How we feel ... a view from a Hackney teenager

Submitted by Janine on 23 April, 2005 - 9:06

By Nicky (16)

Yo, what’s up, peeps?

Or should I use correct grammar?

Say “Hello, how are you?”

To tell you the truth, I couldn’t give a damn.

And I’m sick and tired of not being listened to.

Cos I’m a teenager, and all people seem to think we do is get up to no good, bunk school, y’know, get into fights, have no respect, can’t dress properly, …

I mean – when’s it going to stop?

We have a lot of stress on our hands.

For instance, you’ve got your parents giving you a hard time to do well in school and not hang out on the streets so much.

Then you’ve got your teachers in school, going on about deadlines for course work.

I mean, does it ever stop?

Then you’ve got exam after exam.

And if you don’t pass, then sweeping the streets or working in McDonald’s is a very healthy option – ha!

Then you’ve got problems with your friends – and your fr’enemies.

So while all this is going on – who’s actually asking us how we feel?

Well, for one, I am.

I wanna know what you think. How you feel.

Because if it’s not discussed now,

It never will be.

This is what I think about the Police.

A lot of people think that the Police just don’t treat us fairly. Many of my friends have been stopped and searched, and I have once before as well. Many of us feel that when you’re hanging on street corners, people feel that you’re up to no good, when really, you might not even be doing anything suspicious. It’s just the way society looks at us today.

Personally, if I ever wanted to go and help an old lady cross the road, she’d probably beat me with her handbag because she’d probably think I’m trying to rob her. But really I’m not.
These times now are just terrible. People are ready to kill you over a packet of crisps, or for your mobile phone.

It’s not safe to walk the streets any more at night time, or even in the daytime.

I think it’s terrible when older generations of people are scared of young people because we come in groups and we wear bandanas and we wear our trousers hanging off our backsides. I don’t think it’s fair.

It’s very depressing sometimes, when you know that it’s coming to that, you know.

I mean, it’s not like black youth – well, it’s not even just black youth – other cultures of youth as well – they don’t give each other good reputations towards people. People don’t see us as friendly and that. It’s only when they actually get to know us that they actually see us for what we are.

Like, if you just see our images, then you’re not going to like us at all.

I also feel that the Police are very stereotypical. If they saw a group of, say, white girls hanging on a street corner, they are less likely to go and approach them than if they were five black boys, or maybe even five white boys.

I think that the Police need to stop that. But now, when Police search you, they have to fill out a form, and they don’t like doing it, so they don’t ask you questions so much.

But I just feel that the Police don’t really do enough. When you call the Police, they always take about 45 minutes to get to wherever the scene happened. And by then, you’re probably beaten up and mugged anyway.

And they give you a number to call when you’re in trouble – like this special number – and you’re supposed to get right through straight away and they’ll come. They don’t come!

I think kids these days are very opinionated. I think that we all love to speak out, but we mainly speak in groups to our friends and that. So that’s why I decided to record this.

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