Tweenaged Dad

Tweenaged Dad

I have just read the article in last weekends Sunday Times about the 13 & 14 year old who have become parents.  My blood is boiling at the righteous indignation of both journalists (Daniel Foggo & Chris Gouray) and those commenting in the article.

The use of the expression “social commentators” to describe hacks and politicos is about as oxymoronic as one can get.  The constant use of the expression “Broken Britain” is the best example of a self fulfilling prophecy I can find.

Do I agree with kids becoming parents? NO.  What is the issue here?  Simple the mythical collective of hypnotics, grouped together as the moral majority, have spouted so much bile and indignation that well balanced and intelligent policy makers have bowed to the corrupting view that a lack of information is a good thing.

“If you tell the dull working class, tabloid reading, big brother watching, X factor auditioning, children about sex they will go off and do it.  Probably on the other side of your hedge.  Thus frightening the nanny, lowering the tone of the area, reducing the value of your Georgian villa, denting the Audi and require one to give some sort of statement to a lower middle class ouik in a Police Officers uniform.  They in turn will spend far too long drinking tea around your scrubbed pine kitchen table, in your contemporary style basement  bistro commenting o you Aga.”

The price of education is hassle for you.  No, not true.  The price of education is that people make decisions that cause you to question your grandfathers values.

Growing up in 21^st century Britain is not easy but then again growing up in 17^th century Britain wasn’t a walk in the park either.  More importantly neither was the Britain of the 1950’s.  The biggest single difference is speed.  Stories move around the neural net of our life a lot faster these days.  The two kids in Sussex will have parallels in the home counties of Churchill, Eden and McMillan.  Only then the story would have been covered up, the grandmother of the child may very well have assumed the mothering role, the father would have been sent to live with relatives, etc.  The child would have been put up for adoption and there would have been a general feeling of embarrassment.

In the 21^st century those options still exist, hopefully the adoption would be more sensitively handled etc.  The real difference is the avarice of the parents.  In our fame obsessed world the parents of these two kids have decided that they can make a few quid by selling their children’s story to the tabloids.

So in walks the tabloid report and off go the columnists of every other news paper winding up there readers and talking about broken Britain.  Iain Duncan Smith, shut up, you now very little, if anything about Britain and what drives those who fill the street of our town and villages, your singular lack of success at the polls tell us that.  Your brand of indignation did not resonate with your own party, the natural home of indignance, so retire gracefully and keep your own council.

Here is a great piece if policy from David Cameron, that ID-S supports.  “early intervention to break the cycle f dysfunctional families begetting further misfits”  the pompous snobbery of that statement underlines the deep disrespect for the bulk of the UK population at the heart of the Cameroon Tory party.  A group bestowed with privilege but no humility thinking that the best way to deal with the disgraceful behavior of the common people is to neuter them.  Do we live in a Hogarth cartoon or modern Britain!

Newspaper reporters and more importantly policy makers (a commitment the sloppy shoulder ranks of the HM press corp are unlikely to ever make)  need to focus on how we create a balanced and stable world for all of us to live in.

The Britain I see every day is far from broken, it has issues, it always has and it always will.  Its not perfect and I know of no magic wand which will create a perfect world.  Talking our country up would be a good start, laced with a degree of self deprecation and honesty would also help.

The message to the kids involved I this story needs to be;  Not a good move, you have done something that will have a profound affect on your life, that of your parents and your daughter.  What this life will be is uncertain but the best thing to do is to live it out of the spotlight, with no celebrity and hope that those around you, will support you through what will be difficult times.  To the parents I suggest you put the cash away for when your Granddaughter needs it and realize that your 15 minutes of fame have passed and anonymity is the way forward.

Jade Goodie may want to die as she has lived in the cauldron of Heat, Now, Hello, etc.  She was a grown up when she choose this course of action and most of those who have been the victims of her collateral damage have been equaling willing adults.

Those involved in this story are innocents, parents and grandparents alike, stay away from the flame it will burn you.

The newspapers need to move on and find some more empty, hollow and self  serving social commentators to provide toxic epithets in support of their ignorant words.

Gosh, I really am quite cross!