Leveller, I fully agree about parental and individual responsibility, but where is it?   That's the whole point.

We already have a generationn who don't know how to be parents. We have people terrified about disciplining their children, in case they get reported or frowned at, so they back down from having a showdown in public and let little junior get away with it.

If you recall, in '1984' the parents were terrified of their kids, who'd report them to the authorities at the drop of a hat...Hmmmmmmm...

I was shocked when my daughter went to Tavistock College for her first ever school day there, and came home with writing books, which all had, on the back page, a long list of agencies and telephone numbers that children could call, if they were in trouble. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm all for children having somewhere to turn to, but hell, if we give the impression to kids that all adults are out to hurt them, or that they will one day be in need of those numbers, almost as a certainty, then we're not creating a very good impression, are we? I don't know, but it seems to me that Big Brother has reached into our schools and our children's lives as never before.

Already, every single child born in this country is instantly put on an 'at risk' register, which teachers, police, doctors, social workers can access, but parents can't. Everyone is now viewed with suspicion. My son will have a flag by his name, which means he's 'at risk' because he's home-educated. Most people don't even know this list exists, or that it stays with their kids, and with them, until the child is 18. I only know, because the home-education folks keep a sharp eye on all things to do with children...

I'm not blaming alcohol for it *all* but I DO blame the Corporate industries that surround it for playing a huge part in it. Young people are absolutely saturated by that industry in a way we never, EVER were. You *surely* cannot ignore that fact. If you looked at that video, you'll see the police themselves saying it.

But what worries me most is WHY so many young people want to drown their lives out in the way that's happening at present..and the more you refuse to recognise what's happening, the deeper the problem is going to become. No-one is looking deeper!

Parental responsibility was 'interfered' with by The State.

We also now live in a world where to be bitchy and thick, to put down with sarcasm is far more popular than being kind, compassionate and intelligent. We need to somehow swap the majority behaviour for the minority...

And you're obviously happy with what's happening on our city streets, choosing to believe it's no different from what's always happened. I'm not. It's a totally alien way of life to me, and to others that I know, who are equally as worried.

If you choose to ignore what the ambulance services are saying, if you choose to ignore what the doctors are saying, the police, many who are concerned with children and young people, well, so be it...I guess it's easier to be an ostrich.

Responsibility comes from the Individual.

Absolutely.

Trouble is, The State has now removed the Individual.....