Many of my posts have come from experiences on my paper route. I know I'm finished the paper route but this incident occurred at 7:00AM on my last Saturday delivery. I found some evidence of misbehavior.
I found a garage sale sign on the sidewalk about 8 houses away from where it was supposed to be. I carried the sign along with me and left it on the rightful owner's yard. In the same area a barricade around a small city work site had been pushed over. I began wondering who had been messing around in my quiet neighborhood. Then I remembered that I heard my papers being dropped off at 4:23 AM and at the same time I heard a male voice in my back alley. So somebody was in the area at that time and was probably the culprit. What else did they do?
I began thinking about this misbehavior and who and why someone might be roaming around at 4 AM. My mind started to work in overdrive and I wondered what had happened in our society that allows people to wander around and be a nuisance or worse. I thought of all the places which are open all night which allow people to receive services such as snacks and drinks, lack of policing, lack of parental guidance and other things which may lead to youth being out in the community at all hours.
Then I said, "Wait a minute. There's something wrong with this scenario." I remember that when I was a teenager in the 1950's. I would at times be out all night and come home and not go to bed. Just got home in time to milk the cows and have breakfast. I got into all kinds of mischief. Not only were vehicles not locked , the keys were left in the ignition. If there weren't keys the technology was so simple, you could put a nickel behind any ignition and make a connection and start a vehicle. So we moved tractors and trucks which were left out in the back 40. Some vehicles we took for a ride and brought them back. I discovered tobacco and alcohol during these ventures. Now in the 50's things close early and nothing was open all night. There was more stringent policing. Parents had more time for their kids and being from a farm we had lots of work to do.
So now I've shot holes in my own theory as to why some young males go out and become nuisances or worse. I also look at my severe condemnation of the youth who took the signs and detect that when I relate my own misbehavior I'm not as hard lined. I'm not looking at my misdeeds as harshly as the other guy's misdeeds.
So my question is,"Why do some young males misbehave and have difficulty seeing that what they are doing is wrong?" I thought all the stuff I got into was "funny", but it wasn't for the victims. How long before my time did young males go out and act up?
