The murder of 11-year-old Rhys Jones didn't really prove to me that Britain is sick, as I've thought it's been sick for years. It just proves it's sicker than I thought!
There's more of a nastiness now in society, than when I was 11, and when I was kicking a ball about, I just had the worry of a grumpy neighbour confiscating my ball.
I was in a gang as a teenager, but it was just macho posturing. No guns, no knives, no fighting. You can blame the current climate on a lot of things, but it comes down to respect. If you can't respect the life of an 11-year-old boy, what the hell can you respect?
I don't really know what makes the minds of these kids tick, but YouTube are quite happy to give 'em a voice here: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LWk3mXooTQQ. This vid was featured on the news a few days ago.
I'd rather look at this tribute site to Rhys by his friends:
http://pic1.piczo.com/LovingMemoryOfRhys/?g=29378596&cr=1
