14 March 2007

YouTube of YouTube as teeny drinking meets the mainstream

| johnboy
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[First filed: March 12, 2007 @ 23:14]

WIN has picked up the teeny drinking around Skyfire and has elicted some interesting responses from the police.

Now, a couple of points I’m confused about:

1) If I owned a 20 year old bottle of scotch and my child was apprehended with it empty, drunken, and in public I personally would be intensely interested in notification from the police that this theft had occurred.

2) Since when did a small number of arrests indicate adequate policing? Surely adequate policing of thousands of drunken youths should lead to thousands of arrests, not three?

3) Our own reader feedback suggests that private security guards were all that stood between spectators and violent assault. Is this adequate policing?

UPDATED: *WOW* we’ve really started something here, check out all the national media this story is getting now. Just remember, you saw it here first.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Some comment from regular readers I thought worthy of more attention include J Dawg’s observation:

“Myself and 7 other friends (3 females) were minding our own business, making our way to the general area of stage 88, when a young guy approached us. He asked if we had any smokes, to which we replied no, and then he proposed a fight. “Wanna fight?” he said, to which we replied “No thanks”. He then asked again for some smokes, which we didn’t have, and he then proposed a fight with his cousin. “Want to fight my cousin then?”. We started to ignore them, until they ganged up on one of my friends, at which point we summoned a near by security guard to help keep these idiots away. Two security guards came over, kept the fighters distracted as we made our way back to the carpark. A few minutes later they appeared again, this time shouting louder and appearing more drugged up. We kindly asked two other security guards to stop them from getting to our car, and more security was summoned to help. They obviously had their limitations on dealing with these hoodlums, but what they did in keeping them away was more then enough. As we left Regatta Point we saw even more young people fighting.”

Also schmerica_ had this to add [Although it turns out it was from 2003 and not this year]:

I had a similar experience as you J Dawg… 5 guys and 4 girls minding our buisness then out of the blue 10 – 15 guys appeared and accused us of calling some random chick a slut or something. 5 minutes later there were 20 + of them surrounding the 9 of us with no police and no security. I’ll just say we spent the rest of the night in the emergency department.

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Bring Back

* Cops liberty to give the kid a kick up the arse, drag the little shit/shitress by the ear back home or straight to the lockup for a couple of hours with a big fat arsed seargent screaming at them scaring the living shit out of them to never do it again.

* Teachers ability to discipline kids, It all starts there but these days the kids are taught that they have rights but no responsability, basically telling them to do what the hell they want but no one can touch them back… How many kids these days can say they went and compared strap marks on their arse out the back of the demountables with their mate…

It’s a sad and sorry tale of youth today.. With 5 boys of my own, I try to instill every good virtue into them… but still, if they stole my scotch…

GOD (if there is one) HELP THEM..

Canberra = Boganville…bored, drunken middle-class teenage yobs with no future.

Interesting to see that one of the local TV stations was running the You-Tube footage – naturally without referencing its source.

Shock Horror

Ingeegoodbee6:29 am 14 Mar 07

Interesting to see that one of the local TV stations was running the You-Tube footage – naturally without referencing its source.

If fighting doesn’t impress girls, then what does? Import cars? Doof-doof music? Wearing pants around the ankles?

im just hoping that they pick a fight with a skinny guy who is a blackbelt in a form of martial arts, and they get their head kicked in. Maybe that way they will learn.

You see, that is really not how it works. Because in reality, Canberra is so small and everyone seems to know everyone. They are bound to just track the guy down, bring along 10 of his closest mates and pick a fight with him then just to get revenge.

What gets me is that these guys somehow think that fighting attracts and impresses the girls. I can’t count the amount of times I’ve been chatting some some guy and he starts a sentence with ‘This one time, when I was in a fight…’ NEWSFLASH – Most chicks don’t dig that. Any guy who thinks that punching someone else is the way to solve a problem really isn’t worth my time.

And Thumper, thanks for your concern, but this was a few years back… 2003 perhaps? But thank you, anyway 🙂

justbands ..nope.. but i know the guy you speak of. And yes, he’s an axe.

They’re too busy handing out rate cards

Maybe Johnboy’s goons???

