About X and the past (How the bullied conform)

X, is the place where my youth club is situated. Of course, I can't name the location in full, because it might reveal my identity. X is a village. Not a city club where you may think this behavior is demographically more typical...

A has social problems. X's youth are a product of it's parenting. But X is a curious place, due to the fact that a large amount of the young people in the village will, sooner or later indulge in bad behavior.

You might ask why.

Well, X's youth are a close knit group. The typical amount of young people in X's youth club is 50-60 (It's a big village-more like a small town), and they stick together like glue. They never fight each other. They never "grass" on each other. It's a very powerful group, that other young people are sucked into. This group has a constantly changing hierarchy that is dictated by bad behavior.

X's youth do not like black sheep. They especially dislike individualism. To try and explain how this works, read the story below. This is something that happened two years ago now:

J was a new lad in the club. He was also a new lad in the village. J heard about the youth club in the village, and loving football, decided to come down to play a few games, and to see what we had to offer.

I spoke to J, and found him a very quiet lad, who was obviously intelligent, and had a passion for sports. J went to a grammar school, and got good grades throughout.

I filled in a membership form for J, and let him go explore, and meet people.

Fifty minutes later, I noticed a large group of young people gathering outside. I went outside to see what was going on, only to witness J on the floor, being kicked in the face. It took a while to realize it was him, because his face was so bloodied. I got in between J and the other lads, and tried to shield him as much as possible. Eventually, a few other youth workers came outside, to assist me. A few lads jumped on J's glasses, which broke them beyond fixing. They also stole his mobile phone. The group, fourty strong, then threatened to "do" our cars, as we were protecting J.

A group of approximately fourty, on one lad. The girls, more vicious than the boys.

Now, that may not seem that strange to you. But what happened after that incident in X, is what interests me most, and what I find the most worrying.

I never expected J to come back down the club again. I was very surprised when I saw him walk through the door. It was two weeks after the incident above, and J seemed to have befriended a few of the lads that were in the group.

J spoke differently. He now spoke with the same lingo and aggression as the rest of the group. His walk changed. J, was now a completely different person. J called me a cunt on that first day back. He also told me he'd "fucking do me" for asking him not to flick rizla papers everywhere.

This, a completely different person in a two week period.

Since then, J has gone from bad to worse. He is one of the biggest drug dealers in the club, and deals skunk openly. He's been kicked out of school, and has been arrested on numerous ocassions. J does not play football anymore.

This, is peer pressure. This is what groups do to souls that don't have the confidence to stand alone. To think alone. They become part of the group, because it is a source of protection. It is the easy option, and the most profitable option.

It's the only thing they can do to stand a chance.

This is the reality that young people face in Britain today.

So X is the place where my experiences as a youth worker will be documented. I hope you find this blog informative and eye opening.