Is 'broken Britain' a land of pregnant teens, deadly fights?

[peejay 327]

Is 'broken Britain' a land of pregnant teens, deadly fights?

By GREGORY KATZ Associated Press

Feb. 15, 2009, 9:41AM

LONDON — Ahhh, Britain. The land of Shakespeare and the Beatles, Churchill and the Queen. Rolling green hills, groovy London shops, hip plaids splashed over raincoats and umbrellas.

Cut to the reality of 2009: the highest teen pregnancy rate in western Europe, a binge drinking culture that leaves drunk teens splayed out in the streets and rising knife crime that has turned some pub fights into deadly affairs.

Ahhh, Britain.

In the latest symbol of what some are calling "broken Britain," 13-year-old Alfie and his 15-year-old girlfriend Chantelle became parents last week. The news sparked a flurry of handwringing from the media — and even ordinary folk admitted it didn't help that Alfie barely looked 10, let alone 13, as he cradled his newborn daughter.

Alfie's father, who reportedly has nine or 10 children of his own, gamely promised to have a "birds and the bees" chat with his son to prevent him from producing a second child before he grows facial hair.

Somehow that was not reassuring.

Sir Bernard Ingham, once press secretary to former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, told the Associated Press that people from across Britain's political spectrum are in despair over the country's social breakdown.

"It's an indication that we've lost our way, that people don't know the difference between right and wrong," he said of young Alfie. "The plain fact is society can't proceed on this basis. I think this is an indication of broken Britain."

Ingham said Britain's binge drinking and youth violence reflect the same general fall in standards and discipline.

"I think in time there will be a swing against this permissiveness," he said, noting a shift from British debauchery in the 18th century to Victorian straight-laced standards 100 years later.

Binge drinking has produced a rise in liver disease among Britons in their 20s and the unpleasant reputation of British "lager louts" at holiday resorts across Europe.

On any given night, London residents can see drunken teens staggering through the Underground subway system. Usually their friends help them, but sometimes collapsed teens are left on their own until police or transit staff intervene.

The rise in knife crime harkens back to the 1950s West Side Story era in the United States. The number of robberies carried out with knives rose 18 percent for the third quarter of 2008 compared to the year before, according to government figures released in January.

Too often now, public disputes have ended in teen stabbing deaths. Rob Knox, an 18-year-old actor in a Harry Potter film, was killed in May, while Ben Kinsella, the 16-year-old brother of a television soap actress, was stabbed to death in June. Both were trying to break up fights in London.

Other, less well-known youths also have died in knife fights.

All this was bemoaned, but the final straw came this week, when Britain's intensely competitive tabloids focused on the young, clueless Alfie.

Alfie's daughter Maisie was reportedly conceived when he was 12. Chantelle's parents let the lad spend the night with their daughter, 14 at the time, at their public housing unit near Eastbourne, 70 miles southeast of London.

There are still some questions about the birth. The Sun newspaper did not say whether any tests were conducted to prove the boy's paternity, and The Sunday Times reported that at least two other teens claimed to have slept with the young mother.

Alfie told The Sun he plans to look after his newborn daughter. But in a heartbreaking interview, the boy admitted he didn't know what the word "financially" meant and acknowledged he doesn't even get an allowance.

While some saw a larger portrait of society's ills in Maisie's birth to underage parents, others called it an aberration.

"I think it's really shocking and sad," said Duncan Lees, 36, a caterer. "I think it's really wrong. But it's not like it happens every day. The fact that it's making such a headline is something in itself. I think it's good that everybody is saying that it's wrong."

He did blame the youngsters' parents for failing to properly look after their children.

"You have to ask what their responsibilities are to their children," he said.

There was also an element of class consciousness in many reactions — not surprising in a country where status is often based on where you live, what car you drive and whether your children go to private school.

"I think it's very sad," said retiree Risdon Nicholls. "But they lived in a poor part of Eastbourne. That's not common practice in the rest of Eastbourne, which is a very smart town."

Nicholls said the British media was exploiting a one-time situation.

"They make it sound as if we're going to the dogs, and we're not," he said adamantly. "This is still a wonderful country — but it's clear standards have dropped."

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6264540.html

[JODO 2]

I seriously doubt the whole UK's teenage pregnancy statistics would be more than here. However, I have seemed to notice that some British youths might have a problem with their drinking. I recall reading several articles about Brits going abroad and getting into a great deal of trouble. Or many passing out in public parks after last call at the pubs. Probably many parents are just not monitoring their children like they should ,which is also a problem in the US too. As for the knives, well I remember while I was visiting Paris in late 2001, that Britain was having a problem with knife violence. However, it seemed to be mainly concentrated among West Indian immigrants. I could be mistaken, or maybe it is more widespread now.

