To think this response was absolutely batshit to someone showing concern?!

[WoahHeyThere]

So we have a community page where people mostly post about lost cats, why the police helicopter is out, homeless people begging outside the local shop etc. Last night this woman (who appears to be a neighbour but I don't know her personally) posted something and the response was just absolutely mental and I can't believe some of the comments. She deleted the post in the end I assume because there was just too much stupid on one post.

Basically the long and short of it is, there are some garages down the bottom of one of the cul-de-sacs, there's about 10 and I'd say 8 out of 10 have asbestos roofs. I own one of them but cannot see them from my house (mine is not asbestos). She commented that there were a group of kids running around on the roofs, then jumping off them into a large skip that is full of rubbish and old broken bits of wood and fence panels (belongs to a local fencing guy who rents one of the garages). She was clearly wanting to make the parents aware incase one of them broke an arm/leg/their neck, and the tone of the post was not really a complaint/moan iyswim. Though she later replied to someone else that they were staring into her house and told her to fuck off when she told them to get down.

Well...I can't remember all that was said but in came the posts such "kids can't do nothing these days" "it's just kids being kids leave them to it" "they're not your kids so why you bothered" "leave them alone at least they're not out stabbing and robbing people" "back in the day we used to do stupid shit like that all the time, broke my leg but I'm still alive to tell the tale". There were obviously more sensible people like myself that saw the actual concern and commented in support but the above comments definitely outweighed them.

AIBU to think some people are lacking in the common sense department?! In what world is kids running around on asbestos roofs that they could fall through and jumping into a skip full of old wood that might have old rusty nails poking out, just "kids being kids". I'm absolutely baffled.

In the world of 'I can't be bothered to parent my kids' I suppose. I've seen the same batshittery on our local Facebook. Kids riding off road motorbikes round residential areas at high speed should apparently be allowed to do so because there's nothing for them to do.

I agree with you, obviously, but some people just seem to think as long as their kids are out of their hair it's not their problem.

I would suggest she call the non emergency line in the future, she clearly isn't going to get any sense from that community page. Same people will be complaining of the child does break a limb or worse though.

In all honesty, I've been shocked at just how thick some people on these fb local pages really are. I think if you don't associate with them IRL, it can be a shock to realise just how stupid and ignorant large swathes of the public are.

Yes indeed yellowmaoampinball. Clearly the children's parents are of the same mind.

Our has had much of the same in the past, there was a period of time where the kids on mopeds were a big problem and the posts were almost daily. There is always a select few who supported them and suggested they were doing nothing wrong.

Yet the page is full of "Could be nothing but saw this person doing (completely non-suspicous) thing, keep you're wits about you"

Someonesayroadtrip the old man who owns the land around the garages came round and told us he's putting up gates as it's been an ongoing problem (I didn't know cos I can't see the garages from my house) but he did mention the police were called but the kids had gone by then.

formerbabe I actually work for a service taking phone calls from the public so I know full well how stupid some people can be, but there is always some one more stupid than the last that surprises you

Many estates up and down the country with kids and parents/communities who take these views.

I agree that kids cant do anything anymore without complaint, and yet if they spend all day on screens, people complain then too.

On one of our community groups in the holidays it was constant about teenagers doing wheelies in the road and swimming in the river and swearing too much. People were on about getting police involved.

if those kids get hurt, theyll soon learn

There was a trend in the town I grew up where teenagers would ride bikes on the road or pavement and suddenly and deliberately swerve in front of cars forcing the car to do an emergency stop. Someone commented that this had happened to her as she was driving and she had narrowly avoided hitting the kid. She was shaken up and commented that a less observant driver would have hit the kid. The tone of the post was concern for the teenagers and other drivers as it's obviously going to cause an accident. She asked people to make sure their teenagers weren't involved in doing this.

Even under that post people were berating her for 'having a go at kids for being kids'. Absolute madness.

I agree that kids cant do anything anymore without complaint, and yet if they spend all day on screens, people complain then too.

