Gregory Tenenbaum
May 20th, 2006, 04:41 AM
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Article about the trend of HAPPY SLAPPING from London News:
[url]http://www.020.com/webs/02005/showArticle.cfm?id=189 (http://www.020.com/)
"Imagine you are by the bus stop awaiting your bus home after a long, stressful day at work. Unbeknownst to you, a teenager is covertly filming you on their camera phone. Suddenly, a group of teenagers appear out of the blue and randomly slap you hard across the face before running off laughing and shouting. Completely shell shocked, in the few minutes it takes for you to recover and comprehend what just took place, the culprits are long gone.
This, the latest “fun” trend sweeping through London’s streets, is dubiously dubbed ‘Happy slaps’ or 'Happy slapping'. As the trend spreads like wildfire from school playgrounds to cities across the country, adults are now forced to rethink the way children are raised on a virtually unfiltered diet of video games, films, reality TV and lyrics about pimps, hoes and ghetto bravado.
'Happy slaps' has been around roughly for the past 18 months and is proving to be irresistibly popular amongst secondary school kids and college students. Upon first inspection, the video clips are highly amusing, much like MTV’s Jackass or Sanchez. However, when you place yourself in the victim’s shoes the fun factor dissipates. The mere idea of riding public transport and suddenly being happy slapped by a bunch of strangers brings about a sense of terror and fear. To add further distress to a bad scenario, much to the chagrin of the victims, the film clips are passed on via mobile phone before reaching a global audience online.
Many adult orientated forums are riddled with fervent discussions about the legality, morality and ready acceptance of this trend. However, amongst the youth of London, the debate is focussing more on what would they do if it happened to them. The prevalent response appears to be that ‘if you just take it and don’t defend yourself – you deserve it’.
Some schools in London have banned mobile phones in schools, and other schools across the city are now contemplating whether to follow suit. However, the reality is that the concept of ‘Happy slapping’ has evolved from school break prank to serious assault around town.
One of the most recent clips online involves 2 grown men repeatedly being slapped and kicked across the heads and backs, resulting in one of the men stumbling and falling to the ground after a particularly vicious kick to the face, leaving the viewer to wonder if he was left alone or beaten further.
The happy slaps phenomenon is a morally muddled minefield with a clear and sharp divide between those who think it is funny and those who disapprove. A leading community activist said: “It is nonsensical for this to happen to innocent people. It is not okay to do this”. He further asserted, “There is nothing happy about being randomly assaulted for no apparent reason. Amidst the gales of laughter, it must be remembered that ‘happy slaps’ can lead up to a five year prison sentence for assault or actual bodily harm”.
Creepy. Have a nice day in *with heavy Michael Caine accent* "LON-DON TOWN".
G.K.T.
Article about the trend of HAPPY SLAPPING from London News:
[url]http://www.020.com/webs/02005/showArticle.cfm?id=189 (http://www.020.com/)
"Imagine you are by the bus stop awaiting your bus home after a long, stressful day at work. Unbeknownst to you, a teenager is covertly filming you on their camera phone. Suddenly, a group of teenagers appear out of the blue and randomly slap you hard across the face before running off laughing and shouting. Completely shell shocked, in the few minutes it takes for you to recover and comprehend what just took place, the culprits are long gone.
This, the latest “fun” trend sweeping through London’s streets, is dubiously dubbed ‘Happy slaps’ or 'Happy slapping'. As the trend spreads like wildfire from school playgrounds to cities across the country, adults are now forced to rethink the way children are raised on a virtually unfiltered diet of video games, films, reality TV and lyrics about pimps, hoes and ghetto bravado.
'Happy slaps' has been around roughly for the past 18 months and is proving to be irresistibly popular amongst secondary school kids and college students. Upon first inspection, the video clips are highly amusing, much like MTV’s Jackass or Sanchez. However, when you place yourself in the victim’s shoes the fun factor dissipates. The mere idea of riding public transport and suddenly being happy slapped by a bunch of strangers brings about a sense of terror and fear. To add further distress to a bad scenario, much to the chagrin of the victims, the film clips are passed on via mobile phone before reaching a global audience online.
Many adult orientated forums are riddled with fervent discussions about the legality, morality and ready acceptance of this trend. However, amongst the youth of London, the debate is focussing more on what would they do if it happened to them. The prevalent response appears to be that ‘if you just take it and don’t defend yourself – you deserve it’.
Some schools in London have banned mobile phones in schools, and other schools across the city are now contemplating whether to follow suit. However, the reality is that the concept of ‘Happy slapping’ has evolved from school break prank to serious assault around town.
One of the most recent clips online involves 2 grown men repeatedly being slapped and kicked across the heads and backs, resulting in one of the men stumbling and falling to the ground after a particularly vicious kick to the face, leaving the viewer to wonder if he was left alone or beaten further.
The happy slaps phenomenon is a morally muddled minefield with a clear and sharp divide between those who think it is funny and those who disapprove. A leading community activist said: “It is nonsensical for this to happen to innocent people. It is not okay to do this”. He further asserted, “There is nothing happy about being randomly assaulted for no apparent reason. Amidst the gales of laughter, it must be remembered that ‘happy slaps’ can lead up to a five year prison sentence for assault or actual bodily harm”.
Creepy. Have a nice day in *with heavy Michael Caine accent* "LON-DON TOWN".
G.K.T.