Fists for Bullets
Apparently, the now infamous Boxing Day shooting on Yonge Street in Toronto was sparked by teens fighting over the fact that someone's hat had been knocked off. You know, I'm not unsympathetic with these poor, misunderstood gun-toting street urchins. Where I come from, we'd knife our buddies in the gut over things like being disappointed with the tuna sandwich our Moms packed in our lunches. We'd break knuckles punching strangers in the skull because they ran over our yoyo strings with their skateboards...
...but seriously. I know violence exists in every society and every demographic group. But what gene are these fucking teen monsters missing from their biological repetoire? How seriously stupid and cowardly do you have to be to do something so callous? My leaning? Simple. Eye for an eye baby. Put 'em in the slammer, lock the door and let 'em fight for their lives with only their fists, no matter what age they are.
It's ironic that the kind of blind rage these losers exhibit can inspire such precise ideas about retribution. In some way, they both amount to violence- killing and punishing. I can't rationalize the desire for revenge, but then, I'm not sure there is a rational solution. Canada, politics, k-dough, liberal, conservative, harper, Ontario, kdough, criticism, neo-con, commentary, communications, legislature, Chretien, election,policy, hand guns, Toronto
...but seriously. I know violence exists in every society and every demographic group. But what gene are these fucking teen monsters missing from their biological repetoire? How seriously stupid and cowardly do you have to be to do something so callous? My leaning? Simple. Eye for an eye baby. Put 'em in the slammer, lock the door and let 'em fight for their lives with only their fists, no matter what age they are.
It's ironic that the kind of blind rage these losers exhibit can inspire such precise ideas about retribution. In some way, they both amount to violence- killing and punishing. I can't rationalize the desire for revenge, but then, I'm not sure there is a rational solution. Canada, politics, k-dough, liberal, conservative, harper, Ontario, kdough, criticism, neo-con, commentary, communications, legislature, Chretien, election,policy, hand guns, Toronto
posted by K-Dough at 8:48 AM
5 Comments:
Hey K-Dough,
You know I have some pretty strong opinions about this issue. For some time I've been talking about social retribution. I think that people generally require vengeance over justice. In fact, in the case of lives lost, there is no such thing as justice, because the dead are gone, and aren't coming back. So, all we can hope for is a measure of revenge. But this does not solve anything. It simply gives helps us feel better because we know that that the cause of suffering is suffering itself. It doesn't stop it from happening again and again. In fact, all it really does is perpetuate the problem, making violence the core of our existence. You may find Eugene Rivers' approach to be interesting (discussed in my blog post - "A Toronto Miracle?". He advocates for a big police crackdown on criminals, giving them the resources and legal options to remove the bad apples (those who are too far gone to change) from the bushel. But along with that, he demands a community solution. From within the home, which includes family networking, and social programs, that encourage healthy approaches to life and problem solving.
I agree that people who live by the gun do not understand this approach. But more often than not those who live by guns die by guns. They only understand power when they're holding one, and only recognize authority when one is pointed at them. But these people are fewer than it seems. We simply need to weed them out, and take them out of the barrel.
Harding you said "all we can hope for is a measure of revenge. But this does not solve anything. It simply helps us feel better..."
Gotcha- but sometimes isn't it good just to feel better even if it is at the expense of another person- especially someone who is not worthy of sympathy?
I think the pen can be mightier than the sword, but it's a lot smaller, and you have to be really accurate to be able to stick it into an eye socket.....
K
swords, pens, eye sockets? this is all starting to sound decidedly sexual K D'oh!, but maybe that's reallly the point (problem?) - violence is sexy, baby, sexy - you know you want it...
Dear Anonymous- I think ah know who y'ar but please at least use some kind of sudanym fer chrissakes eh would ya?
And ya gots me all wrong 'dere lass- only parts of my neck are red- but I tink dat there cream the doc perscripted me is ah starting tuh works.
Viva Bernard Goetz!
Mr. K-Dough,
I just wanted to shout a boisterous "AMEN!" to that! Being a mother of a well-behaved teenager still means living in fear. I hate feeling this way. It borders on paranoia for me. I abhor the power that this new weapons-totin' generation have. If they shout obscenities or threats, we are forced to put our heads down afraid and ignore it because they travel in groups, and that is also how they battle. My husband was jumped for no reason by six eminem-looking-hoodie-saggy-pants-wearing youths. I was there screaming, "You cowards! There are SIX of you!!" They just smiled at me. This is what these boys did for fun.
On a more personal note, I was drugged and raped by a girl and her boyfriend when I was 19. The girl was just shy of 18, and being a "young offender", the Crown explained to me that it was pointless to try for a conviction. I know that she knew what she was doing, despite the sweet and innocent age of ALMOST 18. I feel negated. She lives happily. I get to live with the extreme discomfort of knowing that I could see her anywhere. She is unaffected. Yeah...that's fair. LOWER THE AGE! There needs to be accountability.
Thanks for at least getting angry about it. It means to me that someone cares.
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