Latest London Stabbing

[Hobbit]

While I 'liked' your post its safe to say there will be plenty of social media outlets discussing how much of a tragedy it is for a boy of 14 to be murdered, more still to offer sympathy and for some to remember the positive impact this child had on other people lives
But does that mean there can be no comments about the circumstances surrounding his murder (especially since to most of us it appears so abhorrent and out of kilter will normal life) but it's probably true to say no one on this forum will care enough about this poor lad to discuss this in a few weeks’ time after what might be seen as a suitable period of time has passed

If news reports are to be believed (and it’s a pity they all can’t be) the lad himself says he was a drugs courier which would support a theory of a targeted attack, and if true it’s likely that the bike was a big part in this, so authorities will be focusing on where it came from, why he was riding it etc and when & where did he go (all seemingly without the knowledge of any of his family)

Society will be (or at least should be) shocked and saddened that a 14 year old boy was stabbed to death and as part of that shock (& maybe to try to get any semblance of understanding) some will naturally want to ask questions about the events that seems out of sync with normal behavior for our society, which must include how & why is a 14yr old able to freely ride a bike illegally in one of the most observed cities in the world (cctv)

This child wasn’t killed walking to school or jogging to boxing training, he was stabbed after being knocked off a bike that society and the law says he should never have been on in the first place. Some people will want to believe if he hadn’t been on the bike then maybe, somehow this tragedy wouldn’t of happened. So in that context it seems natural for them to question ‘why’

I don’t disagree with any of that. My disappointment was in the “clumsy” way some viewed him as tarnished goods. Almost as though someone from that background isn’t really worth anything.

And I do wonder how the media and certain people would have reacted if he was an Eton toff?

At 14 he was very ‘recoverable’ and with the right guidance could have made valued contributions. It will have been a huge game to him and a massive boost to his ego to be so grown up and accepted by his peers.

But strip that all away and he was only a 14 year old child, loved by his family.

It will be forgotton in a week, and the cycle will be repeated. And on the back of that the goalposts of acceptance get moved further away from civility. How long before it’s accepted in schools, towns and villages, and how long before totally innocent children are caught up in it? Once upon a time it was the odd kid shop lifting, now it’s drugs mules. Where next? Gun battles and turf wars in school playgrounds?

 

[Slab]

Excellent post and sums up to a degree my own clumsy way of putting it. Clearly there were things going on the family didn't know about and if the drug courier part is correct then it goes some way to explaining why he was out illegally riding at night. Of course its tragic that any child should die, especially murdered but this wasn't as a result of a RTA, illness or any other similar (and tragic) circumstance but (AND ONLY GOING ON THE NEWS REPORTS) if he has deliberately set out to operate in drug operations and move in those circles, he would have be aware and told of the risks involved by peers. I do not condone the murder of the boy irrespective of what may or may not have happened drugs related and the outcome would seem to outweigh any wrong doing he may have been perceived to have done but there again with the increase in gun and knife crime in London in particular, does it really come as (tragice)surprise?

I'd doubt that any kids involved in drugs & courier runs get 'told of the risks' (they'd run a mile surely?)

The unfortunate ones will more likely be put under peer pressure or have it falsely glamorised to 'willingly' get recruited or even intimidated/threatened to get involved

 

[Deleted member 25172]

I'd doubt that any kids involved in drugs & courier runs get 'told of the risks' (they'd run a mile surely?)

The unfortunate ones will more likely be put under peer pressure or have it falsely glamorised to 'willingly' get recruited or even intimidated/threatened to get involved

There are stabbings literally daily in London, covered in news papers, on telly, on radio, condolences and new threats (look up "drill" videos) are being circulated on social media (facebook, twitter, snap chat, youtube etc etc etc) and without knowing, I'd think that there's a fair share of information going around in school by social servies etc, all to deaf ears among the ones that should listen. The kids may not be told of the risk directly by their "superiors" in this business, but even a 14 year old will know about the risks involved today. Just because they're involved in these activities doesn't mean that they are stupid and blind to the outside world.

Peer pressure? Sure.

Glamorised? Absolutely.

Add a pinch of "respect" to the mix and voila! This is what you get. Now, I use the word respect in the loosest kind of way possible as in these cases respect means to be feared by others. You get your bling bling, cars and girls through the "capital" of violence you have behind you. "Respect" is what they all want, and this is how they achieve it.

I don't see an end to this anytime soon.