BS: Idiots in my village

Subject: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Penny S.
Date: 13 Aug 11 - 04:26 PM

I've just had a bunch of things hitting my window from a group of at least two lads with a catapult. Small things, could even have been peas. First I heard the sounds, then went upstairs to look out from the unlit room, which is when I saw the movement of the slingshot release. My friend has gone out to see what he can do - He's just come in. Nowhere near any trouble. Still. Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: gnu
Date: 13 Aug 11 - 04:29 PM

Rap... return fire?

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: GUEST,Eliza
Date: 13 Aug 11 - 04:40 PM

Even peas when fired from a catapault can be dodgy, re eyes etc. Any damage to your window panes Penny? Horrid to think these lads don't care about the people they're annoying.

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Penny S.
Date: 13 Aug 11 - 04:52 PM

No damage, and I can't find anything obviously ammo in the garden. A few pea sized pebbles about, but then they might have been there anyhow. My friend didn't see anything, and my neighbours hadn't been in the corresponding room. I have, to the disgust of my friend, called the police.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Penny S.
Date: 13 Aug 11 - 05:03 PM

Two police cars! This is evidence of a calm night elsewhere, I think. Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Rapparee
Date: 13 Aug 11 - 05:04 PM

Let the cops deal with it. They have riot shields, tear gas, batons and all the necessary stuff to take the perpetrators down.

Seriously, the kids probably aren't thinking: "Hey, let's see what this'll do!" A dose of police might be the thing to keep them from doing it again.

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 13 Aug 11 - 05:05 PM

Keep camera at ready for future events

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Rapparee
Date: 13 Aug 11 - 05:05 PM

I assume that by "lads" you mean they are 12 or under?

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 13 Aug 11 - 05:06 PM

PS - if you live where I think you linve didn't they find a neanderthal man there in an archeological excavation - and several others still alive last week? If I am right on location I have a friend who used to live there

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Greg F.
Date: 13 Aug 11 - 05:11 PM

I have... called the police.

Good for you!

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Penny S.
Date: 13 Aug 11 - 05:19 PM

By build, couldn't see any more, I would say the younger end of teens, 13 or 14 - not as young as 12. Not young enough for William and the Outlaws.

Richard, I think that was where I used to live. Here the earliest archaeology is Roman, bar a few flint tools.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 13 Aug 11 - 05:26 PM

A really ugly heading for a thread.

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 13 Aug 11 - 05:33 PM

Yes Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: olddude
Date: 13 Aug 11 - 06:05 PM

Let the big dog outta the house for a run ... works every time for me :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: GUEST,livelylass
Date: 13 Aug 11 - 06:11 PM

Err, yep in complete agreement with RBridge here. Old fashioned physical threat of violence is usually very effective. As well as faster and less complicated that more normal modes of 'justice'.
In other words get a few blokes to scare 'em off.

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: GUEST,livelylass
Date: 13 Aug 11 - 06:16 PM

Umm, I should append that my last post represented an entirely personal interpretation of prior posts made by RBridge.
Thankee :D

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Greg F.
Date: 13 Aug 11 - 06:34 PM

A really ugly heading for a thread.

Rather, a really APT heading.

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Van
Date: 13 Aug 11 - 06:37 PM

I was walking down my local high sreet a day ago and there was aman lying on the pavement and a you lad 14/15 years old threatening to stamp on his head. the old fella was a bit the worse of the wear and other people were watching. i walked over, offered him my hand and said get up pal. He got to his feet, thanked me said get away these kids have just gone mental.. he had been sitting on a bench this crew wanted. They had turfed him off detroying a litter bin in the process and were then prepared to kick his head in, or worse.

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: GUEST,livelylass
Date: 13 Aug 11 - 06:41 PM

Kids can be total c*nts to the homeless. I'd far prefer it if they ransacked JJB Sports for larks to be honest.

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Rapparee
Date: 13 Aug 11 - 09:27 PM

Why didn't anyone else do something?

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: gnu
Date: 13 Aug 11 - 09:52 PM

Rap... nobody was carryin. And, when ya can'y defend yerself, yer fucked.

