Monday, January 23, 2012

The Attitude of Youth

Yesterday afternoon, I was threatened by a drunkened young man in my unit complex.  All I did was take a photograph of a flower in the front garden of his mother's unit and he came storming out - drink in hand - yelling and screaming profanities at me that what I was doing was illegal and he'd have me charged.  He went to trouble of putting down his dinner to come out and have a go at me; which really makes me wonder about how he came to conclusion it was illegal.  
Now, I must begin at the beginning.  This young man has never liked me - since his family moved in - and so over time, he has made it very obvious to me that my presence around his family (who like me very much as a close friend) isn't wanted by him.  Fair enough; I don't like him either, but you don't see me going around screaming at him.  Mainly if I don't like anyone, I usually don't say anything unless - of course - something has to be said.  
Well, after I took my one and only photo of this flower, I walked off to the pool at the front of the complex where I took more photos of flowers (mainly of Native Iris') and then when I noticed I was losing the light I needed, I made tracks back home the same way I had come; thinking he'd have gotten it out of his system about me photographing his garden.  However, it wasn't the case.  He came back out when I walked past again (this time with my camera securely in its case) and he started on me again.  The profanities were just as bad and he was still yelling at me with his drink in his hand.  I tried to calm him; then thought it was best to tell him what I thought.  I called him a piss-pot and a drunk and told him to go back inside, that I've done nothing wrong or against him; and never have.  I then turned and walked off.  He didn't follow me, but as I turned, he gave me the two-up fingers signal a few times and that was the last time I saw him as I went home.
Not long afterwards, I thought it would be in my best interest to tell my Caretaker (as he's related to this young man) and he said he'd take care of it.  A couple of hours passed by and I ate dinner and was watching television.  The young man brought the wheelie bin up, wandered around the place a bit and then went home.  I didn't take much notice until his Nanna showed up at my door in her wheelchair calling out to me.  I rushed up and opened the door.  She was scared and asked if she could hang around with me for a while; until her daughter - who is a good friend of mine - came home.  I said yes.  I looked around and found the flowers I had photographed all around my place.  His Nanna - whose name is Betty - said that he had gone and knocked all the blooms off the plants so I couldn't take pictures of them anymore, then made threats to burn my house and smash my windows.... it was awful and a little freaky to hear that he had continued his rant after I had gone home; when usually people stop, shut up and are worn out when a person is out of visual range.  But he hadn't.  Soon, Betty's daughter came home, drove straight up to my place and dropped off her own teenaged daughter and sped off home to deal with her delinquent son.  
Today, they moved.  I didn't get to say goodbye to my friends.  I don't know where they've moved to and I didn't get an apology from that young man for saying what he did.
And this really gets me about young people today; and we see it on the news all the time.  There are people like me around who are nice to others and nothing against anyone who are trodden on by these young people who think that they know everything, they own the world and they can push around everyone once they get a few drinks under their belts.  Alcohol isn't this young man's only problem; he's also got a drug problem that's adding to his demons that he must deal with - but won't.  And what really gets on my nerves about where I live is that whenever I see people like this act this way, it's because they don't know they've done this to themselves.
Exactly what is the world coming to when people won't take completely control of their own lives.  They won't take full responsibility for each and every action they make; and realise there is a reaction to what they do.  Why isn't there something that will teach the youth of today - in full colour - that there are consequences to what they do to others?  Please will somebody tell me this?  

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