Yep, kids not allowed to be kids these days!
They are too soft and handled like cotton wool!
I always hated cabbage and I will never forget my mother not letting me up from the table until I finished every bit of it after she had cooked it for me even though I was physically wreching from it! An hour later it was stone cold on the plate as I struggled to finish it! When I did I was told....."Good Boy!"
These days the kids dictate to the parents whats for dinner or what they want to eat.
Thats the type of stuff that has children as social misfits these days. We then grew up with moral values, respect for authority, respect for others and property and a healthy respect for the value of money having been reared in a time when it was scarce, now a teenager wouldnt even stoop to pick a twenty off the ground!
Fewer of them even finish college these days and nowadays the points are lowered and the standard dropped to pull them through!
Kids today are weak socially because of the environment of 'freebies' that surrounds them and hence bullying is rife!
The playground is a reflection of adult life, where some are stronger than others and some more successful. The reality is (and I will be slated for this, but I am at least a realist and not a namby-pamby talker) all kids are not equal and the playground is the place where you learn your social networking skills for later life and where you fit into things and to toughen yourself up!

In the words of Damian Dempsey:

"Fought in the lane,
Got knocked down in the lane,
Swollowed the shame,
Got back up again!"

"Fought in the lane,
Fell in the lane,
Died in the lane,
Came ALIVE again!"


Regards,

Snufalufagus......Laochra Gael

Snufalufagus (Dublin) - Posts: 8100 - 21/05/2008 12:45:31    21712

I am with u on this one Snuf. When i was a young Liam, If i came home sniffling cos the master had hit me a belt, my ma woulda hit me another one and said I deserved it! If i came home with a smell of fags off me I got the serious stuff....the silent treatment and disappointment for a week.....these days thats seen as parents mentally abusing their kids! Its pathetic! Bullys are bullys because they know they can get away with it. Their parents are IDIOTS who let them do what they want, when they want and give them the money to do it. Jaysus I remember the days of going to a club at 17 and if you got the shift you were proud of ureself! Its far from the shift they get these days!! These toe rags going around in their skinny tracksuit pants and one leg tucked into their sock......oh lads i sware to God!!!
Watching that programme on RTE I was genuinely gutted for that poor lad in Donegal. Would love to get a few heads together and take the thrash out! He seemed a good kid and it was good to see he has friends and plays rugby but when you see a lad his age and his size break down cos of what some gang of scum are subjecting him to as a group.....made me bloody angry.
Sorry but Ireland is not what it was, my gran used to have a great ol saying. "Money is the root of all evil" Judging by Post Celtic Ireland I think Ol Nana Ita just might have been right.

Liamwalkinstown (Dublin) - Posts: 8166 - 21/05/2008 13:57:59    21766

My Dear Mr Snufalufagus

I have opined on this is the past and in general I concur with your overall assessment even if it is quite primitive in language and tone. The greatest social malaise of the 21st century is the breakdown of parental and peer respect among our youth and adolescents. I too was the recipient of many a foul blow from my father, or sometimes the butler (for instance getting 98% in academic endeavours was never quite sufficient)! It ensured I knew my standing and it provided me with a clear comprehension of what was right and wrong, good and iniquitous, fair and heinous.

Indeed my own childhood was blighted by recession, enforced emigration and high unemployment rates. It did not result in anarchy in our towns and villages. It did not result in the breakdown of basic law and order. And yet now when we have had a period of unprecedented economic growth and record employment figures we are to believe that the apathy of our youth is caused by neglect.

These last number of years we have become cash rich and spiritually poor. Filthy lucre has become our God. There has been a fundamental degradation of moral and social standards. The family unit as we knew it is no more.

We must all look inwardly at ourselves for we are the very core of our social fabric. Responsibility must be taken by parents for the actions of their offspring, punishment must be meted out where merited and respect and decency must become the new 'buzz' words of the populace.

The decentskin is now a member of the silent majority in modern day Ireland because the decentskin has turned a blind eye to all that does not concern him. Meanwhile the minority - a tiny percentage - and in all walks of life continue to ride roughshod over the hardworking, tax paying, law-abiding majority. The drug dealer, the thug, the media, the legal profession, the environmental protestors- all tiny majorities of our 4.2 million people - continue to cause angst and mayhem - financially, criminally, infrastructurally and in negating the thought processes and actions of the ordinary Joe Soap.

We have lain down like weary travellers, we have accepted that the rich will get richer, we accept all that is peddled by the Fourth Estate as the truth without question. We are therefore worthy recipients of all that we sow.

Arise - break off your chains - claim back what is good - what our ancestors fought and died for.

