Littering - A small victory

[Brinkly]

I'm sure everyone here has witnessed something similar to what I observed today and hopefully did a similar thing. But if not, please take hope!

 

I live in Ivybridge, it is a small, but nice town on the edge of Dartmoor. We have a large number of teenagers in the town, and due to the local secondary school, and local facilities, tend to be a 'hub' for the numerous little villages in the area, increasing the number of young people. 

 

I personally cannot stand littering, it is just wrong. We have numerous bins in the town, but occasionally you see the odd piece of rubbish floating around. I pick it up and bin it. I don't want to live in a dirty area!

 

Today I walked down to the town to visit the bank and observed three teenagers eating pasties. Then all three of them proceeded to throw the paper bags and Coke bottles on the floor.

 

Now this completely enraged me, as the bin was metres away from them - no excuse.

 

They turned and walked away. I shouted, rather loudly, at the three yobs. "Stop!" The three turn round. "Pick up your bloody rubbish (I don't like to swear, but the blood was up!) and put it in the bin!" The three looked quite shocked. "That wasn't a request, that was a demand!"

 

I'm not thinking to myself, well you have committed yourself now Nicholas! So I start to walk towards them. "Pick it up now!"

 

The trio quickly walk back to the rubbish, picked it up and mumbled OK and sorry and put it in the bin. They then walked away rather cowardly away. I called "Thank you, that wasn't hard was it?"

 

Now this is a small victory, it could have gone the other way, I might have got a mouthful of abuse and then I would have had to pick up their rubbish, but I do feel it was the right thing to do and I would encourage other people to do this.

 

Good hunting!

Nick.

[Oldddudders]

Well done, Nick! My distinct impression is that a percentage of today's yoof will seldom have been spoken to like that. Shock treatment works!

[Captain Kernow]

Maximum respect for that, matey!

[fozzy280472]

Sorry , although I totally agree with your sentiments , I think what you did could have gone wrong for you quite badly .

My best friends father had his jaw broken and three teeth knocked out for doing exactly the same thing to a couple of youths outside a chippy in leafy surrey .

Good luck to you and we'll done for standing up for your beliefs but nowdays I'm a little more cautious about getting involved with these sort of things .

[Re6/6]

Indeed..well done..these degenerates have to be admonished. Your presence and demeanor probably helped!

 

Some years ago I was travelling as a passenger on the Dartmouth car ferry and this fellow driving a Rolls threw out a lighted fag end which hit my bare foot so I picked it up told him to take his litter home and popped it through his back window onto the seat. The pompous tw*t went ballistic which was quite amusing as the float crewman intervened (he was quite a 'disciplinarian' with the public) and told him to get back in his car.

 

A similar situation arose some years ago in Brixham (need I say more...local in joke!) when l told two yobs to pick up their fag packet which they'd just thrown on the pavement right next to the base of the bin. The response was a predictable "wot are you goin' to do about it?" What they didn't notice that my son was in the passenger seat and a threat to Dad doesn't go down very well. He leaped out of the car and grabbed them both by the scruff of their necks.. he's rather strong....the rest can be guessed...!

 

Unfortunately these days one has to be mindful of intervention as one never knows if they might have a weapon. Sign of the times.

[Peter Kazmierczak]

Had you taught them when they were younger Nick?

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

How times change. A favourite personage of my youth was Mr Youkids Buggeroff. One's presence anywhere near his house was all that was required to have him come outside purple of face and shout his eponymous greeting. Now here's the thing: the parental units - my own and those of my friends - all took his side. Truly there was a solidarity in the 'adults rights' opinion that no longer obtains.

[Horsetan]

.... these days one has to be mindful of intervention as one never knows if they might have a weapon. Sign of the times.

 

You wouldn't try it in London, let's put it that way.

[gwrrob]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=04clpd7h0b0

 

Not littering but the same sentiment and still funny/applicable after all these years.

[AndrewC]

Well done. However, I'm finding that today's yoof are actually more intelligent and responsive to their surroundings than the chav scum from just 5 years ago. Just the other day I saw a 20 something dump their chippy box on the pavement only to be called a dirty c* by a pair of teens walking past. One of the teens then scooped the box and dumped it into the bin. (less than 2m away)

[Derekstuart]

I was travelling on one of my buses the other week and some gobby little filth decided to start spitting at the window because his friend was outside the bus. It was really a challenge to explain to him and make him understand why this was not cricket.

 

I don't know what I find harder to accept- them acting like vile little animals in the first place or that they have no comprehension that they are vile little animals.

 

To think that's our next generation of politicians, scientists, engineers and business leaders screwed.

[Ozexpatriate]

I suspect these young lads, who by your account appear have been embarrassed by being called out on something they knew was an omission on their part, (based on their reaction, absent insolence and an mouthy reply), might have responded the same way to a less agitated way of pointing out their carelessness.

 

I think it demonstrates that most young people actually aren't as bad as their cohort is often painted. Thoughtless in this case perhaps, but not bad.

 

I congratulate you on reminding them to attend to their responsibilities, but as others have posted, the reaction of random strangers can be unpredictable and you might not want to get quite so emotionally invested next time.

[Ozexpatriate]

A favourite personage of my youth was Mr Youkids Buggeroff. 

