I recognise your description of SOME of the estates in Greater Manchester, but even in the worst these "feral people" still make up a minority of the people that live there.
Where I live in Eccles we have a real problem with these people, particularly at the weekends, as they come into our town having forced their local pubs to shut down through bad behaviour.
Having pissed on their own chips they wish to do the same to ours.
ASBO's have improved the situation a bit and dress codes in the pubs have helped too.
I read that in one of the big shopping centres that band "hoodies" (referred to locally as scrotes) that shoplifting went down 50% and turnover went up 20%. So in this case you can judge a book by it's cover.
For those of you fortunate enough not to have met these people, the description in the first post is I'm afraid all to accurate. Imagine mind of a toddler in the body of adult male (most are men) and you get an idea of what their like.
Whilst their behaviour angers me, and decent folks need protection from them, I do not think that they could be described as happy; their attitude is auto distructive as well as dangerous to others.
I my self had to take action a couple of weeks ago to prevent a completely innocent person from being severely beaten (possibly killed) by 2 of these people wearing the usual uniform, pissed and stoned.

TTFN

PP