Why I am starting to hate Sheffield and the UK

[Highfielder 10]

Well I for certain am seriously considering moving abroad. The lack of respect in this country, a generation hell-bent on smashing up all and sundry and a constant feeling of being ripped-off (cost of goods, petrol, gas and electricity; costs of running a business and employment and then the cost of property in general) are just some things which make me consider leaving.

 

We seem to have a government that says you can have anything you want just so long as you don't work for it. If you work for it however, be prepared to lose it. A government and judicial system, no doubt controlled from Europe which for some reason is terrified of handing out decent sentences and prison terms to the law-breakers. We hear that two dangerous paedophiles have absconded, one of whom was actually allowed to roam the streets till a curfew kicked-in at 7pm. The hostel he was supposed to return to in York is situated between two main schools.

 

But what I simply fail to grasp is why so many teenagers and indeed, pre-teenagers seem so ANGRY. They seem to slouch around with a constant scowl on their face, trashing anything in their way, be it new playgrounds (they proclaimed to be 'bored'. As soon as the council gives them something, they smash it up by way of thanks). They carry knives and are prepared to use them. Teachers can't touch them, the law cannot touch them: they're free to do as they wish.

 

Some time back, around 1992 IIRC, John Major was vilified for his 'back to basics' policy. It was laughed out of parliament (as was he five years later). But all he wanted to do was to try and bring respect back into our society, beginning where it should, at home and continuing in schools. Of course, he must have realised that we didn't actually need to go back to basics; we have been careering downhill ever since (and I suppose, since before then).

 

I had a good upbringing and I learned respect from my parents, my teachers and my friends. I went to school and even when at my lowest ebb, I didn't want to insult teachers or burn the place down. When I played out, I'd go all over the place and neither myself nor my parents were overly concerned for my safety. We all knew when it was time to go home; we didn't need watches even, we just knew it was time! My friends didn't carry knives or *because we were bored* smash up bus stops or smash beer bottles and place shards in the grass in the park (something which happened recently in York. A chap walking his dog had to take evasive action when the dog's legs and arteries were cut to ribbons).

 

When we went on buses (sometimes just for something to do) we didn't rip the seats up, draw on the chair infront or try to set something alight. I'd always thank the bus driver even if he was a miserable toad. When we went shopping, if there was something I wanted it was a question of saving for it first, certainly not take it and run off.

 

We had three TV channels, no computers or ipods etc. We played outside for hours on end. We ran around and tired ourselves out. I remember playing on Hangingwater Close where we lived and my eldest brother said to me 'Cop's coming'. I thought he meant the coppers were coming and I suddenly started breathing heavily and ran to hide behind some bushes. I hadn't even done anything! But the thought of getting into trouble with the police absolutely terrified me. What my brother actually meant was 'Copp's coming' meaning Andy Copp, a friend of his, was on his way!

 

A raised voice from my dad put the wind up me. If my mum shouted for us to come in, it might take 2 or 3 attempts. But it only took one such call from my father - usually brandishing a long shoe-horn for effect - for us to go belting into the house. We had boundaries and we respected them.

 

There, it's that word again: respect. It's a dead word in this country. There are other factors for my wanting to leave, too many to mention here (except for the obvious one of getting some decent sunshine) but what really riles me is that we all know how bad things are getting here, and yet nothing ever gets done about it.

 

I fear for my girls' upbringing in a society which at least worries me and at best scares the living daylights out of me.

 

 

Amazing post and all so true

[Berberis 10]

Just found this:

 

Record number of people leave UK

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/6958220.stm

 

More people left the UK last year than in any year since 1991, statistics just released suggest. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggest that some 385,000 people left the UK for the long term in the year to mid-2006.

 

Goes to show, we are not the only ones. If 385,000 people actually made the move, just how many others are thinking about it or would but cant.

[nick2 10]

When I retire I intend to sell the house and move abroad, I think old people have a better quaility of life aborad.