Edited February 15, 2009 by JODO

[Gemmie 142]

Yeah, we do have lots of binge drinking, probably more than the rest of Europe.

But everywhere has deadly fights, and I don't think ours is any higher statistically - how do you even measure that - than other countries. At least we don't have the high gun crime that America does, for instance.

[DeadPoolX 9]

Hmm... well it's somewhat comforting to know that the UK's media is just as crazy as it is in the United States.

For some reason, I doubt that teenage pregnancy has become extremely widespread. It happens, of course, but if it were so common, why would the media report on it? The media like spreading news stories that are somewhat unusual -- that way they can gain more readers or viewers. If they report on everyday life, most people won't bother looking into the story.

Edited February 15, 2009 by DeadPoolX

[Peikko 1,575]

Ah the news doing what the 'news' does best

The media in the UK has always had its sensational side. The Sun is well known for selling papers on the basis of its page 3

Edited February 15, 2009 by Madame Cleo

[DeadPoolX 9]

Ah the news doing what the 'news' does best

The media in the UK has always had its sensational side. The Sun is well known for selling papers on the basis of its page 3

Sun Girls? I think there's something like that in Canada too.

[Peikko 1,575]

Yes, an unbroken line of 17-27 year olds have paraded topless since 1970 on page 3. Marvelous.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor: recession may be jolt that selfish Britain needs

Pride, avarice, lust, anger, gluttony, envy and sloth: sometimes it feels as if Britain is in the grip of the seven deadly sins. There are arrogant politicians, greedy bankers, lecherous television presenters, furious trade unionists, obese children, competitive shoppers and an underclass of people who do not work. To the doom-mongers, British society is not broken, it is shattered.

According to the Archbishop of Westminster, the economic downturn could be the very thing that brings us to our senses. “It's the end of a certain kind of selfish capitalism,” Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor said. “This particular recession is a moment - a kairos - when we have to reflect as a country on what are the things that nourish the values, the virtues, we want to have ... Capitalism needs to be underpinned with regulation and a moral purpose.”

He will stand down soon as the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Britain, which he has been for nine years, but before he goes he wants to make one final plea to Britons to change their ways. He told The Times that he had advised Gordon Brown to complement his National Economic Council with a moral one, to “rediscover the things that make for a healthy society”.

He said: “One feels very sorry for those losing their jobs but in times of recession people have to rely on friends and neighbours and families and things that really matter to them. That may be a good thing. I think people did lose their way a bit. It has been difficult to bring up children with the kind of values we want. Let's face it, we now have a ‘me, me' society, a more consumerist society, a utilitarian society, and our values and virtues have become diminished.

“Some of it has got to do with having too much. If your worth just depends on your wealth, that is not healthy. Your worth should depend on who you are.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/f...icle5728972.ece

[Peikko 1,575]

The Sun has a massive circulation, but it can't be classed as 'news' to be honest, and it doesn't really care if the stories they report are true. Case in point, Freddie Starr Ate My Hampster.

[Peikko 1,575]

Or, a really nasty case after Hillborough when they accused the fans of attacking the police. That was absolutely untrue but they reported it as gospel. Sensationalism is what it does best and it works of course, because of the number of papers it sells.

[DeadPoolX 9]

The Sun has a massive circulation, but it can't be classed as 'news' to be honest, and it doesn't really care if the stories they report are true. Case in point, Freddie Starr Ate My Hampster.

Whether or not that's true (and I can't believe it would be), that's still an hilarious headline. If you're part of the Men in Black, these newspapers are probably quite useful.

[Peikko 1,575]

Page 3 has its own website, that hilarious

Link

Enjoy! Well for about 30 secs before it becomes totally boring...

[DeadPoolX 9]

Page 3 has its own website, that hilarious

Link

Enjoy! Well for about 30 secs before it becomes totally boring...

Holy #######! I can't believe the girls are show completely topless!

You'd never see something like that in an American newspaper. I'm not even sure if it would be allowed in Canada, either.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Page 3 has its own website, that hilarious

Link

Enjoy! Well for about 30 secs before it becomes totally boring...

Great! Now my wife is mad, but I will save the link for later! (As she hits me over the head)

[Peikko 1,575]

Perhaps this explains the popularity of this 'newspaper'?

Seriously, after being exposed to The Sun during my formative years, anything the American media comes out with is pretty harmless in comparison. Having said that though, there are excellent media resources in the UK and tv interviews with politicians are not picnics.