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 13 Aug 11 - 10:17 PM

I'm a bit puzzled why I am thought to have suggested a violent response to Penny's issue. I thought I was suggesting getting evidence in case of legal process.

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Bobert
Date: 13 Aug 11 - 10:50 PM

Hey, we used to do these kinds of things as kids... Glad it ain't today or someone would gun us down???

I think people are a little uptight...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: GUEST,livelylass
Date: 14 Aug 11 - 03:17 AM

Sorry, my error regards RBridge's comment. Seriously though I know someone who had all the windows in their house shattered by kids firing pebbles from a slingshot. Police can't do anything about them, they're too young.

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Penny S.
Date: 14 Aug 11 - 03:54 AM

I was concerned that they might do damage elsewhere if they got a bit more hyper. My friend apparently used to tap on restaurant windows with something on a string and then run off. I suppose I was a bit more concerned this week than I would have been a fortnight back. I seem to have a memory from somewhere that catapults are not allowed any more. My William Brown bit of brain seems to remember feeling this was a bit uncalled for as a law. See how mixed up I am?
Richard, next time I will remember my camera. I suspect the flash might have a deterrent effect. Unless it escalates things.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: GUEST,Eliza
Date: 14 Aug 11 - 04:05 AM

Rapparee, there was a very interesting experiment shown on TV some years ago. Actors were asked to lie down in the street and pretend they had collapsed. Some even had fake blood on them. Some were respectably dressed, others dressed as homeless people. The dreadful thing was, hardly anyone came to their aid. Some lay there for considerable lengths of time. And often it was the most unlikely 'Samaritans' who finally came up to see what they could do, elderly ladies, a young child etc. I expect folk were too scared to 'get involved'. But surely someone could have called an ambulance, even if from a safe distance. Quite shocking.

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: GUEST,livelylass
Date: 14 Aug 11 - 04:11 AM

Studies have shown that people have different modes in different environments. In cities full of other people they switch off their sense of social responsibility chip (someone else can take care of this) while in village with no-one else around (someone else can't take care of this) they are far more likely to get involved.

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: GUEST,Eliza
Date: 14 Aug 11 - 04:19 AM

I agree, livelylass. Desmond Morris the zoologist recently made a comment regarding the riots, that humans are not really adapted to live in big towns or cities. It prevents their forming cohesive social groups, as they would in a village, and thus they feel threatened, stressed and tense. Certainly if anyone (even a stranger) were found collapsed in our village, no-one would hesitate to help.

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Penny S.
Date: 14 Aug 11 - 04:34 AM

I once saw a man lying unconscious in Dover (Kent, UK) outside Boots the Chemist, in the days before mobile phones, and went into the shop to ask if they could call an ambulance. Their attitude was that he was a drunk, and they often saw people in that state.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 14 Aug 11 - 04:43 AM

Programmable digital sign in window.   

Message to be

  
         _  Stand   _  still!  _  My      _  aim     _  is      _  off
       >(')____,  >(')____,  >(')____,  >(')____,  >(') ___,  >(') ___ 
         (` =~~/    (` =~~/    (` =~~/    (` =~~/    (` =~~/    (. =~~/
      ~^~^`---'~^~^~^`---'~^~^~^`---'~^~^~^`---'~^~^~^`---'~^~^~^ ---'~^~^
   
  
  
  

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: GUEST,Eliza
Date: 14 Aug 11 - 04:53 AM

When I first arrived in Norwich to live (1970's), having spent many years in friendly and congenial Glasgow, I was horrified to see an elderly lady lying full length outside Debenhams, her shopping scattered everywhere, including fruit and veg from the nearby market. She was unconscious, and people were actually STEPPING OVER HER and her shopping to get past!!
Luckily, some shop assistants from Debenhams came out when I went to get help from the shop, and they called an ambulance. Sadly, I later learned from them that she had died. I wondered what sort of area I'd come to! My village is better though.

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Will Fly
Date: 14 Aug 11 - 05:08 AM

Kids behaviour - and the reason for it - is often hard to discover. Whenever I read stuff like this, I think back to my own childhood - around 11 or 12. We got up to all sorts of naughtinesses - this would be in the very early '50s in a small industrial village in south-east Lancashire.

