Quote Originally Posted by Staurm
I just had some young lad, couldn't have been older than 14, squaring up to me at the bus stop in town, cocky little bastard he was.

I mean I'm not the hardest bloke in the world, but I'm fairly well built, and this little fucker decides to try be a wise guy with me, a fully grown man!

There I am heading for the timetable to check next bus time, and he's standing there with his growler, he doesn't go oh sorry or just moves a step to the side out of my way as any decent human being would - instead just stands there about 2 feet from me staring at me. So I give him a bit of a what the fuck look for a second and carry on checking the times. What's that you got there he says, and starts pointing at my walking stick. A stick, I reply. He screws his face up, "A stick?, what like did you make it like?". Slightly taken aback by the young man's attitude, he starts touching my stick, and I'm thinking, what the fuck's it got to do with you you little shit... Reticently I respond, ... well I painted it... meaning I found it and varnished it up nice. "Painted it?!", he screws his face up at me again. So I'm kind of starting to wonder where all this is leading and I'm looking for an opportunity to kind of leave the scenario whilst retaining some kind of dignity, I'm not about to be made to look like a fool by a young man like him, nor am I prepared to risk a family feud or worse going to prison for assaulting a minor back, I wonder if I might be justified in telling him to go and mind his own fucking business or i'll be forced to give him a clip round the ear hole.

Then his sister jumps in with a some defusivity and foresight. Is your stick for helping you to walk better in the moss and that when you are hill walking? Erm..... Yes, that's why I carry it, I reply. I sensed she knew from experience that her brother was slightly prone to psychotic reaction, having probably been brought up feeling the heavy hand of his drunken father on a regular basis. A few more belligerent comments are tiraded at me from the young man, so just I ask the young girl the time and politely say good day to them and walk on.

What the fuck are you supposed to do in situations like that? Probably what I did, but hell what the fuck is going on with the young lads of today, even the scrottiest tough nut ruffians in my class at school when I was that age would NEVER have squared up to an adult like this young man did. They know they can get away with it, this is the problem, and something ought to be done.

I'm don't want to give the younger gen a hard time, this young guy is obviously from a very fucked up family background, but they are just like granted this free rein to act like young tyrants.

The part of Scotland where I come from has the highest rate of herion abuse in the country, I think also Europe, with something like 7% of 17-25 year olds having a serious problem. On top of that its a child abuse hot spot, some of the ways I see parents treating their kids in the supermarket is shocking.

This country is going to the dogs.



You handled that better than i could have ever handled it.

Kids are so damn cocky - and they want to start a fight. They dont seem to grasp that we only have to slap them and they'd be on the floor crying for mummy. But we cant - coz then we'll get nicked. Every aspect of it is fucked.

I admit though - if some little kid started trying to provoke me i'd wipe the stupid little grin off his face.