Using Classical Music As a Form of Social Control

cyberfringe writes "Classical music is being used increasingly in Great Britain as a tool for social control and a deterrent to bad behavior. One school district subjects badly behaving children to hours of Mozart in special detention. Unsurprisingly, some of these youth now find classical music unbearable. Recorded classical music is blared through speakers at bus stops, outside stores, train stations and elsewhere to drive away loitering youth. Apparently it works. Detentions are down, graffiti is reduced, and naughty youth flee because they find classical music repugnant."

Comments

Re:A Clockwork Orange

[SpaghettiPattern]

You are aware that A Clockwork Orange was fiction, aren't you? It was a movie and not a documentary.

Don't forget that Alex DeLarge actually liked Ludwig Von. He was appalled by what was done in order to let people dislike his music.

Re:What's that? A "war against youth"?

[xtracto]

You may have such a stance because you do not know what horror is the young generation in the United Kingdom.

I do, as I lived there, in one of the worst places regarding this (Liverpool) for about 4 years. Kids there do not care about anything, and as they know they have immunity, they will get into gangs just to do all sorts of vandalism.

As an example, I know that if a kid commits a crime, the most that can happen to them is to get an "Asbo" (anti social behaviour order). I know some of them get a bracelet "asbo" for each crime. What is the result? the kids brag about who has more bracelets, because he is more "evil" or whatnot.

In the time I lived there, a colleague of mine was hit by a paintball pellet in the eye while riding his bike from his Univ. office to his home; my flatmate was attacked by a van with kids shooting paintball pellets; another friend was thrown a car at him; another friend was walking at the street when some guys approached, took their glasses from his face and threw them (breaking them of course) to the ground. All this "just because". Oh yeah, and a Spanish friend was attacked and got his leg broken in 2 places.

You see, the problem with this is that if any of these friends tried to defend themselves, according to English law, they would be attacking/harassing minors. And, because in addition we are foreigners (mainly PhD students) we would in addition be thrown out of the country.

So yeah, in effect kids in the UK are pretty evil. But I agree with some of your posts in that the problem is not youths themselves but the general system who has forged them like that.

What I saw while living there is that parents do not care about their children and their education. The government should make parents directly accountable for their kids actions: If your kid killed another kid then it is YOU who pays for the crime. If a kid robbed, then it is YOU who pay for the crime, as an adult. That way parents can continue to have the "freedom" of raising their kids as they want, but if the kids mess up, they will get the consequences.