erm, i seem to have lost the "edit" tab at the bottom of the page, "reply" "quote" etc etc are there..... but "edit" is missing.....

Year, fair call re the pics of minors, didnt really think seeing as how hes mine!!!

[And yet i can edit this one still, PDM, can you access the thread and pull the pic for me?]

Yes, you can only edit posts for a limited time ~ I didn't think of that.

Anyway, I have taken the photo off.

The comment "Photo with minor deleted" Kinda makes me sound a bit dodgy doesnt it?

I hope the point was made though.... perception can be altered and misconstrued.

OK ~ I've changed it.

Here in the UK, kids tend to 'belong' to one group or another. Around here you get the 'Gothic' types, who look something like the spawn of Satan, and the others ~ various names ~ who look sporty/smart/casual.

Old ladies tend to feel safer amongst the latter. Yet most of the former will only hug you, if they come close, while a number of the latter will point a knife at you.

I know that this is a generalisation ~ and I don't like generalisations ~ but it's what I have discovered from experience, the media, and the local police.

Yup, youre spot on.

Here we have a growing issue with "boy racers", kids in hotted up jap cars being larrikins. Cutting laps up and down town, gathering in carparks... what generation hasnt had that aye (Fonz in Als diner for example).... I used to hang with a couple of blokes, and with or V8's we'd go for a wander.....
Points of difference are these kids are:
* Gathering in groups, and giving themselves names to identify who is "with" who.
* Engaging in nightly drag meets
* Having impromptu burnout comps
* Defending "their" parking spots in whatever means necessary
* Drinking copious amounts of alcohol and leaving others to clean up the next day, shop owners etc... and not bottles but urine and fecal matter
* Pouring mixes of diesel and oil on the roads to better lose traction, which other motorists have to negate as well
* "Tagging" business premisis with their "club" name.
This is just here, with a pop of 140K. And not being done out in the industrial areas but only about 200mtrs from my front door. 50 or 60 cars at any one time involved.

Since christmas this community lost 5 teenagers dragging - hit a tree, 2 killed overtaking another "Boy racer" - hit tree, A "starter" got clipped and died a few weeks ago, a group of four died whilst running from the Police on one occasion, and two during another attempted flight.
.......... "But those people and the police are picking on us!!" "We dont hassle anyone" "The cops havent got anything better to do than to pick on us"..... blah blah blah.

When the media started getting involved, the Boy Racer community sorted a spokesman to present thier view on the situation. An articulate clean cut lad, well groomed and obviously from a comfortable background. He had his piece to say about the rights of the youth, and protested that the small element of rotten ones spoiled it for the rest etc..... He and some of his mates were only this week arrested and charged with Breaking-and-entering and Burglary.

I guess the point of this post is to agree with you PDM that it isnt just the "real" gang members with tats, scars, patches and violent natures that sell drugs and put people at risk. Our very own upper/middle class, educated, literate, clean shaven has an element that have the ability to cause as much grief as the former group.

The "Real Gangs" and the "Boy Racer Groups" share one common element..... which is the same element as Football hooligans, Schools and Universities, religious denominations (and on i could go).......

.........The necessity to belong to a "Tribe" and to wear that "Tribes" colours to the best of their ability, to be stronger and smarter which in turn ensures the integrity and safety, the honour and the dignity, the sanctity and the ethos, of the "Tribe"

Wether its a "Real Gang" that traffics drugs...
Wether its a religious order that refuses to use cellphones...
Wether its a Government that invades another country...
Wether its a Football team that kicks butt on the field...
Wether its a state basketball team playing the next state...
Wether its the uniform we wear at work...
We all have some kind of Colours we wear, we all have a rivalry that is inherant in belonging to a family unit, a "Tribe" or a "Gang"... call it what you will.

Yes, a generalisation..... but am I wrong?

(ohhh Im waiting for it..... waiting......)

I definitely agree with you that there is an instinct within us ~ or most of us, anyway, I'm generalising ~ to belong to a tribe.

In a way, this links with the other thread about being overprotective parenrs.

When your kids are threatened with knives, just because they wear different clothes from, or listen to different music from, the other kids on the bus, then it's no wonder parents become anxious.

There is a speculation that there are gangs in my neighborhood. However, they are much harder to identify and possibly keep their gang-related tattoos out of sight. It is a suburb but there is some low-income housing across from it. Just last night, my brother heard some gunshots, sounding like from a fully automatic gun and dove to the floor. Thank God no one was hurt. It's not frequent but it happens sometimes, especially when it's summertime. And, about 2 months ago, someone, possibly a gang member, got beat up by a mob of about 6-7 youths at the street behind where I lived. He escaped but died from his head injuries (blunt force trauma) after sleeping at a friend's home. It was also on the local news. I already was aware that the neighborhood got its share of problems with drugs, assaults, vandalisms, etc. but I didn't knew a gang existed until at that point the incident was reported on the news. However, I was already aware about that possibility. It's also a growing problem in nearby cities. Like the old saying goes, "Know your adversary." Besides taking precautions, I also go about legally armed.

I can't exactly say that we have any gangs around here, where I live. But who am I to say what we have and don't have. I spend half my time somewhere completely different from my home, where my distraction is a dog, a cat and homework, sometimes a family friend or two.

But at school, there are these groups of people. Not people who are some kind of style. Like the goth people, with goths. Friends hang with friends and all that stuff. Though I must say that we do have a large population of nerds in our school, well that's mainly because my school is called the 'Geek School'. Which I must agree with. And the geeks/nerds hang with each other, acting smart and all. And the popular kids, hang with the popular kids. Usually we are also separated by grade. But that's because we only have 3 grades in our school, but there will be more. Though the upper grades will be moving to another building. So yea, that's how the people that I deal with are separated. And I'm pretty sure, though some kids act though, no one would ever hurt another person in our school.

And really our school has uniforms, so no one is annoyed by wearing different clothes. The music, at my school, really no one cares. If you listen to heavy metal, you're considered a normal person. And so on and so forth

That sounds scary to me!!!