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'Get rich culture killing hopes of young people'
Nicholas Cecil, Chief Political Correspondent14 Aug 2008
Children are turning their back on school because they fear dying before adulthood, a government minister warned today.
In a strong echo of David Cameron's depiction of Britain as a "broken society", Skills minister David Lammy said some youths in London were caught up in a "get rich or die trying" culture.
The Tottenham MP spoke out against a shocking "disregard for humanity" as he admitted crying in his advice surgery after a mother and father told him how their daughter had been gang-raped and then had acid poured over her body.
"In a 'bling' culture, criminality easily becomes a short cut to symbols of wealth and power that will otherwise take years of hard work to achieve," he wrote in an article in the New Statesman.
"Inequality plays its part, as young men from poor backgrounds feel they have the least to lose. Why, one boy asked me, was I worried about his grades at school, when he might not live long enough to get a job? This is the world of 'get rich or die trying'," he added, echoing the title of US rapper 50 Cent's smash album.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has rejected the Tory leader's claim of society having broken down.
While barrister Mr Lammy, 36, did not use this phrase, the picture he painted of social problems facing the country was alarming.
He stressed: "A resilient economy cannot substitute for a good society."
Absent fathers were a core problem which needed tackling and children also should be given more "time" by their parents and other adults to stop them going off the rails - both themes that Mr Cameron has been voicing.
But Mr Lammy, while highlighting that 59 per cent of black Caribbean children were looked after by a lone parent, rejected the Tory leader's recent focus on the responsibility of black fathers. He said: "While there may be young men on estates missing fathers who left them, there are also children in Middle Britain whose parents become strangers in a culture of long working hours."
He argued that a generation of young men were struggling to control their emotions and faced a crisis in masculine "self-image", carrying knives and guns as symbols of status. He added: ""An inability to delay gratification - whether with food, alcohol, money or sex - is becoming a hallmark of our age."
But Uanu Seshmi, co-founder of The From Boyhood to Manhood Foundation based in Peckham, believes that young people are starting to reject the gang culture and outlook.
"There is a nihilistic attitude at the moment of helplessness, hopelessness and worst of all of lovelessness," he said. "A lot of young men are moving away from that and understanding that they can take control of their lives."
Reader views (7)
The politicians at the top could make a start: they might try by setting a better impression on the young and not vote themselves massive pay rises and fiddle the expenses at every turn.
- Threaded, Roskilde, Denmark, 15/08/2008 12:01
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There is no doubt that young males in London are feeling a sense of hopelessness and a lack of direction for their lives. It is time for young men (self-responsibility), their parents, their extended families and community to be encouraged by realising the creativity power they all have within. Leadership and mentoring skills will be key elements of the turnaround process.
- Errol, Croydon, UK, 14/08/2008 22:38
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Our superficial media based culture emphasises the see it, want it, have it society of instant gratification. This type of world may be good for business but fails to satisfy many of our deeper needs such as love, security, positive self-image and a feeling of belonging to a wider community.
- Martin, London U.K., 14/08/2008 16:18
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Some people from the UK are already so badly behaved that maybe foreign countries should start to weigh up whether the economic benefits of British tourism are still outweighed by the appalling model UK's drinking louts are for other countries' children. Once all the problems are kept contained on this small island - maybe even the greedy, self-serving, non tax paying non-doms and some of the politicians, will start to notice what monsters have been created by the get rich quick UK Plc of Tony Blair and under the influence of your little US friends. State run TV should go back to force-feeding us culture instead of lousy soaps and inane entertainment, same applies to the press... When on top of this all the environmental woes we have created by wanting to get richer and richer will start to come home to roost, I guess we could see cannibalism appear in this oh so civilised land. Or as many as possible could do what Voltaire said: we must cultivate our garden. Get young people out there planting veg in amongst flowers in the parks. There must be some green spaces available in Tottenham or Peckham. Also teach them martial arts, the art to defend themselves without weapons. Martial arts taught properly come hand in hand with discipline and respect. One learns to only use own's skills in self-defence.
- Esther Phillips, Leatherhead, 14/08/2008 15:49
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I think Mr.Lammy is spot on. Too many parents think their responsibility is to provide holidays, trainers and 2nd cars rather than quality time with their children. Children will only learn society's values if they see them in action they can not simply be told about them.
- Mark, London, UK, 14/08/2008 14:13
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What on earth is a "skills" minister? Does he teach football tricks?
- A Purpose, London, 14/08/2008 13:02
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"Inequality plays its part"
Inequality plays its part? It is all about inequality: What do cities are areas with the highest crime rates - Glasgow, Brixton, Hackney - have in common? Poverty, lack of opportunities and unemployment.
And the areas with the lowest crime rates - Chelsea, Hampstead, the home counties? Wealth and high employment rates.
This is a direct correlation. No-one can argue this. When you have poor schools in the area, few real opportunities, when you are isolated from good schools and a safe environment, it is a recipe for disaster.
But there is one problem if everyone recognises poverty and inequality is the key: It means people would have to accept that the only solution is massive financial investment. And that means one thing: higher taxes and a redistribution of money and resources.
Subconsciously - or sadly even consciously - people make other excuses ("they can try harder", "it's some other reason"), because they know this is the only realistic solution.
I am middle class. I lived in an area with opportunities. I went to a good state school. When my grades slipped - and it risked my chances to get into a top university - my parents hired a private tutor to ensure this did not happen.
I wholeheartedly believe that it is not patronising to suggest we give money to those that need it, to those that do not have the opportunities I did. It is necessary. And if it brings down crime, then ultimately it benefits us all.
- Kieran, London, UK, 14/08/2008 12:35
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