'The murder of Sophie Lancaster - kicked to death by a pack of feral,
pubescent chavs because she was dressed as a "goth" - might once have
genuinely shocked us, rather than simply appalled us. Sophie, a gentle
and intelligent soul by all accounts, had gone to the aid of her
boyfriend who was being beaten by the youths; please stop, she
pleaded. So they killed her and continued kicking her boyfriend.
'...Ryan Herbert was a bit of a star. He'd been in a rap video about
how people had better watch out if they ran into his gang - the
threats delivered in excruciating whitey-in-da-ghetto patois. The
video was a "youth project" funded by the local council. Someone
thought that a constructive way to channel the energies of these s***
was to indulge them in their violent adolescent fantasies.
'...They were indulged, mind, at every turn - by their parents, by the
courts, by the council, by a government which wants to send fewer such
people to prison. Poor Sophie Lancaster has paid the price for this
serial indulgence. We should be appalled, but not surprised.'
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/rod_liddle/article3646263.ece
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