I would have thought people growing up in the 50s, 60s and 70s had heapsa slum estates too to live in, in fact I would have thought the less well off in those days had less than they do now, in material pocessions. Food quality/quantity would have been poor, home entertainments wouldn't have been flat screen tellys or steroes, clothings usually hand me downs, and schools probably cared less then in those days. I would have thought life was much harder, and duller then too, also without prospects, and deffo without mobile phones and designer trainers. And yes drugs was available in those days, maybe not fashionable but enough hard and soft drugs were available. A lot of youths too in those days were also disenfranchised.
But teenagers then didn't go round stabbing each other, joining in gangs or initmdating the public. Of course there was trouble then, there is in every generation, just not the scale it seems to be now.
I have no solution, and though I have some idea why culture has now come to this, in some areas, I do not think a lack of public money, or even policing, is the main reason for the knife deaths.
But I do think it will get better, or maybe just hope it will. New role models for the kids will start springing out, and lead to a better life for all, specially to lead them away from a rather dead end life choice of gangs and knives.
