As mentioned previously I've been braving the public transport system here in Brisbane lately. One thing I've noticed in the last couple of weeks is that our buses and trains are inadequately signed. They give the usual expected warnings about standing clear of doors, standing behind the yellow lines, not exiting while doors are closing, and all of those (one would think) obvious safety tips, but it isn't enough.
Nobody stands guard to warn us of the real horrors we are sure to face. Nothing prepares the unsuspecting or inexperienced commuters of the abhorration that is the new and devolved 21st century teen. Nobody has thought to post signs on the side of the bus proclaiming "Here There Be Monsters" or "Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here". Or maybe they did, and these demon-children have torn them down to place on the walls over their beds.
On one bus, wild, foulmouthed, rude and undisciplined brats party unchecked on their way to school. Were there to be a heavy metal band performing in the back rows, nobody would hear them over swearing kids.
Shortly after on a train, teenage boys abuse, insult, and belittle a group of girls who dress a little differently to them. Yeah, man, I'm cool. I just called you a whore and a dyke. I'm tough too, because I did it in public.
I make it sound awful, but really it isn't a ride through hell like I might make it sound. Days like this are the exception here, but it still seems unmistakable clear that discipline is lacking more these days than I seem to remember it, and the education system lies bleeding, broken, and worn down, mostly ignored by those it is meant to help. When the current troop of illiterate monkeys become the standard, and the few remaining graduates who know how to spell "where" are considered genius, how many will bother to notice?
Hang out your signs, if you have some, because even if you don't see them every day, the monsters are here and they're multiplying. If we can teach some of them to do that with even a calculator there may still be some hope... just don't hold your breath waiting for them to catch on.
* Annual rants may unfairly distort the perception of the author's state of mind. Author may be less jaded and sensationalist than he appears.
*author has every right to express disgust at how out of control youth is today.
*reader suggests that author not forget his kevlar vest if he decides to teach the miscreants a lesson.
[don't mind me, i'm just testing your comments]