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London Zoo: The glorious hybrid of 1984 and Brave New World

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      CommentAuthorPyD
    • CommentTimeMar 17th 2008
     (1439.1)
    Found on the Guardian via Boing Boing
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/mar/16/youthjustice.children

    The small snowball at the top of the hill
    A recent report from the think-tank Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) called for children to be targeted between the ages of five and 12 with cognitive behavioural therapy, parenting programmes and intensive support. Prevention should start young, it said, because prolific offenders typically began offending between the ages of 10 and 13. Julia Margo, author of the report, entitled 'Make me a Criminal', said: 'You can carry out a risk factor analysis where you look at the characteristics of an individual child aged five to seven and identify risk factors that make it more likely that they would become an offender.' However, she said that placing young children on a database risked stigmatising them by identifying them in a 'negative' way


    Yes then we can start putting children through various forms of behavioural therapy to get rid of all those other nasty thoughts, like not voting for the party in government and or disliking the way the global economy works or perhaps suggesting that the killing of civilians in foreign war-torn countries by peace-keeping troops should perhaps be discouraged.

    Catastrophising I know, but please they want to DNA kids in case they start acting like crims.
    Is it just me or are kids the new women as far as the media go - the madonna / whore fake dichotomy has become the innocent victim / violent thug dichotomy.
  2.  (1439.2)
    oh ffs, it's the social conditions that motivate the parenting these kids receive that should be sorted out directly. Yet another example of desperately trying to clean up the mess after it's happened.
    I don't really think it's a snowball at the top of a hill because it's not going to work. The snowball's already rolling, and it's called "economy".
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      CommentAuthorPyD
    • CommentTimeMar 17th 2008
     (1439.3)
    Its funny how every add that runs for market investment has to include the warning that prices may go up as well as down yet every economically clued up politician and pundit seems to totally freak out whenever the going down but ever rears its head.

    Economy can always be altered cause its an imposed system - if there's a snowball its probably energy.

    I just thought that story was bloody hilarious in a potentially terrifying way - just what one needs on a Monday - confirmation that there are others out there more desperate to justify the worth of their job than I.
  4.  (1439.4)
    The world economical structure isn't easy to change at all. The energy problem is *caused* by the economy problems.
  5.  (1439.5)
    I'm all for this. With any luck, the wind will change and the technology can be sensibly used to weed out the nasty little authoritarian control freaks who'll grow up to be the next Blairs and Reids and Blunketts* (*substitute pretty much any other politician at will).
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      CommentAuthorJay Kay
    • CommentTimeMar 17th 2008
     (1439.6)
    Jon: How likely do you think that it's going to be us controling this thing instead of the Blairs and the Reids?
    • CommentAuthorKosmopolit
    • CommentTimeMar 17th 2008
     (1439.7)
    This actually sounds like the US Head Start program - one of the few anti-poverty programs to survive the Republican ascendancy.

    Head Start has been shown to be highly effective in improving test scores and keeping kids out of trouble with the law.
  8.  (1439.8)
    @paul
    I think (not often enough of the time - heh) that kids learn from their parents. Not exactly shocking news, I know. However, the age that folks become parents is more frequently dropping. They are pretty much still kids themselves and instill those childish values on their own kids in a weird vicious cycle of idiocy. Thats a generalisation on my part - one of my closest friends had a kid when he was eighteen and he's turned out reasonably sensible... the kid that is. For the most part though, I think that theory/reaction/whatever holds true.

    On the other hand though, teens have always been demonised by the older generations since the 50s (I think that was when the term 'teen' was first properly bandied about). It is bad out there - just not as bad as the newspapers would have us believe.
  9.  (1439.9)
    Social conditions, parents, blame everything but the obvious.

    My elder son got into trouble in his fourth year of public school when he was overheard threatening to shoot his teacher. Red Alert! I had to deal with cops and child-welfare people, and was mandated to give him "anger-management counseling." So I pulled him out of school altogether and started homeschooling him. He's not only not angry anymore, he's one of the most considerate, well-adjusted 17-year-olds you ever met.

    It's the schools that are driving our children insane. They need to be burned to the ground, and salt sewn upon the ashes.
    • CommentAuthorKosmopolit
    • CommentTimeMar 17th 2008
     (1439.10)
    Except of course that the great majority of kids in public schools are NOT insane.

    Tell you waht, if the public schools in your district are lousy (and there are plenty of excellent public shcools out there) and you're concerned abotu the problem why not join the PTA or run for the School board?
  11.  (1439.11)
    Jon: How likely do you think that it's going to be us controling this thing instead of the Blairs and the Reids?


    Just stay away from my little guttering candle of hope, yes?
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      CommentAuthortim12s
    • CommentTimeMar 18th 2008
     (1439.12)
    Woohoo! And this is EXACTLY why I plan to spawn back in London. Any government official tries to spinal-tap my kid's DNA will be wondering why flesh-eating microbes are chewing his face off, and any Teacher tries to dick with me and mine WILL get old-schooled.

    I know you can't plan on every circumstance, but dammit, why not use the Stainless Steel Rat books as guides? I just want to rear one lock-pickin', computer hackin', kung-fu fightin', free-thinking child to umm... become a child prodigy antiques collector.

    Or international art-thief.

    So long as they can beat my arse and run away from home at 15, I'll be just thrilled.
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      CommentAuthorVespers
    • CommentTimeMar 18th 2008
     (1439.13)
    @the12s

    Yes. I agree, we should all raise our children on the amazing principles of the Stainless Steel Rat, that glorious interstellar thief who... wait.

    He is cool though. The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World!

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