Wrong side driving social media stunt

Just so horrified by this idiot behaviour. What morons! In light of these recent deaths, I agree, Tik Tok need to step up to the plate and monitor their site. I've no idea how that's done but they need to work that one out and pronto. These stunts can't be allowed to continue.

Someone I admire greatly on twitter ( there are some great voices on there and some crazy people) has just said driving a car the wrong way is equivalent to firing a loaded gun in a public space, I think that is spot on.

There is at least one balloon release planned for tomorrow for one of these boys. Details all over SM "everyone invited". There is also growing dissent from people who don't think the event should be allowed and plan to go to oppose it. Could be a huge crowd. How are colleagues of the dead policemen going to cope with policing this.

There is a go fund me page for the families of the police officers.

I actually think this might become quite unpleasant, a lot of the residents of Middlesborough are asking the council to stop the balloon release, I could just see this becoming a battlefield so to speak.

Dont blame Tic Toc blame society for allowing the feral behavior by young men and some women, the "getting away with it culture".
Gratuitous law breaking and dangerous behaviour has become normalized the A66 is just the worse so far, there have been other tragedies as well that have killed innocents.

Balloon releases should be banned too - full stop.

First of all, my heart goes out the families and friends of the two police officers killed in this incident. It’s an utter tragedy.

We were talking about this today with family. My niece, who has two young adult children, said we need to bring back National Service - I nearly fell off my chair with astonishment as I’d never have imagined her saying those words. I asked her why and she said she felt it would have been a really good thing for her two to learn some discipline and to take responsibility for their own actions. She’s mainly been a single parent, while working FT, due to their father walking out, but I’m not aware that they’d been particularly difficult teens - they both worked PT from about 16yo and never been in trouble with the police, but she still feels they’d have benefited from the experience by reinforcing decent values to them.

How you’d implement something like that today, I don’t know. I was just amazed that a current parent had even heard of National Service, let alone support it.

The two families of the police officers have made heartbreaking statements. I cannot even begin to imagine their pain.

A disproportionate number of these lads are from the traveller community.

A few years ago DS and I arrived very early for the funeral of a friend. It was a lovely day and the crematorium was in the middle of a cemetery. Different areas contained the dead of different communities.

Walking round the traveller section both DS and I commented on the disproportionately high number of young men among the deceased. We had no idea how they died, but we did ask ourselves why this should happen.

Perhaps we and they need to consider why this is happening and what can be done to change the cultural norms that lead to the tragic death toll of young men within this community.

Margs Often they have not passed the driving test, they steal a car and drive it recklessly with no license or insurance.

SueDonim

First of all, my heart goes out the families and friends of the two police officers killed in this incident. It’s an utter tragedy.

We were talking about this today with family. My niece, who has two young adult children, said we need to bring back National Service - I nearly fell off my chair with astonishment as I’d never have imagined her saying those words. I asked her why and she said she felt it would have been a really good thing for her two to learn some discipline and to take responsibility for their own actions. She’s mainly been a single parent, while working FT, due to their father walking out, but I’m not aware that they’d been particularly difficult teens - they both worked PT from about 16yo and never been in trouble with the police, but she still feels they’d have benefited from the experience by reinforcing decent values to them.

How you’d implement something like that today, I don’t know. I was just amazed that a current parent had even heard of National Service, let alone support it.

There is no doubt that the behaviour of children has been neglected, it's not just the poor or disadvantaged, children of well off families can be just as irresponsible. There was a case locally where others died because of stupid dangerous behaviour. It's not just cars, swimming in dangerous places is just as irresponsible self discipline has been badly neglected.

Not national service, service to the community, teaching responsibility, respect and accountability.

“Change the cultural norms” - an excellent suggestion MOnica but, how on earth can that aim begin?

Work meant I’ve had fairly extensive involvement with the travelling community. I try to avoid stereotyping entire races or communities and stress I met some excellent individuals and families. The single outstanding factor to get through is the strong belief in the community that they are victimised outsiders.

I’ll stop here and be interested in views of others to MOnica raising this imo relevant issue. Yes many young men are risk takers, not only those from the travelling community

OldFrill

There is at least one balloon release planned for tomorrow for one of these boys. Details all over SM "everyone invited". There is also growing dissent from people who don't think the event should be allowed and plan to go to oppose it. Could be a huge crowd. How are colleagues of the dead policemen going to cope with policing this.

