In reply to Shane, I would like to say that you have missed the point completely. What you are suggesting is to mitigate the effects of a problem instead of solving the problem itself. In effect, you are saying to frustrated the youth, “suck it up and teach others to suck it up.” You say that the youth should empower themselves through the system to solve problems, but did it ever occur to you that the youth cannot empower themselves? Can you go to college when you are 16? no. Can you vote? no. Even so, this doesn’t provide sufficient empowerment to do anything meaningful–no offense to college graduates registered to vote. At least the B-Brigade have empowered themselves in a respect that you may never equal. They have created an underground movement that projects onto public spaces. I’d say they have empowered themselves so much more than going to college can do for anyone.
I will agree with your comment that destructive behavior will only make enemies with the authorities. However, I think we diverge in our ideas of what destructive is anyways. What the B-Brigade do is actually creative. Consider the number of teenagers who kill their classmates, who kill each other by driving recklessly. Think about teenagers who feel compelled to hide their sexual desires or want of social acceptance because our patronizing society will not accept it from them at their age. Consider the effect that has. How many people do you think have social problems and suffer from depression? So many that it should be considered normal instead of abnormal in our society.
Furthermore, the problem isn’t stopping someone from committing suicide. It is the process by which suicide comes about. I’d wager you didn’t grow up in a repressed urban/suburban area. Actually, DC probably has it better than most communities since the police actually have jobs to do there. In most suburban communities, the reality of a police state is quite apparent as the youth are punished for asserting independence during a transitional period in their lives. The US has taken a completely opposite road as the Europeans have in dealing with adolescence, and it reflects on how poorly we (the US) understand and deal with the developmental psychology of adolescence.
I’d like to outline some policies which Europe has implemented which better allow the youth to come into their independence and responsibilities quicker and why this has made the youth in those countries substantially happier and healthier:
1. Age to drink beer and wine 16, Hard liquor 18. The most likely response from an American audience is that such a policy would lead to alcoholism and delinquency. This is far from the truth. In Europe, you can drink earlier, which also means you can go to bars and clubs at an earlier age. As a teen in America, you do not have the option of being openly independent. Most parents frown upon their teenage children staying out late at night. Rightly so, because since there is nothing to do, most teens find reckless things to do instead, like e.g. racing cars, congregating in parking lots, drinking in someone’s garage–which always ends up in someone driving drunk. If you let the youth drink at an early age and go to bars or dance clubs, you let them assert their independence in a controlled environment without being reckless. Additionally, this teaches the youth responsibility with alcohol at an accelerated rate while letting them be social and congregate with others their age.
2. There is a caveat to drinking at an earlier age. In Europe you cannot drive until you are 18. This makes sense of course, because if you are experimenting with alcohol you shouldn’t be driving. However, by the time you can drive, one already knows how to be responsible with alcohol. By contrast, our system lets you become a good driver first, and then lets you fuck it up when you are allowed to drink at 21. And even still, I would wager that most youth in America drink before 21 anyways and risk doing it secretly while driving around.
3. The ability to transport yourself makes you independent. In Europe, since you cannot drive until 18, they have one thing we do not have–that we would stand to benefit greatly from for other reasons–they have a massive public transit system. This allows young people to transport themselves freely without the need to drive anywhere in a car. I’d say everyone in society would benefit from such infrastructure, since even adults have problems with getting to and from a bar. But the youth stand to benefit much more, because they don’t need to rely on Mom or Dad to take them places. They can feel free to test their independence and make their own choices–what to do, where to go, who to meet. In America, you can drive anywhere you want, but there is nowhere to go. And if there is a place to go, it is most likely not a controlled location. The result is delinquency.
4. The age of sexual consent is staggered. At age 14 one can get with a 14 year old and a 15 year old. At 16 one can get with a 15, 16, or 17 year old. At 16 the range goes from 15 to 18, and at 18 one is good to go. I think many Americans might fear such a thing, thinking the youth would have wild orgies and teenage sex would be widespread. In fact, this isn’t the case. In Europe, more sexual freedom allows the youth to understand themselves and their sexuality at an age when they should be able to get to know themselves better. Our society still represses sexuality and refuses to let the youth engage in sexual conduct unless it is out of the public’s vision. Think about the shame the youth feel when they do something they are biologically capable and mature to do. Think about what sort of effect this has on teenage pregnancy and the desire to hide one’s shame through such acts as abortion. I agree that sex education is the best tool to fight teenage pregnancy. But sex education fails to take into account that teenagers simply aren’t allowed to engage in sexual conduct. It is shunned upon. Changing our statutory standard would help free society a bit from its self imposed Freudian prison.
The end result of teenage independence is a well rounded individual with no social anxiety and a way to be independent from parents and the patronizing aspects of society while building trust with them through exercising their newfound independence in a responsible manner. In America, if you try to do something that someone your age is doing in Europe, even if you think you are doing it responsibly, you get the smack down. That is a fact.
No wonder our youth is killing itself.
Shane, your ideas have been tried, and they have failed. Thinking up better policies is a good plan of course, but in the meantime, our youth are repressed, and they will and must express their frustrations with their condition. At least B-Brigade is being creative. I see in them the brilliance and ingenuity that most artists of great movements have expressed (expressionism, postmodernism, etc. as is made manifest in their works of art, literature, and film). I see talented individuals doing as they should. You might think they are being destructive, but you are wrong- dead wrong.

I’m going to have to agree with Elm on this one. Let’s roll, shall we?

Im from the UK and well, to be honest, i hear what you’re saying. Youth today is often repressed and victimised, when one teen kills someone it is classed as the act of a violent yob. The newspapers have a field day, bringing up articles on the dissocaiton of todays youth on the problems we have of our lack of respect for other things. What no one seems to realise is that to many of us respect is just a word, no one shows us it, so we dont show it to other people. This resistence thing seems to be going in the right direction with that, we need to draw attention to the fact that we’re rebelling against something which is unjust and a system which is flawed. The few who cause crimes cause a bad name for those who dont or who commit lesser crimes, this creates a social stereotype and screws us all over big time, if you can get out ther and get all our voices heard, then you will be remembered. If you can create this resistence and make it work it wont be long before it snowballs all over the world and into the news properly, i just hope it reaches the UK before its too late

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Subdub,
I’m curious if you could shed some light on the alcoholism and teen pregnancy issues in the UK. A Scotish friend told me about neds, which somehow accurately portrays the image of both teen alcohol abuse and teen pregnancy problems–in my mind at least. I actually should have acknowledged that there are still some problems in Europe and that of course my solution is not an end all solution.
But having grown up also in the United States, I think this is a serious issue since the population that is repressed has no voice and when heard, is too easily dismissed.

spread peace
spread love
when it comes to violence
fly like a dove