Seeing Through The Stereotype

A very insightful piece from the BBC's Mark Easton reminding us that the majority of young people, despite what you might read in the press, make a positive contribution to society: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/markeaston/2008/07/10_reasons_to_cheer_our_teenag.html The negative stereotyping of young people - as hoodies, yobs and thugs - is widespread and is contributing to a moral panic being whipped up by the media. Of course the recent spate of gun- and knife-related violence, largely perpetrated by and inflicted on young people, is a serious and worrying problem which needs to be addressed, and addressed urgently. But it also needs to be put into context. We're in grave danger of creating a false consensus amongst adults about the attitudes and behaviour of young people most of whom, as Easton notes, are both engaged in productive activities and imbued with admirable virtues. Such a consensus risks inviting a raft of reactionary, punitive and tough-talking political responses which, far from addressing the problems which do exist, will unfairly isolate and marginalise the majority and unhelpfully create a self-fulfilling prophecy for the minority. If we're going to tackle what's wrong we need to also acknowledge what's right. So perhaps it's time for a little more bigging-up and a little less demonisation.