Newspapers have been granted the right to name

[Matthew]

Newspapers have been granted the right to "name and shame" young people who have been punished by a court for anti-social behaviour under new laws.

Read the story in detail at NFHiB News Online. (http://www.nfh.org.uk/news/index.php?category=all&id=571)

[Tannasg]

>>Newspapers have been granted the right to "name and shame" young people who have been punished by a court for anti-social behaviour under new laws.<<

Such offenders rarely need further publicity to make their identities known.Rarely can their unfortunate neighbours escape knowing their names as the offender and their associates normally communicate, no matter whether the distance between them is a couple of feet or a hundred yards - by screeching at one another at maximum possible volume in a manner reminiscent of sea-going parrots, which volume and vulgarity combine to draw the attention of all within range to the comment or question voiced, which is usually preceded by the name of the person addressed, to ensure that the intended recipient gets the message in full.

Publication in the newspapers is therefore usually a redundancy as far as identification of antisocial elements are concerned although it may prove to be a cause for (noisy) celebration of soeone&#39;s fifteen minutes of fame.

It is certauinly difficult to see where &#39;shame&#39; enters the matter; &#39;shame&#39; implies that the offender is experiencing guilt or remorse that they should have behaved in such a manner as to draw such opprobrium, it implies that they may even have a &#39;conscience&#39; and some idea of responsibility to their fellow beings to provoke the experience of guilt.

Surely the possession of conscience and understanding and acceptance of the concept of social responsibility are the very attributes which would discourage a person from antisocial behaviour in the first instance?


It is by far more likely that a firm application of the birch while standing in stocks would effectively - and cost-effectively - inculcate in one brief lesson the principles of cause and effect, a thorough understanding of what behaviour is acceptable to society and what is not; where lies the boundary between those behaviours and what are the consequences of crossing that boundary. Most importantly, that unless they wish a rather more vigorous repetition of the lesson, that they should not cross that boundary again.

After this, instead of receiving congratulations upon getting themselves into print, admiration from acquaintances and a damn good laugh at the expense of society,
the offender can, while eating their dinner off the mantelpiece, ponder upon the question of whether the game of becoming the local nuisance is really worth the candle.

;)