Whatever is this country coming to when an innocent shopkeeper cannot ask people to leave his store, on account of the fact they are breaking the law by drinking beer on his premises and he risks losing his licence (“Newsagent attacked by hockey stick gang”, May 28).
And then after all the verbal abuse he got, they returned and beat him up.
What low-lifes we have walking our streets. If that was not bad enough, we have our so called police, who we all turn to in time of need, stating, and I quote from the Express & Star) saying they do not expect any arrests. Just what do we all expect? Is it OK for us all to go around breaking laws, with innocent people being mugged, knifed and murdered?
When is this country going to wake up and say enough is enough? Are we all afraid to stand up and be counted?
The police are too frightened to prosecute unless someone drops an apple core, or they can be sure to win a case in court.
The Government has lost the plot; they believe in rewarding thugs and the like with little sweeteners if they behave themselves.
Our councillors can only inflict more suffering on us by fining us we over-fill our bins.
I feel very sorry for the victim of this malicious crime but being sorry is not enough. We want a strong, no-tolerance stance from our police and a government which is not afraid to bring justice to victims of crime and tell all these so-called do-gooders and PC Brigade law and order will prevail.
Perhaps when an election comes, and there’s a change of government, it will be an answer to all our prayers, but don’t hold your breath.
S Lightfoot, Newport Road, Albrighton.
8 Comments
My father runs an off-license in the West Midlands and in the last 20 years we’ve seen that there is a significant minority of people who have no regard for the law. These people then have children who are then raised with the same values it’s a never ending cycle!!
It’s shop keepers who have to deal with these people on a daily basis when we refuse to sell alcohol or cigarettes to these “youths” we have windows smashed and gangs of them intimadating customers.
The police try to help but their hands are tied by the law and the kids parents are no better than the kids.
People moan about immigrants but from what my family see it’s not the immigrants that are the problem but these people born in the UK.
What can anyone do??
What typical narrow-minded thinking from the typical poorly educated Express & Star readers.
If you really think you’re so holy, and that “young people” are the only ones who are aggressive and violent then ask yourself why do you get angry when car drivers cut you up, why do you run red lights, why do you respond aggressively to people who accidentally bump into you, why do you shout and rant at shopkeepers or waiters who you deem to be “serving” you, why do you shout at the television and the newspaper when you hear or read something you don’t agree with?
We are all becoming more aggressive, less tolerant and more violent - it’s not just children and young people. If young people carry knives, it’s because streets are dangerous precisely because adults have abandoned them to go everywhere in their cars, or moved out to leafy suburbs where no-one walks anywhere.
We are all to blame. There’s no point blaming the “government”. In fact, blaming someone else is part of the problem - it demonstrates how childish we have all become, where we run to mummy and daddy to sort out our problems rather than accept responsibility and start modelling the good behaviour that society needs to follow - respect, tolerance, calmness and maturity.
Try it, Express & Star readers, it’s easy.
Rebecca
I think you’ve missed the whole point this isn’t about the majority of people/children, it’s about the minority who think it’s acceptable in a civilised society to return and assault a person who has ASKED them to stop drinking in a shop.
You mention we should model the good behaviour that society and I’m sure the vast majority of law abiding citizens bring their children in this manner, my comments relate to those people who don’t have the inclination or ability.
Also to start a comment “What typical narrow-minded thinking from the typical poorly educated Express & Star readers” doesn’t really eschew the qualities of respect and maturity, especially when you miss the point!!!!!!
According to the Arthurian legend when Britain is on the verge of collapse - KING ARTHUR will return to free the nation from its bondage !!!!
THE WAY ITS GOING CORNER SHOPS WILL NEED BOUNCERS
TO THROW OUT THE GATHERING SCUM THAT IS IN OUR
MIDST.
[ BRING BACK THE BIRCH ]
Rebecca, how would you have handled the situation that the poor shopkeeper was in? Would you have said and done nothing for fear of provoking them, and in so doing, condone their behaviour? Or would you have said something, taken a beating and not bothered calling the Police because you deemed it to be your own fault for winding them up? Get real. I agree with your point that we seem to be becoming more aggressive. However, for the ordinary person-in-the-street to be exhibiting these tendencies, my belief is that it is more to do with frustration at the ever more stifling and straitjacketed way of life that we are being forced to live these days. Caged rats is what we are. The shopkeeper did the perfectly reasonable thing based on how a ‘normal’ law-abiding person thinks. Sadly, the scum who attacked him didn’t think in the same terms. Sometimes, when you’ve tried the ‘reasonable’ approach, the only way to communicate with some people is in their language and on their terms, which is why I would vote for corporal punishment if I were able, and would buy a ticket for the front row if these hockey-stick wielding idiots were ever the main attraction.
The yanks have a saying that if you outlaw guns then only outlaws will have guns …. knives are the same , telling the type of person who uses them that they can’t have that anymore it’s naughty and you will get in trouble will always fall on deaf ears .
Hows about .. you get caught with a gun ? we will shoot you .
A knife .. we will stab you
A hockey stick ,, ? we will hit you .
Totally obliterate all excuses , of culture , race , colour .It’s a knife not a religious artifact would we be aloud to claim a machine pistol was part of our religion abroad ?
no.
Hypocrites beware you can only push people so far before they snap and Britain has been more flexible than anyone else.
Bring back the birch, bring back discipline ie. the cane, and bring back respect and get rid of the tree huggers who always look for someone else to blame.