Adebayor's started so well for Man City
Radio Acne
Three of you are unimpressed with my plan to hand over a chunk of our programme to teenagers on Friday. Paul in Woolwich texted me to say "They will be nice middle class kids with names like Georgie or Hugo we want to hear what the Wayne & Chantelles of this world have to say for themselves". KG said she/he'd be off to Radio 4 for the day. Anni said she wouldn't have Radio 5 on on Friday because "I don't care what teenagers have to say, they claim rights they haven't earnt & are full of their own importance". And Greg's already come up with a brilliant name: "Acne Radio"... "I shall switch off Acne Radio as soon as they start saying "like ".
This week we're featuring a guest blogger, Georgie who's blogging about his life and what it's like being a teenager. Read his first post here.
So when do I a middle class middle aged man with a clean criminal record, tax paying individual who suffers the wrong doers, helps pay to put right the wrongs, pays for 'criminals' to eat every day, be warm and safe, pay for teenagers to have 'holidays' if they are good, and as we all know the list goes on and on. I am one of the many many thousands of people almost, I say almost, scared to walk the streets at night, could fear the intimidation and again the list goes on. When do I get to invite guests, have my own agenda put to millions? I look forward to the day..................
I see not everybody is okay with me...But i must ask, how is it fair to put all teenagers in the same bracket? I live in one of the roughest areas of Essex where old ladies get mugged and people get stabbed...But I am not one of those teens. I have been raised in a working class environment..Ive had no advanced academia but i worked hard and been through alot that adults have put me through as well as teens....Im not saying blame the parents, but my mother raised me and my 3 siblings all by herself and 3 out of 4 of us are teenagers. We've all turned out to be law abiding, respectful teens and then i look at my old bullies and the ones who used to play up in school, and look at their parents and i can see where they got it from.....
Its not just teens who walk the streets and cause trouble....
oh and ps...i have no acne :-)
Hi Chris
I take your point and I suppose I would say that some of the things that concern you get an airing on radio stations almost every other day. Plus you know you have access to such radio stations in a way that certain sections of the population don't - either cos they don't listen to ´óÏó´«Ã½ radio, or get in touch with phone-in shows etc. Also we have no idea if some of the issues that concern you also concern younger members of the population. Hopefully we'll find out on Friday when teenagers produce some of the ideas/stories on the show.
Thks
Victoria
When i do i, a working class 45 year bloke from Yorkshire, who has already been told that sections of the Beeb aren't for me because i'm not of the correct target audience, get control of a national network to air my views ?
Radio 4 for me on Friday as well i'm afraid, oh damn i'm working class so R4 probably isn;t meant for the likes of me.
Oh come on, there is more to worry about in this country of ours than a whinging minority of teenagers. I do believe that they get enough attention.
Victoria: Your programme and blog is great. Roberto.
Hi Robert
We're not worrying about a "whinging minority of teenagers". The whole reason Fri's programme came about was because we asked you how YOU wld curb anti social behaviour. Many of you came up with quite radical suggestions. A lot of listeners criticised teenagers for all sorts of things. Then a number of people rang in to say (effectively) "stop demonising teenagers" and asked us why we never highlight some of the positive things teenagers do. So I suggested on air that maybe a bunch of young people cld produce bits of the show one day. So Fri's show is when a load of teenagers come on and talk to you. It's not a show exclusively for teenagers - it's for all of us - it wld be good if all of us had a conversation - and I thought for a change it wld be good to include their point of view for once. Everyday people like me and you get access to radio shows like mine in a way that maybe certain sections of the population don't. I urge you to give it a go and then of course tell me after if you think the programme was worth it.
Love Victoria
Hi Victoria, or who ever replied to my message, this is a quote from your reply ' you have access to such radio stations in a way that certain sections of the population don't - either cos they don't listen to ´óÏó´«Ã½ radio, or get in touch with phone-in shows etc' If certain sections dont have access why are you allowing a programe to be made for them? Also this access I have, when do I get my show? if it is all touchy feely ´óÏó´«Ã½ caring and sharing when is it my turn? if you read the blog by Georgie, it is nothing other than a whine, so he is gay so what, this seems to be this teenagers biggest worry? I am sick and tired of poor excuses for bad behaviour, the blame culture does none of us any good. I have no idea who this Georgie is, but reading his blig his main issue is that he is gay, so is this programe about teenage angst or gay issues? When poor little children are being found in a childrens homes, abused and in some cases it would appear killed, do I really care about a mixed up person with issues? guess what I would rather time and money was spent making sure the REAL unfortunates of our society are looked after.
hi chris
it was me victoria who replied! will post again later when i've finished the show
victoria
Hi Victoria, yes you are right, it is only one day in the year, how stupid of me, of course listening to something else for one day wont kill me, thanks for pointing that out.