I recall,one day just before November 5th, me and a friend stuffed lighted threepenny bangers (fireworks) into an airbrick in the side of a house - just for fun. It couldn't have done any damage, but they were pretty loud. In the middle of our 'fun', we felt huge, gloved hands on our shoulders - the hands of the local cop on the beat.

"What do you want to do?", he asked us, "get taken home to your parents by me, or apologise to the old man who lives here?" No contest! Being taken home would have meant a belting - so we knocked on the door and, very humbly, apologised. The old man took it in good part, we got a good talking to by the bobby - and a swift clip round the ear before being sent off home.

The point is, though, that even 'good' kids can do inexplicable things sometimes from motives that we don't really know. Boredom, curiosity, simple naughtiness. I think it's part of the revolution that kids need to experience as part of growing up. Most get over it and through it - some don't.

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Penny S.
Date: 14 Aug 11 - 05:16 AM

I suppose that that style of intervention was what I wanted for the lads -nothing heavy, just a warning that there could be unexpected consequences.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 14 Aug 11 - 05:18 AM

Remember the biography of the war-hero Douglas Bader?

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Penny S.
Date: 14 Aug 11 - 05:42 AM

Sorry, no. Only saw the film ages ago. Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Andrez
Date: 14 Aug 11 - 05:56 AM

Love the animation VTam :-)

Cheers,

Andrez

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 14 Aug 11 - 06:38 AM

Ah - one of his "pranks" was to use an air-rifle to shoot the shadowy pink figure seen through the frosted glass window of a local lady dignitary.

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Lizzie Cornish 1
Date: 14 Aug 11 - 07:45 AM

You know, Richard, I've often wondered if Douglas was on the Asperger circle. He had no idea of the consequence of his actions, was ruthless at times, drove his fellow prisoners in the camps insane many a time with his selfish attitude, not concerned at all about them gettting into big trouble for his antics..and your story above also adds more fuel to my theory too.

Of course, as a pilot he was second to none and also as a figure of bravery, against appalling odds....

He was inspirational to many and doggedly determined to never give up or given in.   But it was almost as that wasn't even on his horizon.You merely got on with the next day as best you could.

He did appreciate it was his arrogance that caused his accident in the first place...but it didn't stop him from continuing to live his life in the way he wanted, right up to the last days of his life...


Anyway, just a few thoughts, from a broad.....

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Lizzie Cornish 1
Date: 14 Aug 11 - 08:49 AM

And yes, Will...young boys have always done silly things. I loved your post above.

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Bobert
Date: 14 Aug 11 - 09:37 AM

So we had these people in the neighborhood where we grew up and the guy was an anal ass-hole (as if there are any other kinds) who would sit by the window and if any ball landed in his yard he would run out, scoop it up and take it back in the house, never to be returned or seen again... And no kid could so much a take step on his property without him coming out screaming at him or her...

So one Halloween he decided to act as if he was a human being rather than a Nazi kid hater and set out a pumpkin and some decorations???

So me and my buddy, Jim Clark, put about 3 or 4 M-80s together, wrapped the fuses together and stuffed in one end of a cigarette (timer) and went up to the door "trick 'r treating" and while one of us kept Mr. Meanie distracted the other deposited the M-80s with the lit cigarette into the pumpkin, then went across the street where half the neighborhood kids had assembled to wait for the "trick" part of "trick 'r treat"...

Well, about 2 minutes later: KAAAAAAABBBBOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMBBBBBB!!!

Mr. Meanie didn't play Halloween ever again but he, for some reason, quit making off with balls that ended up in his yard...

Now if we had done this today we would have probably all been arrested and tried as terrorist and gotten 25 years to life...

I mean, I'm not condoning vicious mischief but mischief in general used to be part of being kids and was alot more creative than sitting with a little plastic box in one's laps looking at a tiny screen and pushing buttons...