There are families mourning these boys but in the circumstances I feel it should be kept low key.
However, it seems these boys were well known trouble makers from families who had little respect for others, particularly the Police.
I would like to see it banned because it is a riot in the making.

Galaxy

There is a go fund me page for the families of the police officers.

I don't usually agree with Go Fund Me pages but I do in this instance.
The 4 young people critically injured in the Irish incident have a funding page reaching the £1m mark. They will likely need every penny.

Iam I respect your input in such matters because you have had through your career an insight into working with different demographics that the casual observer lacks and we can only go on how local communities have often been affected by travellers. Who as you say do paint themselves as "victims" whilst behaving badly. Maybe they're just the bad eggs that besmirch the rest who don't behave in such a way, but unfortunately we don't hear about them it's the notoriety of the others. I can't remember where I heard this but I believe many emanate from Ireland where they're not tolerated as much as they are here in England.

What is noticeable quite often is the detritus they leave behind the worst of it is excrement and used baby nappies strewn all over the place. Then the local council have to clean that up at a cost to the local tax payer.

They appear to do what they like without repercussions. Intimidating locals. Parking on private property, sometimes concreting over fields without permission cutting through wire and locks to access playgrounds other specific community areas. Stealing from local shops, abusing shop staff. Where I used to live in a close outlying village, a popular Indian couple run the village shop/post office who had some teen boys come in steal stuff and when they tried to apprehend them they got a mouthful of racial abuse. It seems that one of the joyriders in this latest case is on trial for racially abusing and assaulting officers, I don't know whether he was from a travelling community or not. In the same village as the post office incident, I knew someone who lived there, residents got excrement chucked into gardens, even a dead dog! I'm afraid these behaviours do not endear them to local communities and using the "victim" card is very disingenuous. Residents are intimidated and often fear them, they ruin lives and cause an enormous amount of stress and when they clear off they leave a load of rubbish behind them.

Suffice to say, whoever the tearaway drivers were in this appalling and needless loss of life, my sympathies lie with the two officers and their families.

AI overview:”Young men in the Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities face a severe mental health crisis, with suicide rates estimated to be up to seven times higher than those of the general population. This critical issue is driven by deep-rooted social, cultural, and structural challenges”.I googled this because I remembered seeing a programme recently about suicide rates among young traveller men.

I think it's only been confirmed three of the young men in the Irish incident were associated with the travelling community, and no confirmation about the English incident.

SM is certainly stirring up extreme hatred for these minority communities because of these boys' behaviour. It's hardly surprising they feel victimised.

Ww

BBC news this morning have said that Tik Tok will pay for sensational videos so there is incentive for these young men to take part in these dangerous exploits.
I agree that young men tend to enjoy taking risks never believing that they will be killed so five have now died young.
I'm so sorry for the families of the police officers who have called them heroes. Such a waste of life.

Travelers ARE outsiders, it's their choice to not settle in one place they are always going to be treated with suspicion. Irish Travellers in particular are a problem and it's no surprise they suffer from depression.
In Ireland new laws made it very difficult for them so many moved to the UK, where they live in closed camps, no go areas even to the police.

Those I am aware of locally, make a living as landscape gardeners and tarmacing drives, where they have a reputation for scams and poor work. In the past they did seasonal farm work and scrap collection both of which have stopped.

Just like most of us if I want work done I go to business I trust or have been recommended so I guess I discriminate against travellers

The figures from the Irish Times says that 22% of males in the traveller community ( I dont think the Middlesborough incident was travellers from what I can see) die in car accidents this is high I think. I would suggest that not talking about this is a disaster for those communities.

Unfortunately boys and young men have a tendency to reckless behaviour, I don’t think their backgrounds are necessarily a major factor. Look at how many drown every year for example.

When my nephew was about ten, there was a daredevil stunt prevalent, which was to lie down in the middle of the road and only move when a car was a few yards away, my sister caught him lying in the road outside their house and gave him what for of course, but it was the in thing to do. You wouldn’t believe they could be so dumb, but they think they are invincible.

One of the boys in Middlesbrough was awaiting trial for racially abusing the police. They were being chased by the police and seemed to be deliberately taunting them before evading capture by turning the wrong way down the A road where they smashed into the unrelated police car. It could have been any car driving up the road. No thought for their own safety or anyone else’s. I don’t know how you stop it. So sorry for the families of the police officers.

A tragic and needless loss of seven lives and heartbreaking for the families of all who died.