h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

There a menace, so lets force discipline into them.

Notice why I used army for the first section. Nice scally infantry. Better that then growing crime and such.

Human rights are dependant on society. Our society currently beleives human rights are all important. However our society is the same one that so far, wants gambling, has a mass of compensation culture, and has a growing elderly population who feel of so comfortable walking past the scallies of today.

you didn't really pay attention to what i said did you...

Sorry it went over the page.

Yes im fully aware. Ive had enough relatives in the army to have a sense of military pride. Five men died and all deserved to be remembered. The war may be wrong, but the military is serving queen and country.

I think the point im best trying to make comes from the film 'A hard days night'...
War veteran - 'I fought the war for you'
Paul McCartney - 'Bet your sorry you won now'

When you here about a group of scallies, young or old, it seems as though ever last bit of effort for honor of the country has been thoughrily Sh*t upon.

Hm, I'd like to think that when my country's being 'defended', I would rather have be professionals rather than a peasant underclass who only fight people around six to one.

I can't believe you view human rights as a bad thing!!! Have you seen what the human rights act does for you? It would have to be suspended for your wacky plan to be put into effect, and that could only be bad.

So what your in effect saying is let scally kids roam the streets at there discretion. If they attack people then ah well theres nothing we can do.

No, I'm saying educate them better, give them decent homes, help them grow into functioning human beings. Stop wasting money on wars and start spending it on children. Look at the Dutch education system and compare it to ours, then look at Dutch youths and compare them to our 'yoofs'. Growing up on a dodgy, ill-maintained estate then going to uninspiring, dull lessons to be condescended at would turn anyone against authority, so attack the problem at the source (ie the British Government's current social policy) as opposed to forcing iron military discipline on people at a late stage of development.

Yes you could do that. But would you expect you average group of scallies to embrace a better education system?

You've got to bare in mind that the dutch system has probibly been built up over many years. Doing that here simply wouldnt work for at least a decade or maybe even two.
With my system the problem is tackled directly and instantly. The minimum age you can join the army is 16 with parental concent. Instead of parental concent, whack em straight in the army for two years if they choose to do nothing else. After two years leave the choice up to the individual. Some might stay in the army, others might decided to go and use the skills they've learnt in the forces and get a job.

others might deside that now there two years service is over to go out onto streets late at night and hang around with there new militery knowlage and skills and cause trouble...

But if that was the case then wouldnt there be more ex-military personal commiting crime at the moment?

militery personel dont tend to be uneducated yoikes
and whats more exmilitery personel tend to be older than teenagers
if you force people to sign up they will only resent the system more than they already do

Possibly, but if there in the army they'd at least be doing something. Surely thats better then wandering the streets, or putting fireworks into phone boxes, or beating old people to near death in there own homes.

'Yes you could do that. But would you expect you average group of scallies to embrace a better education system?'

If we educated them properly from DAY ONE, there'd be NO SCALLIES.

Attack to causes of the problem, not the effect.

You could take it back further though and use the immortal line by Marlon Brando in the wild one

'What are you rebelling against?'
'Whaddya got?'


There isnt a day one. Like i said even if you started doing it now it wouldnt have any effect for decades to come (possible even two generations to become totally effective). This works straight off.

Well, I dont see how it would solve anything,
its against human rights
people rebel against things
and theres no way it would pass in law
your hypothasising the impossable

Yes all true.

I could argue about human rights but im ill

So rather than trying to improve the future, we should just send anyone deemed unworthy of higher education off to fight and die for a country that's shafted them by suspending thier human rights?

They wouldnt fight. They'd be drilled and such but they'd be the same as reserve troops - Only needed in the event of world war 3 (coming to a shore near you spring 2006).

Maybe it'd work, maybe it wouldnt, but it'd sure as hell be better then whats going on at the moment

What'd happen to you? Went to college, didn't go to Uni, claiming benifits. Do you get to sit there dictating, or are you pressed into menial labour of conscripted into the armed forces? What about those who don't know what they want to do with their lives? Who want a year to live before going into higher education? Do they get drilled as reserves, are they made to lay bricks, or is it merely a case of one law for the lower class and one for the upper?

If it was required of me id happily join the forces.

I went college (two years) wasnt sure about uni so defered my place (so im still going). That leaves a gap year to do what i wanted. I decided to go back to college and educate myself a little while longer.