Customer Reviews

The Scapegoat Generation: America's War on Adolescents

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is possibly the most important book I've ever read. It clearly demonstrates the ways in which cynical politicians and a sensationalist media have consistently misrepresented teens and robbed them of their rights. Even my grandmother was outraged after reading this book. It should be required reading for every American. You have to read this book!

First, a nod to the two bad reviews: Males is, in fact, an incorrigible numbers wonk. Although I don't think his stats are dishonest, I do think he uses them, perhaps selectively, to support his important thesis, which I read as follows: Adults perceive teenagers negatively and this is due to the familiar sociological phenomenon of "scapegoating." WE screw up and look for someone to pin it on. I think Males is largely convincing in demonstrating that most of the familiar litany of "what's wrong with these kids today" is either (1) false (2) no worse or not as bad as the equivalent "problem" in adults or (3) caused by adult oppression of teenagers. It's a challenging and important book. Even if you buy only some of what Males argues, it may well change your view of teenagers forever.

Males argues convincingly that a lot of what we think we know about "out-of-control" adolescents is just teen bashing. He examines subjects such as drug, alcohol, tobacco use; teen pregnancy, poverty, violence, mental illness, etc. He offers lots of evidence, statistics, great notes and sources, to support his thesis. A real paradigm shift! I used this book in a freshman composition class, and the students (same age as the kids Males is talking about) were amazed and excited by it. Sometimes a bit slow going, as Males has lots of charts and graphs and extensive footnotes. Well worth it. A must read for anyone who works with teenagers.

Mike Males' books, The Scapegoat Generation, and Framing Youth, rank among the must-reads for any public health professional, community worker, or politician dealing with adolescents. Mike will help you see through all the myths and all the [stuff] that's out there regarding adolescents, much of it coming from what one would think are "unimpeachable" sources. If you're a health professional like me, wondering why all the "tried and true" strategies to reduce adolescent pregnancy, violence, drug use and smoking in your community are just not working, you need to read this book.

I've always been the kind of person who broods in the sociology section of bookstores for finds like this. It's an amazing book, and one that finally contradicts the feeling that my generation is the problem in America. Youths in other developed countries are given more freedoms and yet commit less crimes, this tells about that. If you aren't afraid of reading the truth, this is definately one for you.

Mike Males' book is a sobering analysis showing how teenagers are blamed for our society's ills as though they live in a vacuum, unaffected by the behavior of adults around them. Males makes the point, in hundreds of footnoted references, that we, as a nation, spend less on services and support for our young people than we do on any other group. He also reveals in his exhaustive research that it is youth poverty--not gansta rap, drugs, TV violence and "innate" youth savagery--that explains violent youth crimes.

In the first chapter, "The Scapegoat Generation" gives an overview of how teens are set up to take the blame for teen pregnancy, violence, smoking, drug abuse, alcohol abuse and suicide. In each of these areas he compares the teen and adult statistics, finding that in most cases, teen incidence of these behaviors parallels that of adults; teens don't do anything more than their parents and other adults around them do. In subsequent chapters, he visits each of these issues in depth and and shows, in example after example, how our politicians, private interests and popular media make these behaviors seem out of control among our adolescents.

For example, Males found that the problem of teen pregnancy is not the result of teenagers having sex with each other. Rather, it is the result of adult men past their high school years have sex with teenage girls. This, Males says, is a complex issue that we refuse to address. And, even though this dynamic is well understood and acknowledged among so-called experts, it is ignored by the media in favor of the easier target: teen mothers on welfare. "Facing adult-teen sex means dismantling the Great Wall between 'adolescent' and 'adult' that advocates of all stripes have erected to keep the argument from intruding on taboo topics of grown-up values, grown-up maturity, grown-up behavior and grown-up sex."

In the area of drug abuse, by focusing media and government attention on the relatively harmless effects of teen marijuana use, the bigger issues of racism, poverty and the adult use of hard drugs can be sidestepped. Males found that "A black teenager is only one-fifth as likely to die from drugs, but is ten times more likely to be arrested for drugs than a white adult."

Males raises the question, "Do we love our children?" when he ends the book with this suggestion: "What is needed is not a revolution of fiscal policy or remedial plan, but one of fundamental attitude. Nothing good will happen until elder America gazes down from our hillside and condominium perch and identifies the young--darker in shade as a rule, feisty, lustful as we were, violent as we raised them to be, no different from us in any major respect--as our children. All of them."

If you think America loves her children, this book will open your eyes to the many many ways our actions as a wealthy, powerful society belie that thought.

What Kids Really Want to Ask: Using Movies to Start Meaningful Conversations

A little wordy, but very detailed.

My copy of this book, like Mike Males other book "Framing Youth", is very worn out. They are like encyclopedias when it comes to youth issues in this country.

Well worth the read.

This is one of those books you'll love if you're already in alignment ideologically with the author. As a fairly liberal-minded middle school teacher, I definitely fall into that category. Males' language is too antagonistic to win anyone over, and if you disagree with his basic premise -- that teenagers are being blamed for all the ills of society caused by us "grown-ups" -- you probably won't find anything to convert you here. But for those of us who agree, Males offers many arguments and a lot of information to support our views.

Just read the book - couldn't put it down. Recognized the typical overweening baby boomers (although I'm one myself) whining how they've got theirs, so too bad if today's kids (or the poor) are lacking in basic needs. A must for anyone willing to see beyond the obvious.

SOME COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES IN THE USA REQUIRE THE READIND OF BOOKS LIKE "CULTURE LITERACY" BY E.D.HIRSCH.... ALL FUTURE TEACHERS OF THIS NATION SHOULD READ AS A MANDATORY REQUIREMENT "THE SCAPEGOAT" BY MALES. IT WILL BE AN IMPROVEMENT! Do I make sense to anyone outhere?