We've been having a little debate here about the value of ASBO's, especially for young people. There have been comments in the local paper about a story of a youngster suffering from ADHD, who was given an ASBO. Several comments were left about this which I had to take issue with. As a sufferer of a syndrome (dyslexia) that many ill informed pundits claim doesn't even exist, I find myself drawn to support the ADHD/ASBO kid. When I was 12 years old I was having a terrible time at school. I just thought I was thick and my teachers agreed. I responded by causing trouble. I'm not going to go into what I used to get up to in too much detail, but to summarise, I engaged in extremely destructive and self destructive behaviour. Luckily I wasn't as stupid as they thought and I rarely got caught (especially for the worst things). When I was 14 I discovered Punk rock music and then had something to channel my frustration in to. I started to write songs. Here's one of my earliest efforts
The Mill Hill Song
Nothing to do, Nothing to see,
Nothing for you, Nothing for me,
Mill Hill Mill Hill, it's lovely
No nightspots, No dayspots,
No fun, Just shops,
Mill Hill Mill Hill, it's lovely
I wonder how many 14 year olds still feel like that. Let me give you an example of what sort of person I was when I wrote it. Pete Conway, who formed the False Dots with me, brought down an American Guitarist who was about 21 and had roadied with the Sex Pistols. He was a great player and Pete thought he could transform us into a proper band. We had a little jam and then he asked to here one of our songs. I said "Lets play the Mill Hill Song". We did and he said "That aint a proper song buddy". I took off my Hofner Galaxy guitar and hit him around the head with it, knocking him out and leaving him lying in a pool of blood. When he finally came around, I told him to "F**K off" which he immediately did. It seemed to me at the time like a perfectly reasonable thing to do (although I now feel terrible about it). What would you do with a 15 year old who thinks that decapitating people for criticising his songs is a reasonable response? I saw the guy about five years later, when I had calmed down and went up to apologise. He saw me coming and ran for his life. If you are reading this Wayne, I am truly sorry.
Sadly that wasn't a totally isolated incident. When I was 18 I moved to Sweden to be with my then Girlfriend. I had no baggage, and for six months lead a completely sober existence. I realised the error of my ways. I read a lot and came to see that violence was only ever a problem, that is why I now abhor it. That is why I see ASBO boy and think "what chances has he been given to change". I wonder if he was given a beautiful Swedish girlfriend, a stack of great books and the chance to play and write music, whether we may see a different side of him? I certainly think that if he was given a reason to be sober and a break from his mates in a positive constructive environment it would do him no harm at all. People have left comments saying "You live in leafy Mill Hill, what do you know about street life". Well I've spent the last two years of my life helping to set up a music project for young people not in education or training, in association with the YMCA. This provides an opportunity for troubled young people to experience the opportunity to make music. It is free for them. Today we rolled it out to another group of extremely disturbed youngsters. To give you some flavour, three attended a session, accompanied by nine social workers, teachers etc. They were difficult kids, but got something very positive from the day. I see these kids and I say to myself "if we don't help them now, it will be too late". The one thing many commentators seem to miss is this. These ASBO kids don't disappear. They have their own kids, who will often be even more disconnected. Fixing the problems matter more than anything. They are not a sub class. They bleed the same colour blood as you or I. They feel bad when bad things happen. They feel good when they have good things in their lives. Often they don't even know why they cause trouble. They are so emotionally scarred that they mistrust people who wish to help them. I have every sympathy for the people who's lives they affect in a negative way, but abandoning them and hoping they disappear is not an option. It's not just an issue for "The Council" or "Social Workers". It is an issue for all of us. That is why we should support charities such as YMCA which work at the sharp end of the deal.
Unless these organisations get support from the people in this country who can afford it, I doubt that the cycle will ever be broken. If it isn't fixed then don't be surprised if trouble comes to your doorstep.
