Friday 6 June 2008

A Horror Story (A Victor Meldrew moment!!)



We live on a fairly rough estate in the North East of England. It wasn't always this way, I grew up here as did my wife, and our reasons for buying a house here ten years ago were so she could be close to her mother, but also because we have happy childhood memories of the area. That was then. What follows is the now:- (I make no apology for the censored version below!)
A conversation overheard outside our house a few days ago:

"What did you do that for you stupid f***ing c**t?"
"I didn't."
"Don't f***ing lie to me or I'll f***ing batter you. You nicked our Kelsey's f***ing lager, didn't you?"
"I f***ing didn't, you stupid old c**t!"

And so it went on, for about ten minutes, right outside our house. What is horrific about this conversational gem is that it took place between a mother and her child, the child was about five or six years old, the mother about twenty, and the conversation took place at around 11:30pm.

What's more, the mother was drunk.

I could lie and say that this sort of occurrence was unusual, but I'm afraid it's not - it is the norm around here. I see it every day (and night) and I see more and more of it. Parents who are still at school, 'caring' for the offspring they got whilst drunk, or in order to get a council property that they could mess up along with the rest of their lives, children who have to grow up so quickly so that they can fend off their parents. It saddens me, and it scares me.

What is worse than all of this is that nobody says anything - no one dares to confront these people for fear of the backlash, not even the police or community wardens who, if we complain to them about antisocial behaviour (and we used to) tell us we have to be tolerant of those in a worse off position than us - I'M the one who's worse off!!! THEY live the life of Riley on MY taxes, and whilst I'm out working all day, they slob around in their filthy hovels (complete with all the latest technical gadgetry that I couldn't possibly afford) only venturing out to sign on, or go shopping with their milk tokens and my money (taxes) buying enormous cheap gold earrings and the latest sports shell suits and Reebok trainers, and then at night, when I want to settle down, out they come with their incomprehensible music(?), cheap lager or cider, foul mouths and even fouler attitudes.

It may sound like I'm on the verge of a nervous breakdown letting all this stuff get to me (or perhaps I'm turning into a Tory!!) - I assure you I'm not, it's just that at times I have to write down what I see around me and note how it makes me feel - otherwise I probably would 'snap' through the injustice of it all!!

Tolerance, my ar*e!! (Vicky Pollard image courtesy of the BBC)

1 comment:

j said...

It scare me too. What a terrible story. We see the same thing here in the States. Just breaks the heart, doesn't it.

But there is hope... we still care.

Be blessed,

Jennifer