“Whoever causes damage pays” (and parents foot the bill): 6 out of 10 young people support the Government’s measures against violent behaviour

What is certain is that most young people are bearing the brunt of the street violence perpetrated by their own peers: this is borne out by the police figures, given that the number of people arrested following the incidents in Milan and Bologna is far lower than that of peaceful demonstrators. This is also confirmed by an instant poll carried out by Skuola.net in response to the emergency measures introduced by the Government yesterday: out of a sample of 1,183 people under 35 surveyed on Instagram, 58 per cent expressed full agreement with the decisions.

Gen Z is not only standing up to those who seek to divert attention from the real reasons behind the (peaceful) protests being organised by students, but is also rejecting the climate of fear that some would like to instil: for example, in various provinces across Lombardy and Veneto, alarmist messages about possible mass rapes of young women or attacks on private universities have been circulating from chat group to chat group in recent days. Fortunately, in the latter case, these turned out to be fake news. But the fear – particularly amongst the young people who read them – was very real, as evidenced by the various private messages received by Skuola.net asking how to cope with the situation.
Returning to the survey, those in favour are counterbalanced by 30 per cent who oppose the crackdown, convinced that “it serves no purpose”. Added to these are a further 12 per cent who are somewhat in favour of the measure, stating that they are “partly in agreement: it’s right to react, but this is going too far”.

This divide is reflected in the heated comments flooding social media, where the different factions of the protest movement and those advocating the rule of law clash. The majority, tired of seeing genuine student protests tainted by violent elements, welcome the crackdown. “It’s about time,” comments one user, “Parents need to realise that education starts at home. If your child smashes a shop window belonging to a worker, it’s only right that you pay for it.” Many others are on the same wavelength: “Protesting for one’s rights is sacred, but going round hooded, smashing bus shelters just to get views on TikTok is the behaviour of criminals.”

A ploy to silence the public

On the other hand, those who oppose the decree fear that the pretext of public order will be used to silence peaceful demonstrations and marches. “Measures like this only serve to intimidate those who want to demonstrate peacefully,” retorts a young man, emphasising that “threatening families with repossession and lowering the age for pre-trial detention is pure repression of dissent”. Finally, there are those who focus on the actual effectiveness of the legislation: “Do you really think a young lad who goes out to get into a brawl in the street will stop just because he’s worried about his mother’s bank account? It’s a social problem; it can’t be solved by prison alone.”