I didn’t want to add further fuel to the media bonfire at the peak of his notoriety in mid January by writing about him in my blog or in this newsletter. Enough volumes were devoted to him at the time. But it was worth reflecting on the whole bizarre episode that certainly touched a raw community nerve.
Was this event a blip on the social radar? After all, it was school holiday time and kids will be kids. I am not so sure. “Coreygate” was an incident just waiting to happen. He, his mates and the other players in this event are products of their times.
There were five alarming aspects that demonstrate there has been a significant community and generational shift in attitudes and behaviour.
NO.1: The fact that 500 kids came to a party in a suburban street is absolutely scary. Close your eyes and picture that number of young people gathering outside your home around midnight. This generation of kids are so highly connected to each other that they can garner a massive crowd in no time with little effort. Communication technology and modern social networking websites now mean that every small gathering is a potential block party.
NO.2: These 16 year olds showed no respect for private or public property as well as the police. It is too easy to blame alcohol or the ‘gang’ factor for this. Mark Twain, declared in Huck Finn, that there is nothing so brainless as a mob. Let’s not forget that much of the behaviour bordered on criminal. The mob factor is a poor excuse.
NO. 3: The instant notoriety party boy Corey received was astonishing. World-wide news coverage was one thing, but the hero-worship he received was another. Depending on your age and viewpoint he was declared a ‘moron’ and, alternatively a ‘legend’. The fact that bad news now makes good news makes it smart for some kids with not a lot going for them to be bad. What a pay-off this young person got for moronic behaviour!
NO.4: The Paris Hilton factor, where bad behaviour is suddenly a saleable commodity, was more than evident. Celebrity agent Max Markson is making Corey a seemingly small fortune (if media reports are correct) to host similar parties. Never have parents raised kids in such a context where nothing is off-limits and young people’s long term best interests are less important than commercial interests.
NO.5: The empathy that went out to Corey’s parents was amazing. They appeared on TV and they seemed, well, normal. Like you and I. “There by the grace of God go I” was the general feeling. The strength of this empathy reflects a type of powerlessness than many parents feel as they wonder how to avoid raising their own ‘Corey’.
This last point touches on perhaps the most pertinent issue. Is our current parenting so poor that we run the danger of raising a generation of Corey’s who show little respect for others and who are, in effect, caricatures of some of the less-than-smart celebrities going around. Alternatively, are Corey and his mates simply ‘works-in-progress’ and just showing that they have some maturing still to do. The ‘smarts’ and ‘responsibility’ genes will kick in eventually surely!
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