What is the reason?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.dailymail....-bound-pensioner.html

It seems that as each day goes by we hear of even more horrendous crimes.

This being one of those,what makes some children develop into such cowardly violent and vicious thugs as these who chose to attack this poor defenceless and disabled old woman?

Various explanations have been used in the past such as lack of parental training, lack of discipline, violent TV games etc, etc, etc.but has anyone got the true answer?

[sir.prize]

Bored - waiting for their benefit giro to come

[mrs_overall]

A combination of lackof parental training, lack of discipline, violent TV games etc etc are probably some of the reasons

[sp1814]

I have another theory - bear with me...I think that the reason is that we have become an insular society and there's a subset of people who have quite a nihilistic outlook.

Thatcher said there is no such thing as society, and maybe she was right. How many people no longer know their neighbours?

Why do we marginalise the elderly? Why don't we take our elderly relatives in (like we did in the 50s) instead of pushing them into homes or sheltered accommodation (yes - some don't want to be (what they think of as being) a burden...but...but...

You know what - getting back to the story...I'm wholly against capital punishment, but I sometimes think it would be rather nice, if people like this were videoed being beaten to a pulp, and then that video given to their victim as a gift.

Perhaps scenes from the video could be captured and printed on place mats for her too.

(Sorry - but abusing elderly people in wheelchairs is just too low).

[sp1814]

Errr..by 'people like this' I hoe everyone realises I'm talking about the abusers, and not the woman in the wheelchair!!!

[cathfromsaron]

i don't think it is a 'new' problem though!

surely these things have always happened, with or without publicity?

[anotheoldgit]

cathfromsaron

/// i don't think it is a 'new' problem though! ///

Oh yes it is.

/// surely these things have always happened, with or without publicity? ///

Oh no they haven't, and I am old enough to remember.

We too often hear of this type of excuse being made to some how desensitise such crimes.

Yes I am aware it is said that we now hear about such crimes because we now have wall to wall news coverage, but this is a complete falsehood.

Perhaps in the roughest areas of this land violent crime did take place, (that cannot be denied of course), but defiantly not this type of crime.

[anotheoldgit]

sp1814

/// Why do we marginalise the elderly? Why don't we take our elderly relatives in (like we did in the 50s) instead of pushing them into homes or sheltered accommodation (yes - some don't want to be (what they think of as being) a burden ///

It is because society has changed vastly since the 50s, one of the reasons is because in most of today's households couples both go out to work, and there is no one home to look after an elderly person, especially if they need 24/7 attention.

Yes the old system when the Man was the wage earner and the Woman was at home so as to look after the children and the home, worked perfectly well.

We have the change in this the system to 'thank' for some of today's problems.

[Manjo]

The young have no respect for the old or any body else.
Not their parents teachers or even the police bring back the belt in the school

[sir.prize]

Would you dare to leave your back door open these days? NO.

Would you leave your car unattended and unlocked? NO.

Would the reasons be because of a certain section of today's youth? YES, YES, YES.

[jake-the-peg]

I am old enough to remember

Oh well that settles it then doesn't it?

The point that Kath was making was these things happened with or without publicity

Are you telling us that you would have known of such cowardly crimes without the media of the time telling you?

There were many apalling crimes but less senstionalism (for the most part)

1940s for example acid bath murderer John George Haigh
http://en.wikipedia.o...iki/John_George_Haigh

Murdered pensioners and stole their pension cheques and disolved their bodies in acid

but those were more gentile times

[Arksided]

I'm really disgusted after reading that article, not all of the youth of today are Monsters these clearly were, they would never do it again if I had my way, which is quite unprintable for a family site.

I don't know what the solution would be to teach (the youth) respect etc... I don't condone violence but bringing back the belt and more power to teachers, police would be a start.

[jake-the-peg]

er no but I'm sure it would make you feel better.

You fall into that age old trap of thinking that deterrant works.

It doesn't - I know you'd like to think it does but really it doesn't!

How many murderous thugs actually

a) Think about it beforehand and
b) Think they'll get caught?

Precious few I'll wager

Doesn't matter how stern the punishment - if people don't think they'll be caught it's useless

Well useless apart from satisfying the bloodlust of the rabid right.

You need to increase the detection and prosecution rates - people need to believe they'll be caught

[jno]

Would you dare to leave your back door open these days? NO.

I've been hearing that for the last 50 years or so. But you could hardly blame the youth of 2012 back then, could you?

[hc4361]

On May 8th I received a telephone message from the new Superintendent of the school, Miss Langley, to the effect that most of the girls were defying the staff, smashing windows and doors, refusing to obey orders and declining to do any work.

One girl, Florence Loch, had threatened to attack the staff with a knife and refused to go to bed at 2 in the morning, and was doing such material damage to the school and inciting the others to riot to an extent which made the Superintendent call in the assistance of the police.

A police inspector and sergeant came out and, in a moment of surprise, this girl of 18 caught the Inspector by the throat, got him on the ground and sat on his head. On the sergeant coming to the rescue she bit him in the arm, the teeth penetrating the flesh to the bone.....

The year? 1923
http://www.corpun.com/kenilworth.htm

[daisya]

Yes I have the answer but it's too draconian for this day and age. Go back to basics, make parents be parents and not friends of their children. Don't allow children access to the internet or video games without parental supervision. Make parents go to parenting classes as a lot of them seem incapable of bringing children up properly. Teach the basics of life, respect and humility and how to treat other people rather than riding rough shod over others who you don't agree with.....etc etc etc.....in other words, bring back respect, treat children as children and not mini adults and teach adults to take responsibility for their children without fail. There's more but I will be shouted down because I'm old fashioned enough to believe that children should be children and not adults before their time........

[anotheoldgit]

jake-the-peg

We all can name historical infamous crimes, Haigh, Heath, and Christie,to name a few, some of us were even around when they happened, in fact we even got to hear about them, after all there were even radios and newspapers in those far off distant days.

Yes these mass murderers have gone down in the annuals of crime, simply because they were a rare occurrence, due to the deterrent of the noose.

Not like the present day where murders happen on an almost daily basis, and most of the perpetrators are forgotten within a few days time.

But this is not about such crimes, this is about a gang of youngsters attacking an elderly and disabled old lady.

[sandyRoe]

Could it be because some young people can't see the link between crime and consequence?
When you hear of knife crime on the news it's almost certain that in due course you'll hear of the trial and conviction of the perpetrators. There might be a reduction in this type of crime if the message could be got across: Stab someone and you're putting yourself up for a life sentence.