Here’s my prediction: coming to a scene near you – New York “Guardian Angel”-style vigilante squads with the goal of ‘educating’ these worms.
Not saying that’s a good thing, but it’ll happen…

I reckon the difference between now and ‘back in my day’ is that ‘in public’ is no longer just the immeadiate vicinity, but due to gadgetry, ones’ actions can be seen around the world.
So now when teens do what teens do, namely write themselves off on dubious concoctions, it is very visible to all and sundry.
But that said, and having seen the mob at the National Library, some walkthoughs by the constabulary, instead of hanging down at flynn drive away from it all (yet within earshot) would have settled them down a bit. It was merely yobbish stuff I saw there, and apparently the agro came a little later……but thanks to them, it appears that next year may be a dry affair.

I have a (work) mate who had the same thing happen to him a few weeks back at PJs Tuggers. Him & his brother, both pretty solid guys too…but sheer weight of numbers got the better of them. Same person perhaps realityskin?

Fighting is going crazy. Go down to PJs at Tuggers on a Friday night. There are groups of 18-19 year olds picking fights. A mate of mine got picked a few weeks back, 2 hits to the head then bam, there were 10 on him.

Fighting is pointless, it’s expensive and time consuming to get hurt, time to invest in tasers 😀

When I underage drank – we used to walk around the suburbs of Kaleen or Giralang – going from friends house to house – or sit under a storm water bridge – or start a small campfire at the “footyspot” or the “Willow Tree”.

Usually there was more than a dozen of us – but we would all just shit talk – tell jokes and generally have fun. I think the worst thing we could have been accused of was urinating in public.

The Kids today scare me (I am 29) – I walk around in dark places in town taking photos with 2500 dollars worth of camera gear – not to mention wallet and mobile – It shits me that I have to watch my back in order to enjoy my hobby.

Worst thing that could have happened 12 to 15 years ago is someone pissin on your leg.

Now if you walk past someone the wrong way you could end up in the ER – kind of fucked if you ask me.

This is why I now entertain (read get drunk) in my own home.

I choose the company – the vibe – the music (live or otherwise) and I wont get a knife in my kidney for looking at someone.

Couldnt agree more Al. My friends and I never tried to pick fights with anyone, even when we did indulge in a little bit of underage drinking. At the risk of sounding old, some kids have no respect for their elders, or anyone for that matter. im not referring to all kids, because as usual its the minority who spoils it for the majority

VYBerlinaV8 now_with_added grunt1:13 pm 13 Mar 07

When I was a teen and we got on the turps the focus seemed to be more on telling grotty jokes, starting fires in metal garbage bins and generally running away laughing if anyone turned up. Going and deliberately picking fights with others just wasn’t an option (possibly because 15 years ago if you did this the person you picked would smack your head into the ground a few times, and all around would smile sagely…).

“high school kids have been underage drinking at events like this for years.”

That may well be the case, and I’m likely as guilty as most others, BUT what we did NOT do was:

“Tons of kids these days get all liquored up and then head out into the city to pick fights with strangers for no good reason.”

Things are changing – not for the better. No wonder people are getting upset.

JB wrote: “I have a problem with security guards not having the powers to properly deal with the situation”

‘a constable, OR OTHER PERSON, may, without warrant, apprehend any person in the act of committing or immediately after having committed any offence…’ was the start of the powers of arrest that provides for anyone – copper or citizen or anyone in between – to step in and stop a crime or offence from occurring, when in a past life i was a plod… i assume it still is.

maybe the security guards should be better trained before they are licenced to operate?

the question then is – should the police be able to rely upon security guard presence at these sort of events? and just how far should that reliance stretch?

i saw no police presence on the southern side, near the gallery.
Of course, with the sole exception of the single officer (very badly) directing traffic. It took us an hour to get home… what would normally be a 15 minute drive.

Tons of kids these days get all liquored up and then head out into the city to pick fights with strangers for no good reason. Its the whole reason i now do my drinking anywhere but the city. Johnboy is right, they have no fear of repercussions anymore, and no respect for authority. im just hoping that they pick a fight with a skinny guy who is a blackbelt in a form of martial arts, and they get their head kicked in. Maybe that way they will learn.