Er, I'm finding it hard to distinguish who are acting like teenagers here. It's "so unfair" isn't Chris?
Grow up. It's for three hours of one day in a whole year. Give them a chance. Turn off if you don't like it.
Hi mark, you are so right, as Victoria said on the show, it is only one day in a whole year, how stupid of me, of course I can manage one day a year..............listening to something else, cheers for that.
Seems a few people are prejudiced against me because I'm a teenager....Rather than bracket me with those teenagers we all dislike why not realize that I am a teen who's been raised in a rough town of Essex in a normal school and turned out to be just fine?..Instead of brandishing me with the same stick or unfairly generalizing me, why don't you give me a chance? I haven't said middle aged men are all miserable old whiners or something along those lines to generalize you. Not all stereotypes are accurate. I'm eighteen, I'm young and i shall only be young once and I make no apologies for that.
When me and Georgie are older we will castigate the next younger generation. To the midle aged men getting irritated by yobs on the streets, what did your parents generation think of the mods, rockers, teddy boys, punks, hippies etc? Lets not look through rose tinted spectacles, as if these were 'innocent times'.
I remember reading somewhere that the generation that was to fight the second world war for our country was labelled 'the worst ever' by some high profile public figure in the 1930's (can somebody help out and tell me who it was).
My conclusion is that the younger generation of today is no worse than any in living memory, the only difference being that they have access to deadlier weapons than genrations previous, so the crimes they may commit seem far worse (eg the shooting of that little boy in liverpool).
Thanks to my name sake for making one of my points for me, so after reading, I assume a teenagers message, I ask again, WHY ? why does the ´óÏó´«Ã½ seem to think they are such a special case they get their own show?
After all according to Chris, its no different now than it has been.
Well chris rather than focusing on all the negatives of teenagers that have always been there, radio 5 is the first to actually acknowledge the good teens and try to find ways of resolving issues with the ones that aren't. If you've ever watched documentaries like the one where Ross Kemp looks at gang culture you will see that alot of the teens just know no better than leading a criminal life, they have no dreams and goals because they feel like the scum of the universe, and so they act that way. Alot of them have been in care or have no connection with their relatives and although thats no real excuse for terrorizing the neighborhood, they haven't really had the discipline that a parent should give them. I think the media is badly representing teens on television with all these chat shows and documentaries about teens on drugs and sixteen year olds with 'x' amount of babies. They need to show more teens like me, normal teens...Teens who just like to hang out with friends, teens who have respect. This is what radio 5 is trying to do
Hi I would like to add loads more and talk more about how I feel, BUT I have to work to earn enough money for my license fee, so you can have your platform, and probably I will be contributing to your benefits? and without doubt some of my tax money will be going to lgbt or what ever it is called so I really must get on, after all who else would pay for all these wonderful services you enjoy?....I wonder how many of these kind of services were avaiable when I was young and growing up? never mind, me and most of my generation managed without them and we seem to be doing ok, I say ok, we are doing well enough to fund the things that are available today, aren't we?
I may be jobless but i haven't been so for long and ive never been on benefits thanks very much....Yeah your taxes probably do pay for my LGBT group but as It was probably illegal to be gay in your day I'm pretty sure you didn't have them and as you're not gay I'm also pretty sure you wouldn't have needed one. I'm sorry but you're just plain prejudiced.
