god I'm getting old, found myself agreeing with India Knight

[Blandmum]

Read her in the Sunday Times....I usualy find myself hissing and spitting with rage but found myself agreeing with her!

Can Disgusted Tumbridge Wells be far away from me, I ask myself.

She was decrying the actions of some teenagers who use Halloween as an excuse to threaten and extort money, and why we shouldn't be excusing their bad behaviour by saying they are 'deprived'

Sigh, I'm getting old.

well, if it helps I agree with the first part of the sentence.

the second part always annoys me though - a root cause is not the same as an excuse.

i didn't think you had to be poor to be in your teens in a hoodie extorting money from vulneralbe people at halloween.

have not read article

Quite, she sorta made the point. The bits i found myself agreeing with was when she found herslef excusing the behaviour and then thinkinh, 'hang on....'

i solves that dilema with tangerines - good people will be thankful - bad people wont - therefore didn't deserve anything anyway.

i think that there isn't always a deliberate thought around intimidation with teenagers- they usually just want a bit of a laugh.

had to explain this to my 15 year old - that actually hes quite big - he has to be aware of himself - and if someone like him came knocking at my door in a hoody and a mask. then i wouldnt see the amusement. i would be scared.

he saw my point - but was mightily pissed off he couldnt go trick o treating.

its a funny age where they still want to do kiddie stuff whilst proporting to be an adult

but then i always wonder what i will do when they have all left home - i will have no one to hide behind when i want to get dressed up trick o treating - or go doen the curly water slide on holiday!

The teenagers she was talking about push a woman into her hallway and shouted 'Give us some fucking money, bitch'

IKs sil dashed over and yelled at them to go away and they did.

Very nasty

yep thats assault

I agreed with it as well (but then I agree with her surprisig often- we have a special bond after she wrote a scathing article about giving birth "naturally" with aromatherapy candles etc 2 days after ds1 was born by emergency c-section )

i always agree with her

Well, it's bleedin obvious that nobody thinks teenagers attacking old people is a good idea! It's scarcely controversial, surely?

It was more the part where she found herself trying to explain away the bad behaviour to her children and then thought, 'Hang about we are the victims in this situation'

She said, 'In my youth I would have felt flooding waves of compassion for these awful children. Last weeks as I explained to my children that people who have horrible lives sometimes can't help being horrible themselves and that we should feel sorry for the yobs rather than cross, I realised that I didn't believe a word of it. I wished I still had my baseball bat because I would have used it'

Now I'd draw the line at the baseball bat (as I rather think she would too and felt this was dramatic licence ) but I knew what she felt like.

Really? WOuld she - or you - have said that? I wouldn't! I'd have said that they were wrong and mean and we should be kind to each other and not hurt each other.

I often find myself agreeing with India Knight, even though I have a feeling I wouldn't like her in person. Is there no hope for me?

OH for sure, now I would, but when I was younger I was a bleeding heart type

I'm more of a hard arse now!

You know the old quote, "every step past 20 is a slow steady march to the right!" March on ladies!

I found myself justifying Guy Fawkes to DD1 yesterday. Suspect I still have a way to go