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New Zealand: Land of drunk teens and wannabe gangs

An interesting article in the New Zealand Herald highlights the growing trend of "wannabe" teen gangs who copy American inner-city trends of wearing colors and getting into fights.

"Most of the parties I've been to, kids show up looking for trouble," says Brendan. "They think they're copying the LA gangs, they show up wearing bandannas."

This is a very long article written from the perspective of a teen, and apparently this craze of partying and fighting has taken over all of NZ, to the point where concerned adults are at wits end trying to deal with it.

"Kids booze till they drop, throw up and keep going," says an Auckland teacher. "These are kids whose parents are pillars of the community. The binge-drinking culture is alive and well."

"You're a teenager - you're meant to get drunk," said Crystel, 17. "The first time I got drunk it was 'cos everyone else was doing it. It was just what you're meant to do."

Too true. Too true...

Posted By jamesk at 2007-09-14 18:39:20 permalink | comments
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Aualiitiajay. : 2013-11-03 16:42:31
All them wannabes at New Zealand need to stop bangin sets they dnt even know about, im from long beach N trust me gang bangin is dying down now
Lossenelin : 2007-09-15 02:05:22
I live in New Zealand, I wouldn't say its totally dull- Here in Christchurch I go to live music gigs every weekend, theres a great forest for cycling, the library has a few good books and if all else fails theres a slow but usable broadband infrastructure to keep us entertained. Of course, live music is almost always in bars so young people can't go (yet they drink more than bar patrons) people aren't into the outdoors or sport much anymore, broadband penetration is only about 40% and we don't have much of a culture that encourages reading.

My ex-girlfriend who emigrated here from Australia complained the only groups organising anything for young people are the churches (this in a very secular country where Christians are a minority) All in all its not surprising young people see drinking as the only thing to do. As in the US or other countries a big reason for this is that alcohol is socially accepted while other drugs are not (and in many cases are illegal) interestingly a lot of drugs are legal here compared to say Australia, but the most popular drinking alternative -BZP- is being outlawed (as covered by Dose Nation a few days ago) and others like Salvia and Damiana are basicly kept quiet by the few users- afraid that arch prohibitionist Jim Anderton will pick them as his next target when hes done with the BZP users.

amazingdrx : 2007-09-14 20:02:05
As someone who's spent a bit of time in New Zealand, I can see what those poor kids are on about. Nowhere, in all my extensive travels around the world, have I ever been to a more boring country. New Zealand is comfortable, suburban, and dull to the point well past tears. So of course the kids borrow from a culture that seems exciting and glamorous - if there's no drama in their lives then dammit we'll manufacture some!

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