Wild west scenarios

My happy slaps saga continues here (log-in required). "What the hell is Britain coming to? Is our country getting out of control? Tell us what you think about the violence on our streets? Email us at yourviews@the-sun.co.uk" asks The Sun. Even Daleks aren't safe.

This rhetoric is based in part on the apparent progression to a happy shooting incident in Leeds. Don't they realise that statements such as 'Happy slapping craze will end in MURDER' are a self-fulfilling prophecy, egging on a handful of enthusiasts to go one better? This weekend I overheard my first bunch of local (white) teenagers in Poplar planning to 'go happy slap someone innit, bruv', after two months of only hearing journalists talking about it. Keep up the hysteria and maybe the press will get that murder it's been looking for.

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There's some useful background to my review of Bill Mullen's sharp new book at this link and this one. If you haven't got a copy yet, here's the place to do so.