Surely there's plenty for kids to do which don't involve climbing on other people's rooves and jumping into skips. If my kid was doing this I'd want to be aware and I'd stop them.

I also don't see how swearing and aggressive behaviour is necessary. Surely we can give our kids freedom while also teaching them basic manners and courtesy.

Branleuse as I said she actually wasn't complaining, she wanted the parents to know incase one of them got hurt! Surely you can see that what they were doing was not just kids being kids and there was a serious risk of them getting hurt or even worse killed? I'd also agree doing wheelies in the road is extremely dangerous and we've had similar posts on our page too, they're just asking to get knocked over.

My friends dad, an experienced roofer lost his footing and fell head first off a single story roof and died instantly.

Yes they will soon learn and if they get hurt it's their own fault but there is nothing wrong with showing a bit of concern. I would have wanted to know of that was my kids and I'd have told them how bloody stupid they were if it were.

There was an awful one on my local Facebook page; I honestly think some people just post to be nasty, a lady was complaining about electric scooters after one nearly knocked her down on the pavement and she got loads of abuse and told she needed to get her eyes tested, it was her fault for being in the way, Told to go to spec savers etc they were just completely laughing at her and ripping her to shreds.

People on local Facebook groups can be the absolute worst! It’s like all the reasonable people get driven away leaving only the people who give bizarre responses. I’ve often found though that the first reply sets the tone - it might have gone differently if the first reply was a more measured one.

Yes! HandfulofDust we had very similar posts on our page too! Even videos and photos of some of the incidents and then they were called peados for taking photos of other people's kids?! What the hell?!

That is so true JeanClaudeVanDammit the first comment was "kids can't do nothing these days" and the rest came pouring in. Like I said there was some people who saw the concern/dangers but it was mostly people berating her.

Givemeabreak88 that's so horrible! Poor woman!

it can be a shock to realise just how stupid and ignorant large swathes of the public are.

I think this every time there's a general election.

Some people's reactions are so strange yea 'kids can be kids 'and do dangerous things but she was only trying to warn parents then at least they had the choice of whether to allow their child to carry on. Something similar on our town page last week - a woman had driven past the skate park and seen kids starting fires . She was told if she had time to post on fb she had time to call the police , she didn't realise kids weren't angels she obviously wasn't a mother , they were having fun etc . It was disgusting the way people were having a go at her !

I agree that kids cant do anything anymore without complaint

You must realise that's absolutely nonsense, right?

SapphosRock I think this Covid situ has also proved that! 🤣

I think sometimes if it doesn't directly involve/affect people they like to have these really obscure/controversial opinions, whereas I bet if that was their own kids doing that then they would not be thinking that they were "just having fun"

I think some people are becoming defensive precisely because people moan about everything kids do. It means it isnt taken as seriously when someone expresses rightful concern.

I remember doing all sorts of feral things as a child when we all had the free run of our estate. People would be horrified now. I think a lot of people forget what their own childhood was like, because in the 80s that wouldnt have even raised eyebrows.

I'd let them get on with it. If they are injured it's a few less stupid in society, isn't it.

We have a very similar situation on our FB page, and lots of posts defending kids who ride off-road motorbikes on footpaths and green spaces, with no helmet, licence, tax etc.

It’s fine, according to their parents apparently, because ‘they’ should ‘provide some land for them to ride on’ if they don’t want them to ride on the park. I told them I would absolutely support their campaign and fundraising drive to by some land, set it up and employ someone to run it, and asked them when they were going to start fundraising and they all went quiet.

I'm sure the parents would be quick to complain and get their compo claims going if their kids did get hurt 🙄

Just goes to show how lax most parents were back in the 70s/80s then Branleuse and that so many people are still alive to tell the tale.

I also think she was concerned about them falling through her own garage roof and damaging her stuff...surely that's also a legitimate concern?
Although my roof is not asbestos it's still quite flimsy and they could have fallen through, I'd be very annoyed of my roof and stuff was damaged.

Elizaaa yes exactly I'm sure they would be. And probably refuse to pay for any damage caused by their little cherubs.