Is this fair?
A YouGov explored Brotosh public attitudes towards 48 groups, categorised by gender, age, ethnicity and religion. They found that people considered white British men in their 20s to be the most lazy, rude and promiscuous people in the country; the most likely to get drunk; and, along with black Caribbean men in their 20s, the most likely to take drugs. The most popular group was white women in their 60s.
I think to damn a whole age group of a single gender is ridiculous. There are many nice, cheerful, polite and considerate young men in Britain. People, make these wild generalisations, often with a particular person in mind, extrapolating from the particular and applying it to the general; but it isn’t fair or reasonable.
What is worrying is that, with two parents working, discipline takes a dive, because the adults are probably just too exhausted to keep nagging their children. Some sre therefore growing up self-centered and lacking respect for anyone, which I think is the fault of parents (not schools ; schools cannot make up for the failures of parenting). A small example: for countless centuries, even before the invention of writing, children were expected to thank grandparents, for instance, for birthday presents, aunts for days out, and family friends for holiday presents. They always needed a nudge or a nag from Mum or Dad, mind you. Now too many young men don’t even bother to return a text message, let alone send a thank you for a birthday gift. All deeply alienating. Thank goodness for the civilised young men – let them not give in to being boors.
Unfortunately, there may be something in this survey, and that’s coming from a white British man in his 20s! Look at th education system for instance. White British boys are the least likely to do well at school, or to go to university (Asian women are the most likely.) http://www.suttontrust.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Class-differences-report_References-available-online.pdf Now considering that black people are still more likely to be poor, that’s not a good sign.Part of it may be a sense of entitlement; we expect to get good jobs and high social standing without working for it. Part of the reason is the rise of a so called ‘lad culture’, which its emphasis on sport, physical fitness, ability to drink lots of alcohol quickly, and of course be sexually promiscuous. A similar phenomenon exists in American fraternities.
But white men in their 20s may also be victims of a changing economy. They are most likely to be affected by automation and deindustrialisation. Ethnic minorities overwhelmingly live in urban areas where poverty may be high, but so are opportunities. Areas that are in terminal decline are virtually always nearly entirely white areas. Without meaningful work, many young white men will turn to drugs, alcohol, or simply become lazy. What this survey fails to take into account is class. In wealthy areas, young white men are viewed just as favourably as everyone else. But as I said in my post on the free market, the UK’s wealth is overwhelmingly concentrated in the richer parts of London and the South East. Improving the standing of young white men will require investment across the country.
Good post, well put.