Youngsters or gangsters?

The other day I was walking home after a quick trip to the supermarket when I passed by a trio of teenagers. Suddenly, I heard them say in an unfriendly tone: "What are you carrying there? You, longshanks." I was tempted to turn round and challenge them but I wisely decided to let it pass. Yet, those words were so unexpected that by the time I got home I was still seething. 

What kind of children are parents bringing up these days? If they are so bold as to pick on a guy who is 6 feet 4 inches tall, what will they do to other people?

I blame the parents. No child is so naturally bad that cannot eventually become a good, honest, respectable citizen if only the people responsible for them behaved like the decent parents they are expected to be.

Yesterday, I decided to watch one of my favourite films again: Gladiator. In one of the scenes, Emperor and philosopher Marcus Aurelius tells his power-hungry son: "Your faults as a son is my failure as a father." Soon after, the father is murdered by his own son.

Will we ever learn?