Parents of kids on booze should do time

The untouchable subject

Combining the right of centre demagoguery of the Christian Democratic Appeal ruling party with that of its second coalition party of the Christian Union; might just be like approaching the mount that cannot be touched or hearing terrifying sounds like roaring thunder.

There is no doubt that they both want to take our liberal Dutch society to Calvinist subservience where we all knew our places and let the social hand of authority and benevolence guide us to where we would fear no more.

There is no doubt however the age of alcoholic consumption initiation is falling like meteors to as low as it can be causing great concern.

Only recently a mother who provided alcohol for her 16 year old's birthday party got severely sanctioned that she would spend 2 years in prison in the United States. It was harsh, but I am hardly sympathetic about it.

Some countries have been considering bringing parents to book for allowing their children to consume alcohol and whilst we do not have laws prohibiting the use of alcohol in the home, some responsibility must surely be borne by parents for children who end up consuming alcohol in public.

Drug and alcohol fuelled

When 3 kids beat me up in December 2004, I should have known better to run for dear life when one of them picked up a bicycle and threw it at me. It should have occurred to me that only a drink and drug fuelled temperament would allow for such an exhibition of lunacy.

Basically juvenile alcoholism is a growing and serious problem; it is hitting our streets in the most unacceptable way, so as Dickensian as the plan of the governing parties might sound; breathalysing juveniles might be a welcome development - if they are immediately taken off the streets and their parents seriously inconvenienced as a deterrent with the kids put through a strict discipline and drying-out programme.

The extension to this is the rising violence of kids of immigrant descent who happen to now harbour less liberal values than their parents or the society in which they were born - they have taken to harassing other minorities, especially homosexuals, two of whom got beaten up on a popular gay street, in fact, there has been a rise in homophobic attacks in Amsterdam of late.

That should put paid to the idea of Amsterdam being the Gay capital of Europe.

Thankfully, the kids, 6 of them and all of foreign descent Morocco (4), Suriname (1) and Turkey (1) were apprehended by the police with the notice that they are repeat offenders in this atrocious banditry.

The study that most juvenile offenders use drugs and alcohol has long been read and digested, we now need some serious community action to curb these rotten activities before our peaceful cities get overrun with juveniles imitating lowlifes.