.

Nearly all of us have little time for such abuse of the law.

The only problem with police is there are far too few.

They do a wonderful job putting up with abuse from druggies and spolit out of control kids.

We wish the officer involved and his girlfriend a full recovery.

Thank God the Judge jailed the trouble maker who started this until after Christmas

I hear her Dads an alcholic which goes to show its all in the up bringing. Not that this excuses her.]

The Gold Coast public by ;large have rallied around the police and we will form a public support system soon to support police if they are out numbered.

Personally I would not hesitate to swing a cricket bat if I saw somebody kicking the life out of a police officer.
Even better there are thousands of Gold Coast residents that feel likewise.

So be warned if your coming to the Gold Coast -We support our police- and thank them.

Thank you for this thread