I did notice with much amusement while waiting for a bag of donuts 2 police officers supervising the pouring of between 12 and 16 cans of woodstock and cola in to a wheelie bin. The look on the faces of the 3 blokes doing the pouring was priceless and I wish I had a camera

Well the Age was describing bottles being thrown at police.

Kids have always done sly drinking but the aim is to have some fear of repercussions to keep it sly.

That would seem to no longer be the case.

neanderthalsis10:04 am 13 Mar 07

What normal thinking adult would willingly give a child a 20 year old bottle of whisky? They would be lucky to get a $20 bottle of VAT 69 from most grown ups. Sounds like the child in question made a raid upon daddies drinks cabinet.

If I had a kidlet that swiped a 20yo bottle of my Laphroiag or something similar to get drunk in public and make a nuisance of themselves I would want them charged. It would teach the little buggers a lesson.

high school kids have been underage drinking at events like this for years.
I wasn’t at skyfire but my immediate thoughts are that this is being blown way out of proportion.
They were going on about it on 104.7 this morning and everyone was up on their high horse blaming someone else for the drunk kids.
Its gonna happen, it always does.
Was anyone seriously hurt? no – whats all the drama about then?
As for the Youtube video – I am sure fights like that could be filmed at Fri/Sat night and therefore isn’t because of the skyfire event.

Yep, saw this first on RA. Keep up the good work, JB.

It’s not a theft if there is no complainant.

WHOA! Just hauled in the implications of this.

If his is how police operate we should change it immediately.

If someone is obviously in unlawful possession of my property I would appreciate the opportunity to make a complaint.

1) The presence of the 20 year old bottles of scotch was being presented as an implied argument that the children were drinking with parental consent and thus were not a police problem. I would argue that owners of 20 year old bottles of scotch would like that stolen property returned along with the thief.

2) My point is that saying “their were only 3 arrests” as a defence of policing levels is not logically viable for the same reasons you present.

3) I don’t have a problem with security guards being used, I have a problem with security guards not having the powers to properly deal with the situation that’s been reported by readers I consider to be reliable. And then see point 2 where the small numbers of arrests are used as proof there was no problem.

1) It’s not a theft if there is no complainant. How many parents would make a complaint of minor theft against their own child?

2) Your logic implies that if there are thousands of people in Civic on a Saturday night and say 20 people get locked up then the same should happen at Skyfire? Again a ratio of arrests versus drunken stupitidy?

3) I’m sure that the ACT Govt used security guards at Skyfire like they do at the PMs XI and other public events. If they used the last few years statistics as a base then I am sure that they thought the numbers were suitable.

Please don’t confuse me with the boffins who spout the lines you have an issue with, but where is the deception? The “shut up”? Where is the “you don’t matter enough to me so I don’t want to hear it”?

How about some honesty from police in front of the media instead of the garbage being spouted in that clip?

I’m not having a pop at the police on the ground, I’m having a pop at the crap we’re expected to swallow from the top of the pile.

Have you got an answer to any of my questions? Or are you just going to give us that great police line of “shut up you peasants”.

I think with the second point, the police are claiming that there were sufficient officers around to act as a deterent. Because most people were therefore deterred from being a dickhead the police only had to arrest the three that weren’t. Sorta, kinda makes sense. Maybe.

Johnboy,

Define adequate Policing? No doubt you’ll have a ratio or something similar to quantify adequate? Where does the line get drawn? Ok, so if there is a crowd of 10,000 Police should lock up between 3% to 5% to be effective? I’m all for it, if it works…. snivel libs wont like it too much though.

Where do you propose to place the thousands of arrested youths? We’ll need a larger holding facility and lots of buckets for the weaker stomaches!

Why not turn this around and have the parents made more responsible for the actions of their little darlings… or their teachers? (The line has been cast…)

How about looking at the real problem not just trying to lay the fault at the feet of the Police every time Billy or Sally gets pissed and acts like we all did all those years ago.

VYBerlinaV8 now_with_added grunt8:46 am 13 Mar 07

Seems to me to be a question of resourcing. Perhaps what is needed is a large holding area that can be managed by a few police and private security guards into which drunken youths are put. Their parents can then be called, and have to physically present themselves to retrieve their ‘child’.

If my kid took one of my good bottles of grog, it wouldn’t be the cops he would be scared of.

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