Brits Rail At Us While Teen Thugs Run Riot

THE BRITS HAVE a rather poor opinion of the United States, according to Ben Fenton. Only 12 percent of them think that the United States can be trusted to act responsibly on the world stage.

Britons, writes Anthony King, feel that

America appears to be a class-divided and racially divided society and one that fails to offer its citizens equality of opportunity. Nearly three quarters of Britons, 72 per cent, believe American society is essentially "unequal".

It is understandable that they would take a dim view of the US. It helps them to avoid examining the mess in their own country, where teenaged gangs seem to roam around without limit, according to Theodore Dalrymple. It seems to be considered rare sport for young thugs to loiter around and beat up on adults, sending them to hospital with serious brain injuries. And why not? The criminal justice system just gives them a slap on the wrist.

Peter Wareing, a 42-year-old barrister, was attacked in the street by a gang of youths, and suffered permanent brain injury. The two youthful thugs that beat him were sentenced to 18 months in jail and will likely get out in 9 months.

Wareing was no privileged insider, pampered by a privileged upbringing.

He was evidently a man of some spirit: having been a salesman, he decided to study for the law, supported himself at law school by a variety of manual jobs, and qualified at the bar at the age of 40. The extent of his recovery astounded his neurosurgeon, who attributed it to Wareing�s determination and �bloody-mindedness.�

Here�s another story. �An engineer�Philip Carroll, the father of four�was tinkering with his car outside his home. Four drunken youths sat on a wall on his property, and he asked them to leave.� They beat him and caused brain injury. Carroll may never work again. The culprit, Michael Kuba-Kuba, a talented athlete whose parents owned an African foods grocery store, got 12 months in jail. He said he acted in self-defense.

It�s just as well that the Brits are disgusted with the United States, its racism, its inequality, and its imperial ambitions in the world. They wouldn�t want to look at the unequal fight being waged on their own streets between peaceable householders and drunken teen thugs. That might be too unpleasant.

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Christopher Chantrill blogs at www.roadtothemiddleclass.com. His Road to the Middle Class is forthcoming.

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