bripez wrote:This post is not directed at any one specific individual.
I remember when I was kid and kids who misbehaved were just naughty kids (these days they are diagnosed ADHD), those kids who weren't the brightest were put in the D class (these days they are diagnosed as dyslexic), the local piss head now has and illness, and the local druggie now has an addictive personality.
In other words - these days it is never anybodies fault - nobody is expected to take any responsibility for their own actions.
Whatever happens or whatever people do there is now some kind of diagnosis or excuse for their behaviour.
I know that the above are general sweeping statements and may not cover 100% of people, but I believe that is covers the vast majority.
I agree with what you're saying, but I would differentiate between a reason for something and avoiding blame for something. For example, its possible there is a reason why Peter Sutcliffe did what he did. Doesn't mean he should be understood, treated and forgiven, of course. Or, there is the more traditional view - perhaps equally valid - that he is "evil".
I drank like a fish between 15 and 31 and almost died from it. Totally my fault, but anyway nobody else got hurt and it didn't affect society or others. When I learned more about addictive personalities, I understood why I was doing it, and quit full stop.
I've just moved house from a particularly rough area, to a nice respectable one. The area we moved from has very high unemployment, very high truancy of the kids, mainly broken families, kids running riot from the moment they get home from school, until late at night, parents making daily trips to the off licence at the bottom of the street for their special brew or cheap cider, etc etc etc. That is not a generalisation, it is an accurate summary of where I lived for almost 18 months, until last month. The streets were covered in litter, the Council cleans it up every 2 days and within hours it is back to the same state. Broken glass and dog crxp in the nearby playgrounds, booze and takeaway remains left all over the place.
I now live in an area where most people work, the kids are behaved, there is 99% less litter and dog fouling, etc etc.
Now, you could make all sorts of explanations and excuses for the reasons why the former area is full of "troubled families", or you could just say most of them are scum. I think that would be the traditional approach, whilst the modern approach seeks to understand, appreciate, and if blame has to be laid, it is laid elsewhere, eg society is to blame, the government is to blame, etc etc. Not the individuals.
Anyway, let me finish on one last observation. As I removed stuff from my old garden on my final day at that property, a neighbour, Mick, came out of his back door at 11.20am. He stepped over several piles of dogshxt in his backyard (he has a bull terrier and I've never seen him walk it once), and went down to the corner shop for cans of cider. In his pyjamas. This was mid-morning, at half term, with his kids playing nearby. Mick doesn't work, neither does his partner, they have 3 kids and the police were round, on average, every 2 weeks for small scale ASB.
What do you make of a bloke like that ?!
