FlyboyYoung people, roaming the land in packs, sexing each other and drinking alcopops and menacing old ladies, with their scary technology and their scary music! Something must be done!
i think young people should abandon those gloopy old black hoodies, and instead dress in the heighth of fashion, likewise:
Haus: However, what if it starts happening to such an extent that people have to dress in a certain way or not have access to convenient or cheaper goods or services - if a superstore drives other alternatives into the ground, then starts imposing restrictions on who it will allow through its doors.
this is a good point, particularly relevant in this time period where we're faced with the virtual disappearance of public space, when the town square has been replaced as a place of public gathering by a series of private shopping and/or entertainment spaces. there are some obvious benefits to allowing private parties to control expression within their own spaces, but when anyplace that people might gather is privately owned (and, one might argue, by an ever-shrinking number of people or corporate entities), you're essentially subcontracting out widespread cultural censorship. sure, you can wear whatever you want, but if you actually want to interact with the culture at large, you have to play by someone else's rules.
at the same time, is the decline of public space Bluewater's fault specifically? should they lose the right to control their own space because other aspects of public life are, arguably, dysfunctional?
Mike Davis has a good book on how this issue has played out in Los Angeles called City of Quartz, which may be of interest to some in this thread.
Haus:Where things get tricky is when the government starts getting involved, particularly if it comes down on the side of exclusion.
this is the aspect that disturbs me far more than a dress code at a shopping mall, even more so for the demagoguery and the attempts to demonize youth culture as a whole than for any actual legislation or what-have-you. however, i take comfort in the fact that personal expression through fashion, particularly in youth culture, has generally proved resilient when faced with this sort of shit.
paranoidwriter:The debate about wearing hoods (etc) is a distraction. The real question is: why do our "kids" feel the need to be anti-social?
i more-or-less agree, while also agreeing with Nina's point. the questions, as far as i can see, should be:
- are British youth especially anti-social? by this i mean: moreso than youth in general in comparable (i.e. developed world) societies, moreso than previous generations of British youth, moreso than, well, something. how are we defining antisocial behavior? are we talking about simple teenage rudeness (or music and fashion tastes that are incomprehensible to older generations?) or actual acts of violence? how prevalent is it in actual practice, as opposed to the paranoid fantasies of middle-aged white homebodies?
- if not, then, obviously, no problem. it's just kids being kids. if so, then we should ask, as paranoidwriter points out, why is this happening? my guess would be that the cause is some complex mess of economics, class structure, racial and ethnic tensions, issues with the education system, etc etc etc., and not the thumping beat of African-influenced music driving youth into a murderous/sexual frenzy, but i have little faith in anyone coming to a conclusion that sane and reasonable anytime soon.
that's probably because it's much easier to grandstand about cultural issues than to think seriously about economic reform or the like. perhaps that's the cynicism that comes from watching my American political system go to hell, though, so you may have better luck over there. |
