Allan, Ms. Noonan’s article was refreshingly literate compared to several of the other examples presented thus far. But while she was restrained (see, conservatives utilize political correctness when it is expedient) in her language, it was fairly apparent that she, too, placed the blame for the London riots on lower class youth by her references to the Philly flash mobs, single mothers, and her quoting the Max Hastings piece that triggered this thread: “The depressing truth is that at the bottom of our society is a layer of young people with no skills, education, values or aspirations….”
Again, as I said in my earlier response to faterik, this is an across-the-classes exercise in destructive narcissism by the offspring of people who are likewise engaged in narcissistic self-focus: people who feel robbed of what they believe themselves to be entitled, and who regularly lash out (online, of course) at those who robbed them.
Ms. Noonan opines: “At fault in the riots were the distorting effects of the welfare state and a degenerate British popular culture: “A population thinks (because it has often been told so by intellectuals and the political class) that it is entitled to a high standard of consumption, irrespective of its personal efforts; and therefore it regards the fact that it does not receive that high standard, by comparison with the rest of society, as a sign of injustice.” Much of what they have is provided by others, but they are not grateful: dependency doesn’t encourage gratitude but resentment.” The major problem in her statement is that this isn’t true only of recipients of government largesse. The rioting included people of ALL classes. The middle- and upper-classes have raised their children according to the same philosophy: their kids don’t need to show respect, or obey their parents or superiors, or perform tasks in return for money, or study to get good grades. These upper-class kids may not be dependent on the government, but they are just as dependent on their parents, and just as worthless and potentially destructive to society. This isn’t a matter of social and economic class, but a matter of raising ALL of our children in a way that ensures they will be hard-working, honest, ethical adults who recognize their duty to their family, their country, and their fellow man. And that isn’t going to happen in a nation that practices much of what Ms. Noonan and/or her party teach.
For instance, she took the opportunity to rail against single-parent households. Not only is that a slap in the face to every single parent out there who is not single by choice, but who is still managing to raise respectful, hard-working, accomplished kids – and Ms. Noonan should really make the effort to check out the stats on that. But I haven’t heard Ms. Noonan loudly promoting the teaching of sex education in schools, or the availability of birth control resources to sexually active teens, or protesting the closing of Planned Parenthood clinics. Her party continues to push the idyllic image of heterosexual couples having children, implying that marriage without children is not a valid choice. All of these contribute to the creation of children that no one wants to take the time and effort to raise properly. She expects parents of these 16 and 18 and 20 year-old kids to make them stay home? Yeah, right! These are the same parents that couldn’t say “no” to their kids when they were 3 and 4 years old.
So, while I admire Ms. Noonan tremendously as a speaker and writer (don’t always agree, but do admire), I believe that she missed the mark here. And if people in her position don’t begin to speak out on the falsehoods, the bigotry, the insults, and, in general, the hate speech being dispersed in the name of patriotism, we’ll be in much worse shape than the people of London.
