Question from an American - what are considered the roughest areas in Britain?

[Fenster]

You make me laugh the way you describe south London - it sounds like Boys in the Hood

In 33 years i've never seen anyone shot, shot at or stabbed to death (know of it but not actually seen it).

Where is the estate you live on in Lewisham?

I live on Lethbridge. Which bit of South were you from?

I don't find it funny or cool watching people I grew up with going to jail or becoming drug addicts. One of my friends was shot dead in his car just 3 months ago over some stupid shit, so I certainly don't find it at all amusing. I'm not Lefty, I don't think this hard man shit is cool, I think most of the people doing it are just looking for some small, pathetic way to feel important. The problem is these dickheads have taken over as the idols for most of the young boys in the bits, even me when I was 14 & stupid. They have all the nice shit, everyone acts like they're really somebody. There's a lot more decent hard-working people in the area than these fuckers, but we've yet to make someone getting up & working as a postman or a bus driver a desirable job, so kids won't see it that way.

It isn't like Compton or West Baltimore, I certainly don't want to give that impression, I should probably be more specific in some stuff I say, we don't have loads of people just walking along the street shooting each other or pulling drive-bys in broad daylight. The murder rate is barely comparable here to the US thankfully. But, people are still getting killed & it's getting worse. The big problem is drugs, which many people see as the easiest way to money. I'd say 95% of shootings are over drugs or gang wars over drugs. The stabbings are the thing that tend to be over minor issues, like somebody looking at someone wrong or moving to the wrong girl. It's also not like Glasgow where I heard people get stabbed like 85 times.

Ah right, I know where you mean, big estate. I've just moved after living for ten years up the other end of Lewisham high street near the hospital. I've lived in quite a few different places in London, I'm from Bermondsey.

I don't think you're a bullshitter, gloryfying or a fantasist mate. It's funny how we live in the same place but experience things differently. I don't really know about these youth gangs. The only dealings i've had with them was when they robbed a bar/club I was working in a few years ago (3 times). Thankfully they didn't shoot me or carve me up ().