I read this article on Boing Boing about London’s new pseudo-curfew areas for teens. I thought it was a hoax — some sort of sci-fi promotion for Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother.

It seems utterly unbelievable to me that the police can disperse groups if the teens seem like they might become intimidating. Um… am I crazy in thinking that’s crazy?

Here it is on Wikipedia and the BBC. Not a hoax, apparently.

When I was in university, I used to have to walk home from my evening classes past a big group of teen boys, hanging out in the parking lot of the local Macdonalds. I hated it. They were loud, aemoebic, and unpredictable. But I got home perfectly safely every single time. Because most groups of 15-year-olds are not dangerous. They look dangerous, but they’re a generally good part of society. Sort of like, say… the police!

Yeesh, when I was 15, we didn’t even leave the house until 10 p.m.

My question is this: why isn’t every teen in London congregating in the marked areas nightly as an act of protest?

Obviously, they haven’t read Little Brother.