Carl Jung (Leitrim) - Posts: 69 - 21/05/2008 14:24:46    21783

totally agree with the veiw of carl and the previous posters

to much tv and playstation games

gang culture and the pub also a problem

on the fence (Donegal) - Posts: 731 - 21/05/2008 15:28:27    21831

agree with carl on the above issue

for a change

regards
off the fence

on the fence (Donegal) - Posts: 731 - 21/05/2008 15:38:26    21841

champion league final tonight lads....man utd to win 2-1....ronaldo and vidic scoring with drogba scoring for chelsea. scholes to play and lift the cup at the end after the dissapointment of 99

howshecuttin (Longford) - Posts: 376 - 21/05/2008 15:47:10    21853

have to keep this page on the top of the comments so it is not forgotten

on the fence (Donegal) - Posts: 731 - 21/05/2008 17:20:50    21932

views on weather finn harps will stay up this year

on the fence (Donegal) - Posts: 731 - 21/05/2008 17:28:32    21942

21/05/2008 17:20:50
on the fence
County: Donegal
Posts: 458
have to keep this page on the top of the comments so it is not forgotten
21/05/2008 17:28:32
******************
why?

views on weather finn harps will stay up this year
***************

it'll be tough

Legend92 (Donegal) - Posts: 752 - 21/05/2008 19:18:12    21974

on the fence
County: Donegal
Posts: 458

21942 views on weather finn harps will stay up this year
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The weather's been lovely lately 'on the fence'. Really good for the time of year. The north and east of the country have been getting it better than the south and west of late and this is set to continue for the next week or so. As for your assertion that Finn Harps will stay up this year, I wish I shared your optimism!

Lifford Gael (Donegal) - Posts: 1925 - 21/05/2008 19:43:30    21978

what a game last night. Gone goes john terry's england captaincy as well. Vidic legend

samin10 (Armagh) - Posts: 2434 - 22/05/2008 09:08:12    22021

stupid grant,or whoever decided terry should take a penalty.now im hungover

Rhodejim (Offaly) - Posts: 2888 - 22/05/2008 09:52:37    22038

OK, when players loose in a massive game like last night you still hold respect for them if they shed a tear or 2, but Terry jaysus he cried like a newly born baby, thats his so called hard man rep gone!! as for Drogbas slap my granny used to hit me harder!!!

Dannymc (Down) - Posts: 92 - 22/05/2008 10:02:57    22049

dannymc

thats exactly what i meant, he is a joke. Look what frank lampard has been through the last few weeks and not a tear. Terry could not even give an interview and he is captain. I could not believe he was made captain after his yapping when they were knocked out of the world cup, gerrard, lampard brush themselves off and shake hands admitt how they are dissapointed but be a man about it. people can say it was because of the penalty. the penalty was his own fault, i said it as soon as he hit it that the slip came after he kicked it and as the rte pundits rightly pointed out his standing foot was far to close to the ball. It was a terrible penalty end off. A captain should be the one consolling the other players not the other way about. Dont think capello will make this cry baby his captain.

samin10 (Armagh) - Posts: 2434 - 22/05/2008 10:31:04    22059

Hate both teams as much as each other. Watching Drogba walk off into the sunset after making a fool of himself again with his petulance was good, the arrogant one missing another peno, John Terry slipping on his backside and bawling like a woman was great as well. Sadly there had to be one winner!!!

Anyone else think Carvalho should have got a red for that tackle on Ronaldo

holymoly (Dublin) - Posts: 757 - 22/05/2008 10:34:29    22061

20 quid on ronaldo at 9-2. happy days

samin10 (Armagh) - Posts: 2434 - 22/05/2008 10:54:49    22075

I agree holymoly; sad that there had to be a winner between them two.

Cry-baby Terry's biggest crime was sitting on his backside wallowing in his personal misery of missing out on being the hero. He should have been running back to his team mates doing his job as team captain. Sitting there having missed the pen was like waving a big losers flag for all to see. I laughed til it hurt.

Shame there had to be a winner.

I didn't think Carvalho's tackle on Ronaldo that bad.

Marooned_East (Galway) - Posts: 133 - 22/05/2008 10:58:25    22079

Jeeze there are some terrible harsh critics on here! In fairness Terry had an outstanding game - and remember he dislocated his shoulder/elbow 10 days ago - thats a hard man to me. His clearance from Giggs was amazing and he was extremely unlucky with his pen - it clipped post. Enjoyed the game and though some of the defensive displays were brilliant - Terry, Vidic, Ferdinand, Cole and Evra all outshining the superstars up front Rooney (very poor), Tevez and Ronaldo (average), Drogba (poor enough) and nobody in midfield especially stood out.

I am actually a latent Leeds fan and am looking forward to the real final this week! :-) . I don't like the way the Premiership has gone over the last few years but give me John Terry any day before some of the other glory boys. He's honest, brave and not a bad player either!

JayoCluxton (Dublin) - Posts: 2688 - 22/05/2008 11:05:48    22085

it was destiny that utd would win it in memory of sir matt busby and the victims of munich

on the fence (Donegal) - Posts: 731 - 22/05/2008 11:22:48    22094

Jayo terry is a fantastic player no doubt about that but it seems to me that he tries to prove how much he loves his club and country by how hard he can cry.

samin10 (Armagh) - Posts: 2434 - 22/05/2008 11:29:55    22101