I doubt I will listen to the show as the whole thing sounds like a desperately patronising attept to show teenagers arent as bad as the mass media makes them out to be. The fact is teenagers have not had anything interesting or original to say since about 1980 and the end of the punk era. I am not concerned about so called teenage violence but more that they dont think for themselves and are obsessed with mass media, materialistic celebrity culture and trying to obtain 15 minutes of fame for no good reason. This is maybe because they have been brought up in a society that only values so called fame and fortune and have no idea how to express themselves as individuals. But if you want to make the programme interesting try including a couple of homeboys from the Pembury Estate in Hackney talking about their handgun of choice. Oh and as for thinking that calling it Radio Acne is amusing well sorry Victoria but that just makes you sound like what Julie Burchill would describe as a failed teenager..and she didnt mean you didnt pass your exams !!
oooh 'prejudiced' now who is generalising, am I not allowed an opinion without being tagged, surely part of 'your problem' is being tagged, 'all teenagers' etc, and then you turn around and without knowing me make dumb un informed accusations, what is prejudiced about wanting my tax money going to REAL causes, and I could list many. what is wrong with me having my opinion? just because I dont agree with you dont make silly accusations please, I think I may be getting to you, didnt mean to sorry, still gives you somethinmg else to moan about,
Georgie,
When Victoria discusses Alcohol we have the obligatory Alcoholic
When she discusses the Justice system we invariably have the ex con
Why when Young Thugs are discussed did we get a very impressive 15 year old who was against a curfew on the young ( as i am by the way ) because and i quote " i have meetings in London sometimes and don't get home before 9 " Meetings .............at 15 ye really typical.
Now the precious little darlings that imprison my 79 year old Mother in her house because they spend their nights ( and days ) Drinking , Vandalising street furniture and openly smoking dope via a bong on a footpath across the road from my Mothers House which is her natural route to anywhere, why not have some of these delightful youths on for their view on things, that is if you can actually catch them compes mentis.
I can on a daily basis see drug deals occurring not 50 yards from My Mums kitchen door, i can on a daily basis see these same people trashing an empty house down the road from my mums .
Now i've no doubt you'll say why don't you report these little lambs, what for the 1000th time tp get the when a cars in the area he'll drive by. The Police know who they are the local people know and fear who they are yet they seem invulnarable.
You don't specify where you are from, this rough town in Essex so i won't either but if i say that the local name for the area i was brought up in is Beirut........without the glamour i think you get the picture.
Friday i hope will be a balanced attempt to make the point that any decent person already knows , that all youngsters aren't thugs, but some are, but i fear that Chris will be nearer the mark and what will be served up will be as skewed as ever.
Oki I am man enough to admit i was probably a little too hasty in pointing the finger back at you Chris. You're entitled to your opinion but what you don't understand is that I'm not doing this blogging to get put into a category. I was so happy to be asked to do this and a few of you are kinda spoiling this for me.....Could you not open your mind just a little to a different outlook on teens? We're not all bad, Id say most of us aren't.
Mickey i can empathize with you, I'm not sure I'm allowed to mention where in Essex I am but the same thing happens here as it does where you are. My family have been victimized many a time by youths and adults but we refuse to move. Its not just teens, Ive noticed adults acting just the same, dealing drugs and lazying around on their asses having kids they don't look after. On the road next to mine theres a sign appealing for witnesses to an old lady being mugged by not teens but adults. Anybody of any age is capable of terrorizing neighborhoods, drug addicts and dealers are mostly not teens in my experience and I have seen alot of bars and clubs chucking out violent drunkern adults. I think 90% of the time the parents should be blamed or the environment. Teens don't turn 13 and then suddenly decide they want to be criminals and nor do they change their ways as soon as they hit 20
Acne radio - what a great idea - young people have a huge amount to offer and any opportunity to counter the permanent demonisation of teenagers (in particular) can only be a positive step. Let's hear about some of the issues 'straight from the horses mouth' - because more often than not what they have to say is more more informed than we think is possible. We have been working on a scheme in Bude for 3 years that encourages young people to engage positively in the community for which they are recognised with CATS (Community Action Through Sport) rewards(sponsored by the community businesses - rather than tax-payers money). Over 1000 youngsters have received such awards and the impact has been significant - on both the individuals and the wider community. Let's hear more from young people and recognise the part they have to play in the future of our communities - rather than make them feel unwanted and alienated. As Georgie says why should all teenagers be put in the same bracket - if we are honest with ourselves were we absolute paragons of virtue in our youth - probably not. Yes there are huge issues that we need to address but is it really fair to just blame it on the young - I think not!!!
I think it is a wonderful idea to have a teenager posting their views on the world today, yes i am a teenager myself so maybe will be able to relate better and see its importance. But maybe people shuold be more open minded and try and understand what its like for us and how it was for them when they were that age.