Respect is a property of a relationship. It involves one person honouring another. Respect, as opposed to submission, has to be earned. It results from acknowledgement that the "other" has intrinsic value, moral worth.
Feral has not previously been applied to humans. It concerns cultivated plants or domesticated animals that have gone wild. To call children feral is to deny their humanity. It signifies mutual disrespect, as does "yob".
What are we to make of this? There is nothing new about the young showing some disrespect for their elders. But labelling children "feral yobs" suggests a new low for serious policy analysis. It implies that the subjects are no longer part of a human relationship. Or that the analysts have no responsibility for whatever relationship has gone awry. It's not a sensible starting point from which to find solutions to the real problem of youth crime.
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