Never mind...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Lizzie Cornish 1
Date: 14 Aug 11 - 09:42 AM

:0) Bobert :0)

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: GUEST,livelylass
Date: 14 Aug 11 - 09:53 AM

Kids do lots of funny things which are perfectly harmless and then again they can also work in sadistic little mobs terrorising vulnerable people (obviously not homes containing big tough blokes) with a campaign of harassment. Penny S might have been merely on the receiving end of a silly prank, or arguably she could be on the potential receiving end of a campaign of harassment, like the mentally ill person I know who came home one night to find every single window in his house had been smashed with pebbles by local kids. Because the police are unable to touch these kids, and they well know it, they are basically free to do as they will. And that can lead to real suffering on the part of the victim (who is usually already vulnerable and marginalised) if left unchecked.

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Lizzie Cornish 1
Date: 14 Aug 11 - 10:24 AM

Well, hopefully common sense will return to this country...and I hope that runs through many places, not just the legal side of things, nor the parental side of things, but also the educational side of things too.....in that they stop this madness of stressing many children over subjects that many of them have absolutely no interest in whatsover....and if those children refuse to learn what they are told to, they are labelled 'failure' and shoved out of the system eventually, left to fend for themselves....

Of course, their natural talents, way of learning, thinking etc, should have been recognised by folks who know about these things, then a structured education put in place for them, so that they spend the majority of their days learning stuff that interests them, will be of great help to them, and others, in the future and will, at the end of many years of many such days, give them an education that is totally awesome!

Then, maybe they'd not be throwing bricks through windows, or setting town and cities alight..

But hell, what do I know, huh?

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Bobert
Date: 14 Aug 11 - 10:29 AM

The pebbles that Penny described were so small that they "might have been peas"...

Hardly 9/11... lol...

I mean, are we all so terrorized that our kids are going to be expected to act like adults by the time they are 4 years old??? Seems that 3 of the P-Vines 5 grandkids are just like that... It's a shame to have never enjoyed playing a little prank here or there... I mean, pranks are what make us human... Bullying??? No... Pranks??? Most definite...

Jus' MO, of course...

B~ (proud-prankster)

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 14 Aug 11 - 11:44 AM

You surprise me Bobert, and not in a good way. No, I don't think your prank was funny, and I do think you should have been arrested. Explosives are dangerous.

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 14 Aug 11 - 11:50 AM

What was that phrase Bobert used? "anal...."

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Penny S.
Date: 14 Aug 11 - 11:56 AM

I've just had a follow up call from the local PCSO. It seems that recently they've had trouble with people catapulting ball bearings through windows in the neighbouring village, so they want any updates.

I've also recalled having interfered with some young people engaged in something that could have been bullying one of their number - in a fairly low key friendly way, and they wouldn't have been aware of where I came from.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Bobert
Date: 14 Aug 11 - 12:21 PM

Ball bearings and peas are different animals... You are entirely correct, Penny, that ball bearings are weapons and not kids stuff...

And, thank you, JtS... Lotta people just wound a little tight these days...

As for M-80s??? Hey, when I was a kid they were easy to get and all the kids had 'um... And I don't recall anyone ever hurting themselves with them... I mean, every one knew not to hold them in their hands and watch them go off... BB guns??? Same... We aren't talking pump pellet rifles here... They were Daisy BB guns and if ya got hit with one it might sting a little but no one got hurt with them either... I recall BB gun battles that lasted for days... No ambulances... No "this could poke you eye outs"... No blood... Just clean fun with an occasional "ouch"... Big whoop!!!

These days kids just don't have any fun... They can't play in the woods because the boogie-man will get them... They can't even walk to scholl because the boogie-man will get them... Heck, they can't even walk a 100 feet from the school bus down their own driveway without Mommy sitting there in the Honda waiting to dive their poor little souls the 100 feet home because the boogie man might get them...

FDR said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself" and that's about it... We need to deal better with the fear-peddlers and say, "No thanks, my kid can walk a 100 lousy feet"...

Sheesh!!!

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 14 Aug 11 - 12:28 PM

They want to protect the kids from bad influences by having them stay home and play "Grand Theft Auto."

Subject: RE: BS: Idiots in my village
From: Bobert
Date: 14 Aug 11 - 12:33 PM

LOL, Jack!!!