In a previous blog, we recounted the story of the young man who found himself placed under arrest because he “looked dodgy”. Having had a few discussions with others about the blog quite a few of the people that we spoke to commented that they too were aware of similar incidents where young people had fallen foul of some form of authority because they looked like someone’s idea of what a ‘criminal’ or ‘gang member’ should look like.
This made us think about syrphidae, which is the Latin name for the Hoverfly, a harmless creature that protects itself from predators by looking like a wasp.
Syrphidae has a strategy that works well in the animal kingdom and has been taken up by some vulnerable people. For example, people who are afraid may adopt clothing or ways of carrying themselves that makes them look intimidating so that others do not approach them. The difference between a fashion statement however and a disguise is that to make a disguise work you need to live up to its expectations.
Let’s use the example of being a young person carrying a knife. One explanation is that young people want to protect themselves and one way to do that is by making themselves seem like something that they are not e.g., threatening.
Now let’s think about young people who are at risk of exclusion from school. Once someone considers someone to be ‘naughty’ or a ‘troublemaker’ The young person will typically feel the need to play the part of the role that they have been given due to a self-fulfilling prophecy. So just like a hoverfly protects itself by pretending to be something that it is not, the same if true for young people.
With this in mind, before making a judgement about a young person we should remember that there is more to people than what they display on a surface level. There is also a strong chance that beneath the surface is a young person who needs help.