Zero tolerance
Wednesday 3rd June 2009, 9:00AM BST.
Letter: For several weeks I have been travelling on buses to see my disabled wife Edna in the Princess Royal Hospital, Telford.
You used to be able to catch a bus from Shifnal which took you to the PRH via Oakengates and Hadley but now you have to change at Telford bus station and catch an Arriva 44 to the hospital via Oakengates, Ketley and Wellington.
One day I was travelling on the 44 bus and there was a group of students at the back of the bus.
You are supposed to ring the bell to stop the bus nearing a bus stop, but some of the students seemed to take a weird kind of pleasure in ringing the bells constantly between stops.
I bit my tongue but I knew it was only a matter of time before I rebuked the students who were annoying me if not the driver.
To my surprise a young lady in an electric wheelchair shouted at the students, using fairly strong but not foul language, to stop behaving like idiots.
I backed her up and the childish bell-ringing gradually ceased. The young lady got off after the students at Wellington Bus Station.
I saw her about a week later on the bus from Telford and I congratulated her. We need more people like this.
I was coming back on the 44 bus from the PRH one day last week when a large student sitting beside me was using strong language at regular intervals.
I tapped him on the shoulder and politely asked him and his mate to tone their language down as there were women on the bus, he said “sorry mate” and I heard no more swearing.
Most young people are well-behaved but an increasing minority give the rest a bad name. We should show zero tolerance for those people who make life intolerable for other people.
Ray Williams, Shifnal
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I totally agree, although only 27 myself I think that the reason the youth are like this is due to lack of interest or discipline from thier parents, but could this be due to parents themselves getting younger and younger?
Although I do not believe in “thrashing a child to within an inch of its life” the odd smack now and again is ok in my opinion (for the really naughty things they do) but people are scared to do this now for fear of being frowned upon or worse….social services or the police getting involved.
My Girlfriends son was making a right fuss in the supermarket one day (like me she is against the excessive hitting of a child) and all she did was pick him up and one of the shop staff called the police…..which was completly wrong of them.
Even grounding or removal of priviledges would work……
Things just seem so backwards nowadays, I remember the days my gran would smack us with her belt or slipper….didn’t do me any harm, I respect my eldars!!!!
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Mr A… I’m not following this, all your Grilfriend did was to pick her son up and someone called the Police – really? As a parent I pick my kids up many times during the course of a day and not once has anyone shown even the slightest interest – perhaps there was more to it than what you have written?
Also, I am not sure being given the “belt” or “slipper” by a grand parent is a useful way of showing kids how to behave! An occasional smack OK but you seem to think it’s beneficial to dish out a bit of a beating – so yes it did so you some harm!
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i agree with this
as i am a kid myself (13) and these chav types give me a bad name
i hate sitting on a bus when some teens behind me are kicking the back of the seat and ringing the bell for no reason.
thanks
dan
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‘Zero Tolerance’-a couple of practical issues…
who is going to police this zero tolerance?
Zero telerance to what?, the odd mild swear word or something more serious?Will there be alist of definitive words you can and can’t use on public transport? where would you draw the line? who would make the rules? I completely agree that these people need bringing to task but a zero tolerance approach is neither practical or sensible.
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I toally agree with Mr A, As a 20 year old student, i find that the children of today are alot more badly behaved, starting at about the age of 13 roughtly they seem to want to rebel, earlyer and earlyer, though i do find that there is a serious case of ageism towards the youth, Binge drinking has always been around, antisocial behavour, was worce 60 years ago, with the hitler youth, Its my belife the the dumbing down of things like the education system and television, as well as no real music anymore, has contributed, but mainly its societys portrail of youth and the lack of good parenting, give the child a smack and he/she will think twise next time
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#5 ste – you need to go back to school for more smacks – didn’t take much notice in the English lessons did you?
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Whats next will we be wanting children to leave school at 16 and work down the mines?
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Itsallajoke,
Yes, all she did was pick her son up because he was screaming, my girlfriend is one who is against smacking children and just picked him up off the floor to walk out to save the other shoppers the hassle of a kid throwing a tantrum but one of the shop assistants called the police. I DO NOT appreciate you trying to make out there was more to this when you do not know my girfriend in the slightest.
And in regards to being given the belt and slipper by a grandparent – you have obviously read my post incorrectly, at no point was i saying that kids these days should be beaten. If you use your eyes and read i said, and I quote, “Although I do not believe in “thrashing a child to within an inch of its life” the odd smack now and again is ok in my opinion (for the really naughty things they do) but people are scared to do this now for fear of being frowned upon or worse….social services or the police getting involved.”.
The whole slipper/belt thing was just me sharing my past experience at what happened with me and my strict grandmother so please get your facts straight before answering posts in the future and making people out for saying something they did not.
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Y Mab: If only we had some mines but no-one wants them these days.
I child sit for a friend now and then and she said don’t worry about smacking them. Well I told her I’d would know if I was hurting them or not, and she told me to use the horse whip so I was sure. Lovely kids, well behaved – they are no bother what so ever.
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Mr A – police called due to a screaming child?? I’m like Itsallajoke and just don’t follow it. Your comment “Like me she is against the excessive hitting of a child”, well thank goodness for that as I like to think that we all are.
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No Hilary, the police were called because she picked her child up off the floor to carry him out and some of the people in the supermarket took exception to this and called the police………………….
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