Another Day, Another Shooting
A couple of years ago, when I moved back to England the words hoodie and ASBO meant nothing to me. Life in Sydney was pretty safe. There were shootings in Cabramatta, but it was self-contained gang war. If you didn’t look for trouble, you wouldn’t find it.
These days, I look out my window watching the teenagers ride past on their BMX, dressed in hooded tops, drinking from a can, on their way to the park across the road, and wonder how they differ from when I grew up. One thing is for certain - we didn’t shoot each other.
Yes, we drank underage, smoked cigarettes, hung out on streets or at the park. We even played with airguns and got into the odd fistycuffs with other locals. So, I didn’t come from a deprived area, but I bordered on Wythenshawe. Yes there was gun crime, but it involved older gang members linked to clubs and drugs.
So, what was different? Well, I don’t remember playing video games involving killing people, or seeing films that were so graphic about killing. I witnessed the Falklands War, but we never saw any blood and gore; only library images. The war wasn’t glorified.
Our parents could discipline us without fear of court action. Our teachers too. Oh and so did the police.
So things have changed. The problem with guns is serious. The solution is not simple. I, like many do think that the problem lies with the parents/parenting/the home environment. Solving this problem is not simple, but some small significant changes could be introduced with immediate effect.
- Ban video games that glorify crime and shooting
- Review film and TV censorship for younger viewers
- Give the power of discipline back to parents, teachers and the police.
