Smells Like Teen Spirit in Park Slope

The posters over at the Park Slope Message Boards have been on a roll lately. So it is with today's selection, showcased at the Daily Slope, "Little Monsters of Park Slope." Specifically:

I was getting a slice on Seventh Avenue Friday evening when three loud little girls burst in (about age 13 or so, looked like the basic Park Slope Overprivileged Precious Offspring). Every third word out of their mouths was an obscenity. They walked up to the counter, barked and snapped at the pizza guys, demanding food and sodas. I asked one of them "Do you not say 'please' and 'thank you' to the people who are working hard here? Are these words not in your vocabulary?" She stared back at me and said "NO!"

I finished my pizza and left. As I was going out one of these delightful girls yelled at the top of her lungs "'Please' and 'thank you' my a*s!!. B*TCH!!!" Thank you, Park Slope parents, for creating these little monsters! After 25 years in the neighborhood I'm considering leaving for someplace more civilized.

There's a long discussion about Park Slope teens over at the message board, along with what appears to be a sub-thread about the behavior of children of privelege versus low-income or working class kids.

Us, we see our share of both very civilized and very, um, somewhat less-than-civilized teens in Park Slope, and in other Brooklyn nabes too.

Now, here's a thought we had on Sunday as we watched the Running of the Maclarens on Prospect Park West: What sort of horror will the Slope would be like in, say, 10-13 years when the Park Slope Rugrat Army of today becomes the Park Slope Teen Brigade of tomorrow? This is not a function of upbringing or class, but one of demographics. A nabe overloaded with 14-17 year olds is going to be a teen spirit kind of place, with a smattering of anarchy, no matter what.

Just a thought.