He also believes that by doing this he has found a solution to the problem of teenagers wearing the hooded tops in public places because most of them won’t want to wear an item of clothing outside school, which is also part of the school uniform.
The headmaster made the point that every generation complains about its youth and that people should not assume that everyone who wears one is a thug just because some thugs have been known to wear them. The points that are made in this article argue that people should not believe in the stereotype that everyone who wears a hooded top is a person who is violent and aggressive towards other people. Also, that by banning the hoodies it makes them more “glamorous” and appealing to youngsters. After making them part of the uniform the headmaster found that his idea had worked and there wasn’t as much trouble from the children wearing the hooded tops and he thinks this is the way communities should try to deal with it.
The second article is arguing the other side of the issue it gives the impression that hoodies are associated with thugs and gangsters. A journalist from the newspaper visited an alleyway where a gang of teenage vandals “hang out” when they are not stealing or being violent in their neighbourhood and sometimes they wear hoodies as a symbol of their gang. One of these teenagers, Tom, lives near the alleyway in Salford and wears a hoodies.
“the garment of choice for all self-respecting gang members”
Here, the writer describes the hoodies as the type of clothes that people in gangs wear, this agrees with the point that teens who wear hoodies are all thugs or members of gangs. In Salford a man was put into a coma by hooded youths who punched him, by putting this in the article it makes the reader think that youths who wear hoodies are all violent people. The article also tells readers how the gang steal, smash cars and also deal drugs, it gives a negative impression of young people who wear hooded tops.
It gives the impression that the teenagers have background issues, they have had little education and often resort to anti social behaviour, and this is because they have been brought up in unstable families, where there might have been violence or arguments. The families may not have a lot of money, so stealing seems the only way to get things. The teenagers find it difficult at school and so they stop going because they are not receiving enough help with their studies. They get so used to all of the anti social behaviour, that they are determined and there parents have it hard to do anything about it and don’t even know where their children are most of the time.
The first article is written using lots of different arguments it is trying to persuade the reader that not all people who wear hoodies are thugs and that is not fair if they are banned in public places. The article doesn’t mention any arguments that suggest the hoodies should be banned this makes the reader agree with the views given. The argument is not balanced and includes lots of quotes which opinions, the reader will therefore read these quotes and the points they put across and then may decide to agree with them.
The second article also includes quotes from different people, but they don’t give opinions on the topics of hoodies they mainly just add to the view that people who wear hoodies are gangsters. The article also gives information on the area where the members of this particular gang live and this also adds to the stereotypical view. The text is persuasive because it doesn’t really present a list of arguments it just subtlety writes about different issues which will make people associate hoodies with thugs. Both of the articles are written with lots of small paragraphs to make it look more interesting to the reader and the first article has a picture of some teenagers wearing hoodies this is to show the reader what the article is writing about and to make them aware of the issue.
From these two articles I have found out that there are two sides of the argument for the the issue of wearing hoodies. In some parts of the country wearing a hoodie means that you are part of a gang who is known for antisocial behaviour. I think, however, that people should try not to assume that a person is a thug because of what they are wearing, even though this can be difficult because of all the stereotypes. I agree with what the headmaster in the first article was saying that by banning the hoodies in public places it makes them more appealing to some people and I think it was a good idea for him to make it part of the school uniform and that students can only wear their hoods up if it is raining.
