El Dano, ignore all these old codgers whinging about the 'youth of today'. For them the process of a youth breaking the law is reducible to only one thing: it is the youth that is in the wrong. Because they have not learnt to question the leaders of their communities, the media, priests and politicians their morality has been shaped by these people. Therefore 'the law' to them is concurrent with what is 'right', despite the fact that there only input into the law making process is periodically choosing which politicians gets to write the law. (The politicians have no choice to write the law on behalf of their funders (the rich) but that is another story.) They suggest someone, brought up amongst bad housing, poor services, with only the prospect of unfufilling jobs ahead of them should be punished for 'anti-social' behaviour. Does this make sense?

Being a teenager is a time when you really grow up and realise that the world isn't your oyster, it's someone else's, if you want a piece you've got to follow their orders. It is the age that it becomes apparent that all your parents', teachers' and career advisors' - the very people you respected - talk about the freedom of being an adult, being able to make your own choices, blah, blah, blah, is complete guff.

IMHO, I suggest that we need to look at the anti-social forces of inequality, hierachy and oppression that exist within 'advanced society' as much as anywhere in the world rather than bleating about the best way to make youths conform to the rules, that we have accepted.