Did he live next door to Mr. Gitorff Mylawn?

[Mallard60022]

Very well done but it is a sad situation when one has to consider such an intervention in case something kicks off. Unfortunately there are some mindless people around of all ages and they are often really nasty with it if challenged. If had been in the SAS  or SBS I wouldn't hesitate, as it is I am a coward.

Phil

[Andrew P]

Well done Nick it could have been a BAD MOVE but you were lucky.

 

I must admit I get GOBBY at people parking in Disabled Bays outside out Local Store without a Blue Badge, Normally saying; There Disabled Bays for a Reason, if I get a mouthful back I normally say, (when I'm brave enough) One day you might be Disabled and NEED ONE.

 

Well done again.

[Horsetan]

... people parking in Disabled Bays outside out Local Store without a Blue Badge, Normally saying; There Disabled Bays for a Reason, if I get a mouthful back I normally say, (when I'm brave enough) One day you might be Disabled and NEED ONE....

But they are arguably already disabled.... in the brain department.

[WD0-6-0]

A lot of young people feel the same way you do, I'm 17 and myself and my friends would all agree with you and congratulate you on trying to make your town a better place. Unfortunately among my generation there are a number of idiots who even the rest of us think very little of, however I think that's applicable to all, I've seen littering a number of times from the 40+ age group. This is a really long winded way of saying "we aren't all bad"

[jjb1970]

Poor manners, bad habits and just plain objectionable behaviour are a function of an individuals character, upbringing and environmental conditions in my experience and not of age. I think it is probably true that kids are prone to silly behaviour and getting a bit rowdy at times but I have never found them to be any worse than people of any other age in terms of being good or bad people. I think there is a real problem in society that there is a lack of respect for young people, maybe I'm just lucky or live in the right place but I find that most young kids are fundamentally good and just as well mannered as older people.

[DavidR]

Some years ago I was catching a train in Norwich station. A young girl in front of me dropped a train ticket on the floor.

"Excuse me", I called out, "but you dropped this" (thinking it was her journey ticket).

"I don't want it" said the girl.

"Well, put it in a bin then".

Red-faced, she walked off and did so.

[laurenceb]

Whenever people of a certain age start going on about the "younger generation of today" I point out that there parents generation were saying the same about them.

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

...To think that's our next generation of politicians, scientists, engineers and business leaders screwed.

 I am far more optimistic. The secondary school I went to was regarded as having the tightest discipline in the town, and it needed it. There were assaults on staff, regular trouble with shoplifting for alcohol and cigarettes, narcotics and porn* distribution rings, and some specialists in house breaking, all by the pupils. I have several times stood in the assembly hall lined up with all the boys, as the police with one or more adult victims conducted a mass identity parade to find the perpetrators of the latest serious misdeed. This stuff just isn't going on in the present secondary schools I know. And from this rowdy bunch, came a couple of published authors, at least one patent holder, engineers, lawyers, several academics, schoolteachers, some civil servants, and a good number of people pretty successful in business. Sadly also an incorrigible few who have taken several vacations at HM's pleasure.

 

*The town boasted an extremely lively porn production 'industry'. To this day I have seen nothing stronger than what circulated at school. Then came the funny moment; as prefects we were expected to help at parent-teacher evenings, and while acting as a 'greeter' in came this very flashily dressed couple who somehow seemed familiar. Couldn't place them, until an hour or so later and now outside rearranging signage, on departing the lady untied a very distinctive dog from the railings beside the car park area. That lady, that dog, ah yes.

[brianusa]

Good on you, Nick, although you could have got shot over here. People have been killed for less!

 

Brian

[Tony_S]

When I was young we lived in a small town at the end of a branch line. I can remember one Sunday when everyone we met was talking about the badly behaved youths who had come into town the previous night, assaulted a police officer and ripped up the cinema seats. They would be about 75 now.

[Mallard60022]

Around here the yoofs are just daft and mess up their skate park area with occasional bouts of mindless vandalism. It is many of the older teens and adults that are the worst behaved and sadly the crack heads are just dangerous. Small townitis in this part of the world.

If you want to witness anti social behaviour then just pop out to town at about kicking out time on a Saturday night or attend the area of a local football encounter anytime after the pubs open on match day or maybe have the misfortune to encounter pi##ed passengers on a Charter flight.....that really is revolting.

Phil

[highpeakman]

There seems to be a bit of a theme that most of the culprits are younger generation and, I guess, that is probably true. However they are certainly not the only culprits. A few years back i was at Newark Northgate station waiting for the morning "business" train to Kings X. The platform was quite crowded with "respectable" business types including a well dressed woman in her thirties. I noticed her take a pack of sweets out of her bag and after removing a sweet she crumpled the cardboard pack and just threw it on the ground at her feet. Quite brazen in front of many other people. I often find that some people will use litter bins if others are about but not when it seems quiet demonstrating that they know what to do but cannot be bothered if they can get away with it. She obviously had no such reservations. In this case I walked up and just said" Excuse me but you may like to know that this station has rubbish bins" and pointed out the rubbish bin about 6 feet away. She did pick it up and go and put it in the bin without comment but whether it was a lesson learnt is another question.

 

I did notice the amount of rubbish on the platform and tracks though which suggests that not enough people care unfortunately.