This might really going to stir up a hornets nest, but I'm going to have my say. Through the decades there have always been sections of the public with whom the rest of us find it hard to relate. They seem to be more rebellious than usual, more aggressive and totally disrespectful. More often than not they stand out from the crowd with their apparently outrageous fashion ideas which seem a bit over the top.

Chavs are just another reminder that for whatever reason we seem ( most of us ) to have deviated from the values that at one time seemed so important. Ideals like respect for others and their property, for elders and particularly the elderly who have seen far more than the youngsters are prepared to give them credit for. Their were groups through the sixties and seventies that displayed similar tendencies to the groups of today. On the most part they were harmless since they became bored and found something else to occupy their time. I am not in any way sticking up for the reckless and unacceptable behaviour of some Chavs, but I can see where they are coming from. They are disillusioned have no grasp of what is expected in today's society and they have no discipline.

In the past there has been at least the opportunity to partake in other things, like youth groups and the like. As I walk down the street I see groups of youths huddled together drinking their Buckfast or whatever and they have no direction no hope and no future as they see it. The idea that all seems forlorn is not a new concept either most generations have some kind of rebellion against society but it usually passes. These groups of lost youths are not totally to blame for their situation, we the public must accept part of the responsibility, for it is us who have let governments impose all the stupid rules which have stifled parents from raising children in traditional ways.

When I was young I was punished for doing wrong, not heavily but enough to make me realise that whatever I had done was not acceptable. If I had been punished by a policeman then I'd get double when I got home. This kind of discipline has vanished completely due to all this Political Correctness crap that keeps getting pushed down our throats. No spanking bad children…………………never did any harm in my book. A red arse certainly made me think twice about committing the same misdemeanour. Having been disciplined as a youngster I was raised aware of the standards and knew that they had to be upheld. The children of today have had no such guidance and guidance it is. They have been slowly but surely allowed to do basically anything they want with no repercussions. How can this possibly be right.

Teachers were the main stay of society they lead the fight and upheld disciplinary matters, no more they are totally tied and have no power anymore to help parents in their quest to raise polite and decent children. It is time we stood up to governments and demanded WE have the right to discipline our children should we believe they have committed a wrong.

Their can be no real defence against the crimes of Chavs, but I can at least see where part of the blame is, another factor in the decline of youth discipline might well be that age old cry of there is NOTHING ELSE TO DO and to be fair as I look around the small townships and communities there certainly does not seem to be very much that might interest teenagers. As I recall and I'm going back a few years here there did not seem to bee an awful lot to do in my youth perhaps in the learning curve youth has to be challenged and given the fact that there seems to be very little support they give up and just sit around on street corners. perhaps also this electronic age has more to answer for than we might have anticipated, old games that were the main stay of youth have all but vanished, Nintendo's and PSP's have taken there place and in doing so they have taken away the most important thing about being young. Imagination curiosity and the willingness to learn about this strange new adult world they are about to enter.

As I said before I'm not defending the Chavs I'm merely pointing out some pretty basic facts that seem to be being overlooked. We need more from our governments than stupid Politcal Correctness rules that do nothing to enhance our way of life. I realise also that change is inevitable and that of course some of the more traditional things will vanish in time. This does not mean we should stand by and have them taken from us. We as the adult population are equally responsible for those things we hold dear, and should try a little harder to keep and save the values which have in the past proven to be of great significance.

Any crime should be punished no matter what reason lies behind it, but we all need to be more tolerant, especially of change since it is change that eventually we hope will make things better, we are all to a certain degree also afraid of such changes and although this might sound a little contradictory we have to embrace these changes in order to survive. I wish things could always stay the same as they were when I was young, life seemed so much simpler and sedate. I am not prepared to tolerate the decline of of our social culture but I am prepared to be a bit more tolerant of youth and the changes that brings. We have to somehow bring back a sense of discipline into a society which seems more and more to just DO WHAT THE HELL IT LIKES.