Knife Crime and Hypocrisy
July 11th 2009 15:27
I have just read another newspaper article concerning a teenager knifed to death. As I was reading I had a sense of deja-vu. Why? Because the story was the same as most others; only the name of the victim and the location of the killing had changed.
The mother (there never seems to be a father), with tears in her eyes and speaking between sobs, insists her boy was an innocent victim who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time; the same words spoken by countless others before.
The teacher, with sombre expression, tells everyone how good the boy was and that he would have turned out to be a law-abiding and hard-working citizen, even though he was at times unruly.
The friends speak of how he was a fun-loving guy who wouldn''t hurt anyone.
But then - I find out this innocent, well-behaved, fun-loving guy who would have grown up to be a model citizen has his image on various social networking sites. The image shows a surly, scowling kid proudly displaying a lethal blade. It also emerges he was a member of a rival gang to that of his killers and also had a criminal record that included mugging, assault and threatening behaviour.
What sheer hypocrisy!
Am I to believe the mother didn't know about his criminal activities? Am I to believe he would have grown into adulthood as a caring, considerate and hard-working, law-abiding member of the community? Am I to believe he was a fun-loving youth who loved everyone and hated nobody?
Is it only me, or is it logical to assume that maybe, just maybe, he would still be alive today if:
a) His mother had taken more interest in what he was doing?
b) His teacher had taken action whenever the boy disrupted the class?
c) He had not decided to join a gang ?
There is a lot of talk about knife culture and a lot of blaming everyone and everything possible other than the people close to those with knives. All decisions in life, irrespective of age, are taken by the individual and therefore the individual must take responsibilty and blame. There are many successful adults in the world who started their lives in squalor and belonging to dysfunctional families. Through sheer hard work and study they have managed to overcome such disastrous beginnings without the resort of joining gangs and using knives and other weapons.
The only sympathy I have is reserved for the linnocent, law-abiding victims who have been mugged for their meagre pension; theones killed or maimed whilst going about their own law-abiding business and for the relatives of such victims. I have no sympathy, or respect, for those who choose to live unlawful lives or for the relatives who cry their crocodile tears in front of the press or the news camera.
The mother (there never seems to be a father), with tears in her eyes and speaking between sobs, insists her boy was an innocent victim who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time; the same words spoken by countless others before.
The teacher, with sombre expression, tells everyone how good the boy was and that he would have turned out to be a law-abiding and hard-working citizen, even though he was at times unruly.
The friends speak of how he was a fun-loving guy who wouldn''t hurt anyone.
But then - I find out this innocent, well-behaved, fun-loving guy who would have grown up to be a model citizen has his image on various social networking sites. The image shows a surly, scowling kid proudly displaying a lethal blade. It also emerges he was a member of a rival gang to that of his killers and also had a criminal record that included mugging, assault and threatening behaviour.
What sheer hypocrisy!
Am I to believe the mother didn't know about his criminal activities? Am I to believe he would have grown into adulthood as a caring, considerate and hard-working, law-abiding member of the community? Am I to believe he was a fun-loving youth who loved everyone and hated nobody?
Is it only me, or is it logical to assume that maybe, just maybe, he would still be alive today if:
a) His mother had taken more interest in what he was doing?
b) His teacher had taken action whenever the boy disrupted the class?
c) He had not decided to join a gang ?
There is a lot of talk about knife culture and a lot of blaming everyone and everything possible other than the people close to those with knives. All decisions in life, irrespective of age, are taken by the individual and therefore the individual must take responsibilty and blame. There are many successful adults in the world who started their lives in squalor and belonging to dysfunctional families. Through sheer hard work and study they have managed to overcome such disastrous beginnings without the resort of joining gangs and using knives and other weapons.
The only sympathy I have is reserved for the linnocent, law-abiding victims who have been mugged for their meagre pension; theones killed or maimed whilst going about their own law-abiding business and for the relatives of such victims. I have no sympathy, or respect, for those who choose to live unlawful lives or for the relatives who cry their crocodile tears in front of the press or the news camera.
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