...but boys grown tall
Others will no doubt have more interesting and in-depth things to say about this non-story, but there are a couple of points I feel compelled to make.
1. If you treat a 16-year-old boy like a rock-star, he will behave like a rock-star.
2. You cannot aggressively reward a 16-year-old boy's behaviour with the exact response it was hoping to garner (i.e. bucketloads of attention), and simultaneously condemn that boy for continuing said behaviour. That is a contemptibly exploitative form of hypocrisy.
3. A 16-year-old boy is a minor. Surely any situation involving a minor - particularly when that minor's adult guardians are absent - needs to be handled by the media with utmost sensitivity? Apparently the media of this country abide by no such ethics. (Incidentally, this minor now appears to have, for all intents and purposes, run away from home; I hope his parents realise they have the media exclusively to thank for this development.)
4. The media seem to love drumming up furore along the tediously familiar "what's gone wrong with today's youth?" line. Perhaps we should consider that what's going "wrong" with today's youth has a lot to do with the fact that every time they turn on the television or open a newspaper, their minds are filled with repugnant mindless drivel.
5. Sometimes, the media make me feel physically sick.
1. If you treat a 16-year-old boy like a rock-star, he will behave like a rock-star.2. You cannot aggressively reward a 16-year-old boy's behaviour with the exact response it was hoping to garner (i.e. bucketloads of attention), and simultaneously condemn that boy for continuing said behaviour. That is a contemptibly exploitative form of hypocrisy.
3. A 16-year-old boy is a minor. Surely any situation involving a minor - particularly when that minor's adult guardians are absent - needs to be handled by the media with utmost sensitivity? Apparently the media of this country abide by no such ethics. (Incidentally, this minor now appears to have, for all intents and purposes, run away from home; I hope his parents realise they have the media exclusively to thank for this development.)4. The media seem to love drumming up furore along the tediously familiar "what's gone wrong with today's youth?" line. Perhaps we should consider that what's going "wrong" with today's youth has a lot to do with the fact that every time they turn on the television or open a newspaper, their minds are filled with repugnant mindless drivel.
5. Sometimes, the media make me feel physically sick.
Labels: soap box
posted by mindlessmunkey at 7:01 am
4 Comments:
The thing that really pisses me off is how the media got all excited with headlines like "WILD YOUTHS OUT OF CONTROL" and squealed about the enormous amount of police response needed to CONTROL THESE FERAL TEENS.
Except no newspaper has managed to articulate exactly WHAT these kids were doing other than getting drunk and throwing ONE beer bottle at a police car. What exactly were those 40 police and the DOG SQUAD actually doing???
The media really hopped on to this so it must be slow at the tennis.
I wonder how many of the comments, mine included, are from mothers who would like to give him a whack over the ears. We had a 'Corey' in our little street whose 18th birthday party turned into ww3 after two rival gangs tried to gatecrash and fought for the privilege of doing that before they even got to the house. Exciting times, I had a bird's eye view from halfway up a tree in my garden behind a very high fence.
i agree with you mr munkey !
The story makes average summer-time entertainment for all us media consumers;
.. and we're so ready to pass judgement on the kid, his parent and the evil myspace technologies.
What got me was the way that Victoria Police were so furious they charged him with making child porn - for filming a couple of friends with their tops off. No detail in the media about how old these party colleagues were.
Obviously if it was anything like the Werribee torture scene dvd, he ought to be dealt with;
.. but the impression i get is that the Police just want to frighten the guy, and that really demeans the spirit of the charge.
cheers, michael
Excellent points, all.
And strikingly-well made.
On a more personal note ... hey there. It's been a long time. Hope you're doing well.
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