Laugh too loud in public and you see people flinch - even at the beach!
Honestly, I sat on a bench looking out over Moreton Bay - a place which is like home for me -
and I could feel social tension that I've never felt before in this place.
People were on edge. Cautious, regarding each other suspiciously.
Look at this Sunday morning:
The beach is not even crowded. See the black spot on the leaf?
Well, there's a black spot on our society.
If it came down to fight or flight most of the people on the beach would choose flight because they've got young ones to protect.
And they're not looking for a fight. They seem afraid to even relax and let their guard down.
A sullen family lay a picnic blanket in the shade beside us. It seemed like a typical lazy Sunday morning.
It was later than 9am. Parents anxiously controlled the level of noise they allowed their children to make - at the beach!
Even baby ducks have more freedom under the strict control of a patrolling mother duck.
As a kid, I spent several blissful years roaming this beach.
We'd take off from home for hours, hike up to island here with our friends - no adult supervision.
We'd squelch our way over mudflats to dinghies laying on their sides a kilometre out.
We'd cut our feet on shells under the mud and limp home bleeding but contented.
Time flew without us noticing.
It's not just about having freedom to roam your world - it was like blue sky thinking, independence and trust.
Yes being caught on an incoming tide is pretty frightening but sharing adventures and pushing your boundaries seems pretty important too.
We once carried our baby sisters (who insisted they must come with us) on our backs with the incoming tide lapping at our chests.
Now their children marvel at these stories.
Given such freedom we thrived in ways that children today can't fathom.
Their adventures are either on screen or carefully monitored.
They are bred to be cautious.
And who can blame parents for being paranoid I suppose.
But what happens when cautious, sensible kids are put into a schoolyard with children who do not have boundaries (for whatever reason)?
Kids who are so scary that teachers are not willing to call them on their behaviour.
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,,26016574-5003402,00.htm
These kids are pushing boundaries in much more dangerous ways than pitting themselves against nature by climbing trees and racing tides.
These kids have failed to develop compassion for the rights and worth of others - I'd call it impaired judgement. To be polite.
To be cool you either need money to burn on all the cool things, or you have to be a spoiler, a tough guy - even better be both privileged and tough!
That's a delightful combination.
Way too many people get hurt at teenage parties: http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,,26008747-3102,00.html
Anyone - not just teenagers - who accepts the solutions offered by video games, and movies, and shock jocks, and magazines, and reality TV needs to be set straight - and if it's not happening in the home - it needs to happen in the classroom. The system's screwed if kids learn what WTF means but they don't know what WWI means or WWF or "A stitch in time saves nine".
We're beyond the time of needing "nine stitches" - we need a major operation when children are dying in schoolyard brawls and people are tense on our beaches.
If teachers are afraid to call these kids on their behaviour (and they are, if you talk to teachers they are) what is society doing wrong?
Because something is dreadfully wrong!
Why aren't young people at peace?
Why?