National media has suddenly picked up on it following comments made last week backing the ban by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and Prime Minister Tony Blair. Prescott recalled being intimidated by a "gang" of youths wearing hoodies he encountered in a motorway service station. He was "saved" by his Special Branch minders. Blair spoke of countering the "loss of respect" in society symbolised by the "shopping centre thugs", saying he totally sympathised with the ban.
But amid this hysteria about young people wearing hoodies it's worth getting a little perspective. Young people have too often been demonised by blanket generalisations about the way they dress - and it has always been thus. From Victorian times, through rock and roll, mods, rockers, skinheads, punks and casuals, youth culture gets blamed for the ills in our society. Even Socrates bemoaned young people who "contradict their parents, talk too much in company, guzzle their food, lay their legs on the table, and tyrannise their elders".
As for the stores that sell the dreaded hooded tops, presumably they won't be clearing their shelves of hoodies. But is it not hypocritical to ban young people wearing hoodies while at the same time profiting from the sales of such clothing?
Greater Manchester Police says only 1.2 per cent of robberies in the past 12 months involved someone wearing a hooded top, despite one of its inspectors last year claiming "more than half of robberies" in south Manchester were carried out by people covering their faces with hoods.
Yes, young Mancunians such as this week's Young People Now cover stars Liam and Adam, who live on the estate in West Gorton popularised by Channel 4's Shameless, do wear hoodies. But, more importantly, they're making the best of the opportunities provided them by local youth projects to improve their lives and achieve their potential (see p16).
Talk of respect is all well and good, but this must extend to respecting the rights and wellbeing of young people as well.
