Anti-social behaviour

Yet not all tourists are inebriated idiots. And not all abusive, inappropriate drunks are men! It might surprise you to discover that a decent proportion of anti-social behaviour these days comes from a certain category of women, with public, drunken cat-fights becoming as common as their disappearing hemlines once battles commence!

Yet the most worrying of all is hearing of anti-social behaviour from local children as young as ten, whose behaviour is now reaching headline status. I recently heard of a number of incidents in a well-known, peaceful, quiet resort, north of the island, where children have been hurling water at tourists, and dropping water bombs on sun-bathers relaxing on their terrace loungers. Are these unruly children reacting to anti-tourist comments they may, or may not have heard from adults and their parents alike? Just saying! Or is this anti-social water throwing what some people might simply call ‘high jinx’? No more than a bit of a laugh, I already hear some people saying! Yet I suppose it all depends on which end of the ‘joke’ you’re on, along with the level of your humour. After all, we were all kids once!

One reported incident which recently grabbed my attention involved three Spanish, or local teenagers, who burst into a private apartment and threw water over the male resident, who jumped up in complete shock (and possible terror) before slipping, and falling, injuring his head into the bargain. Is that funny? The apartment block is security gated, yet other youths had previously broken the entry code and been thrown out of the community swimming pool. Was this pay-back? It’s undoubtedly deliberate, daring, and definitely anti-social if not bordering on criminal!

As youngsters, even the most dangerous pranks are deemed hilarious. Particularly when there’s an audience on TikTok. Yet as we get older, such incidents become unsettling and definitely unacceptable on any level!