Anyone else ever feel intimidated by youths

[Kelly Jo]

I have recently moved out of London for a variety of reasons. One of the contributing factors was the number of youths hanging around locally at the shops and on the trains. An example was going to the local shop where around six teenagers were hanging around the door when I asked if they could mind out of the way I was insulted, sworn at, told I was miserable and had a number of dirty looks thrown at me! This would happen regularly to everyone. I'm a quite a small female, late twenties I'd love to give them a piece of my mind and had to restrain myself a number of times but at the end of the day I was too scared as I still had to get home. Yesterday I travelled back into London for a dentist appointment and whilst on the train a group of schoolboys got on. I was sitting with an elderly couple who were clearly scared and disgusted. These guys had their mobiles blasting out music and speaking 20 times louder than anyone else swearing and talking about what they were gonna do to the others one's Mum (lovely) they then decided that instead of walking along the train they would walk across the chairs even while people were sitting on them. I find this outrageous behaviour but no one says anything because they are scared including me - I'm so annoyed at myself! The thing is they do this in gangs - catch one on their own -different story! Still I've moved now and seem to have escaped this sort of behaviour (in general)� Now before I get a barrage of complaints I am not stating that all youths are responsible I know it is a handful!

[jeanette1976]

I know what you mean and I dread to see what its going to be like when I'm in my old age....

I know it might sound wierd, but a mate 40 yr old mate of mine said that it's nothing compared to what Britain was like during the Punk and Skinhead era and the depression of the 80's.

I was living abroad when i was a kid so i don't remember.

[DottyH]

I live in a tiny village and we have gangs of 15 or more youths hanging around the co - op at night, the council have put up very high cameras to monitor the gangs, the police presence is alot heavier than it was, and so now they have stoipped hanging out front of the shops and started hanging around in the streets behind the main road, where peoples cars are getting dented and cigs put out on them and kids are hiding in gardens when the police come through, it is worse now as those streets are not as well lit as the main road.
There is a new dispersal order pinned up outside all the shops but the kids are just movong to a quieter less policed area and the effect on the people living in those houses is bad.
It isn't just lads either it is girls too and they are from aged 11 up to 15 or 16.
noone can say the police aren't trying to do what they can, but what do these kids parents think they are doing of an evening?

[MrBen5]

Hmmm, its only natural that your scared as you are a woman. but i am afraid to say its only mothers, fathers and the police who are to blame.
I was in town a few weeks ago and some kids (mid teens)were spitting at people when they walked past. I knew one of the people that walked past and told the kids to go away from where they were and to not spit at my friend.
I got the usual abuse about me not being able to touch them, etc. Anyway one of the lads dads walked past and started having a go at me for shouting at his son. i told him what was going on and he just said ' so what, whats it got to do with you?" To which i replied one of the victims was someone i knew. He then came up to my face and started the macho thing.
Well, i dont do arguing so i just hit him. The police were on to me like patrick was on sherri.
They had seen the whole thing on CCTV apprently. They were gonna charge me until i asked them for a copy of the tapes and asked them why they never intervened before...

[flip-flop]

Good for you mate - this is exactly the problem, their parents just couldn't give a tinker's cuss what their kids do and, even more worryingly, will ALWAYS take the word of their kid against an adult.

When I was a kid - and we're only talking about the 80s here - if my father saw me acting in that manner and mouthing off at an adult, he'd've knocked me into the middle of next week.

To answer the original question - No, I don't feel intimidated, but then I'm big enough and ugly enough to look after myself (16st flanker), so a few chav kids wouldn't bother me, but I can fully understand how a lone female (they would never have the swingers to take on a group so inevitably it is always going to be somebody on their own) would feel very intimidated.

It all boils down to a lack of respect, the finger of blame for which can be very firmly pointed at their worthless chav parents.

[kate1976]

I've had about 5 chavs circle me trying to intimidate me before, I just laughed at them as they were aged between 7 and 10 years old, the youngest of them then started calling me all sorts of lovely names so I gave the little tyke a swift kick in the shin and then listened to how his mum would 'sort me out' for assaulting him, I sat on the wall, told him to go get his mother but he just said I wasn't worth the hassle, shame really because I would've loved to have kicked the mother in the shin too for giving birth to such a horrid critter!!

I have a son who is 11 (nearly 12, eek) and he wouldn't dare act like a chav because:

1. he loathes chavs as much as everyone
2. I've brought him up to have respect for people and to treat them as he would expect to be treated

and

3. he knows I'd kick him into touch if he behaved in such a horrid manner!!

I'd like to see all chavs strung up by their hoodies so that passers by could give them a slap as they walked past!!

[Kelly Jo]

It's not just me then...I think the parents are unbelievable. I mean alot of the trouble I experenced also included the kids shouting up and down the streets at midnight onwards and speed through the streets at 50mph on scooters - they should have been at home in bed for god sake!

... funnily enough Dotty H The co-op is mainly where all of the trouble was going on where I used to live.

MrBen5 If the police were watching you'd have thought they'd intervened when you and the person you knew were being abused!

I feel like I'm getting old and sounding like my Mum but I'm sure that when I was that age we respected our elders alot more than they do today.

[beryllium]

After a long day at work, mr B was on his train coming home when chavs got on.
They were out of their faces and started to truly intimidate the passengers on the train. One woman was in tears. It then became worse as one passenger got up and asked them to stop and he was then attacked and bitten.
mr B got up, he's 6ft4 btw, took off his ipod, wrapped up the earphones, placed them in his bag all very calmly and then stepped in to help this man and woman being assaulted.
1 chav lunged at him and mr B punched him very very hard and sent him flying down the ailse.
The guard was watching it all on his cctv and called the police. The chavs got chucked off and mr B got a big round of applause.
mr B wears a large wedding ring and it was imprinted right in the middle of the chavs face lol.....
How to end a long day eh? bad luck chavs!!!! never cross a tired commuter in a very bad mood......

[Kelly Jo]

Mr B they need you're help on the Liverpool St to Chingford Line!

[beryllium]

lol, my poor darling was shaking like a leaf when he got home..... but we did laugh.....

[sarnieken]

Nice one mr B. You weren't wearing a red berret at the time were you? What did happen to the Guardian Angels?

K

[Eve]

There are loads of the little gits round here and when I lived in Leeds as well from gangs with baseball bats to the idiots pyromaniacs who used to set fire to whatever hey could in the local park and have seen some very nasty incidents on buses.

Out of the people I've seen stick up for themselves or others recently one has his young daughter threatened (said they'd track her down and rape her), two others got laid into with a metal bar and had the crap kicked out of them and ended up in hospital and one ended up crashing through a shop window!!!