[aussie paul 10]

ive spent time in usa and canada now i am living in the south west of australia,a couple of hours south of perth .Life here is not perfect but it sure beats the hell out of sheffield,Ive got the bush on my doorstep the indian ocean just over a kilometre away ,good schools and housing is not cheap but for the price of my "old box in sheffield " i get something far better.you see all the ads in the uk wanting trades over here ,but still the process to get here is costly and tough,Australian immigration is not a joke like the uk,s.In my experience you get good and bad here ,but generally you see better people.But we do see some friggin big spiders:hihi:.My advice to anybody thinking about moving downunder is to have a go you might even enjoy it

[angle20 10]

Sorry but your 1960's inference is complete rubbish, I spent my teens and early 20's in the 1960's and didn't notice any breakdown of authority eminating from the decade. We were respectful, hard working and law abiding, OK we liked a new style of music but that can be leveled at every generation.

 

Leave my fantastic 1960's alone and pick on another decade.

 

I agree with you that the 1960s itself was fine. Heartbeat is one of my favourite TV programmes.

 

The point I was getting at, however - and didn't state precisely enough - was that the origin of our present problems was in the 60s. The counter-cultural revolution produced the flower-power hippy generation: the people who have been running the country in recent years. It is these people who have helped to destroy respect for authority and who have trashed our country.

[crookesey 633]

I agree with you that the 1960s itself was fine. Heartbeat is one of my favourite TV programmes.

 

The point I was getting at, however - and didn't state precisely enough - was that the origin of our present problems was in the 60s. The counter-cultural revolution produced the flower-power hippy generation: the people who have been running the country in recent years. It is these people who have helped to destroy respect for authority and who have trashed our country.

 

If you think that Heartbeat is a true refletion of life as it was in the 60's then you are sadly mistaken. You apportion blame for our current situation on anyone who wore a flowered shirt in the 60's, this was just a passing phase, albeit a pleasant one.

 

Start looking at the likes of Thatcher, Heath, Wilson, Callaghan, Foot, Scargill and many more who are either dead or very old now and were certainly not a product of the 60's. There you will find the foundations of our current problems.

 

The 60's were a portal for anyone who wanted to live a life that had been denied their parents and grandparents. Those who appreciated how fortunate they were grew in confidence and would never again fall for the dirty tricks that were played on their parents and grandparents who had been treat as cannon fodder in two world wars.

 

Perhaps a bit of listening to the children of the 60's is in order instead of pontificating over a decade that you have no knowledge of, Heartbeat indeed.

[angle20 10]

Those who appreciated how fortunate they were grew in confidence and would never again fall for the dirty tricks that were played on their parents and grandparents who had been treat as cannon fodder in two world wars.

 

Perhaps a bit of listening to the children of the 60's is in order instead of pontificating over a decade that you have no knowledge of, Heartbeat indeed.

 

Unfortunately, crookesey, the "dirty tricks" are still alive and well, and British lads are still "cannon fodder" - in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

Btw, I have some first hand knowledge of the 60s - having been a kid in that decade.

[crookesey 633]

Unfortunately, crookesey, the "dirty tricks" are still alive and well, and British lads are still "cannon fodder" - in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

Btw, I have some first hand knowledge of the 60s - having been a kid in that decade.

 

Being a kid and not an adult only gave you a very blinkered view of the 60's. The British lads (and lasses) in Iraq and Afghanistan are there because they joined the armed services, they weren't forced into uniform, no dissrespect but it is their choice.

 

You will no more understand the 60's from a child's perspective than I can understand the 50's when I was a child, 'when I was a child I thought as a child', (who said that by the way?).

[handypandy 14]

crookesey >You will no more understand the 60's from a child's perspective than I can understand the 50's when I was a child, 'when I was a child I thought as as a child', (who said that by the way?).

 

Corinthians 13:11..... I'm not clever just googled it!

[upinwath 10]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/default.stm

 

Boy, 11, dies after pub shooting

An 11-year-old boy dies in hospital after being shot in the neck in a Merseyside pub car park.

 

A witness said the victim was one of three boys playing football when a teenager on a BMX bicycle fired three shots, one of which hit the boy.

 

Wonderful country this is turning into.

[Berberis 10]

More on the subject:

 

'No regrets about leaving the UK'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6959492.stm

[LibertyBell 10]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/default.stm

 

Boy, 11, dies after pub shooting

An 11-year-old boy dies in hospital after being shot in the neck in a Merseyside pub car park.

 

A witness said the victim was one of three boys playing football when a teenager on a BMX bicycle fired three shots, one of which hit the boy.

 

Wonderful country this is turning into.

 

Murders per 1000 population:

USA: 0.042

Australia: 0.015

UK: 0.014

 

Source