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It is a sad to see we live in a time where children want to seen as an adult and someone to respect out of fear! DEpending where you live and what age you are – you opinion will vary. The film that was referred to was made over 10years ago and was targeted more for the black audience with if I can remeber touched on black issues within in there own community. Gun and knife crime has been goin on for years in thier own community but nobody really cared or paid attention. Nowadays as stated in the article you will evne see the rich white kids trying to dumb themselves down – talk street lang. and try to adapt a street style. ( Enimen helped promote this) As soon as it began to affect the white community that is when it became a problem for the government and decided that something needs to be done…It has becoem more highlighted and thus making the public more paronoid than ever…If kids are getting stopped and searched and a knife is taken away – they should be disiplined more throughly- obviously if the first foundation- the parents cannot control or raise their children correctly, another outside body should take charge, and enforce a harsher punishment.I don’t think a prison sentence will do it…you want to go out fighting and killing – there are wars going on the world – where little children have to fight just to stay alive, to get food, to get shelter, to stay in their OWN country,to not want dictorship!! – maybe these people need to see that it may wake them up…
Smart comments Nita.
To Pavan – It takes guts to admit you were an idiot – good on you
In my younger days Ihave carried both knife and gun. In retrospect it was my effort to keep my self safe. It took lots of work to get to a place within where I could choose not to hit when provoked. Now I work with kids who have to make similar journey if they wish not to end up dead,insane or incarcerated.
Those of you who are growing up within a loving caring family may never understand the reality born of trauma. Your normal is different. This is not to justify any thing just a request that you exercise compassion and try not to judge too harshley. For some of us respect, acceptance, self esteem and capacity for violence all gets mixed in. Change requires lots work. Om
Frankly, its a failure of parenting. Of course the child bears the ultimate responsibility for its’ actions but the environment the child grows up in, the friends s/he associates with, and the values they get have more to do with the parents than the kids. But if the parents are struggling to survive financially, culturally, and are outnumbered and outresourced by socialization forces beyond their control, they are bound to lose. I think parents of Indian kids think that they did ok without much input so their kids will do ok, but the modern reality is that the culture is not watching our for the kids so the parents have to. This means trips to Mandir, social gatherings with families with like values, models of “cool” and socially adept persons just ahead of the child’s age… All this require assertive parenting and the modern world really demands it. All this boils down to those that had to be cool by demonstrating physical power will hopefully be better parents to their own children.
But we must remember, the statistics are that our parents are way ahead in parenting then most groups within the western world. Other subsets also have their kids grow up in the same environments and they just don’t do as well. Just as the fault is with the parents, so is the success.
hariaum
Author,
I respect this letter so much, it sends out a message to the other Hindu kid’s who probably thought they were cool and gangster to carry a weapon. Brothers, sisters, your only weapon should be your hands, and that too in an emergency. Don’t go looking for trouble, and dont let trouble find you, but if it does, fight, for your protection, not to attack. In the Mahabharat, they wern’t fighting for the sake of it, they we’re fighting for the throne, for kingdom. The war happened after all alternatives were tried, you too try all alternatives before raising your hands for protection. God forbid, if you ever come to a position where you do HAVE to fight, believe in yourself, that your doing the right thing, if you are that is, and Bhagwan himself shall protect you.
There is nothing wrong with carrying a weapon for protection.
Before the British disarmed India & made gun control their policy to prevent rebellion most of the common Hindus were armed with muskets, swords etc.
Aurangzeb also issued an edict saying that no Hindu can carry arms except Rajputs under his employment.
It’s bad to carry weapons just so that you can go out looking for trouble but there is nothing wrong with having a gun or knife on you in case you have to defend yourself.
Stop being a bunch of simpleton chumps & realize that gun control only means criminals have guns. That is why when riots happen in India the idiot Hindus are always unarmed whereas the Muslims who rightly exercised their fundamental right to bear weapons despite the Indian govt’s tyrannical Brit inspired gun control laws stomp the Hindus.
Almost all of our deities are armed somehow. Krishna with the Sudarshana Chakra, Shiva with the Trishula, & Muruga with the Vel.
Thank you for another open piece of self-reflection; a very thoughtful, considered piece. I was especially struck by this: “The question is how, while accepting the unavoidable allure of violence, society can channel this basic human tendency so that it isn’t so mindless and destructive.” Further, one commentator above, who explains the excellent work he is doing, mentions how, “It took lots of work to get to a place within where I could choose not to hit when provoked.”
I agree entirely with the author of this piece that it is inevitable that there will be those for whom the allure of violence is irresistably attractive. These people, I feel, need two things: firstly, a positive route to channel their energies; and secondly, the discipline to do so safely, responsibly and for the overall good. There are many ways in which this can be done; I would suggest that one of these is the Armed Forces – it is not for everyone, but there will be some for whom it would be appropriate to direct them to their nearest Armed Forces Careers Office, or the website for their preferred Service:
Royal Navy (incl Royal Marines): http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/careers
British Army: http://www.armyjobs.mod.uk
Royal Air Force: http://www.raf.mod.uk/careers