When the news of this came on TV, I just had to write about it. What does this have to do with parents of toddlers? More than you could imagine. In fact, no matter what age your children are, this will touch your heart.
Recently, police across Australia and New Zealand united in an operation to curb violence on the streets on Friday and Saturday nights, particularly alcohol fuelled violence.
The culture we create in our homes becomes the culture we see in society as a whole.
symptoms of the problem
St Vincent’s Hospital spokesman David Faktor said alcohol-fuelled violence was an epidemic in Sydney. ”Alcohol is too readily available and we’re too lax in terms of our laws in inhibiting that availability,” he said.
As part of this operation in Sydney alone, police arrested more than 200 people, and laid more than 400 charges. This included a man who allegedly urinated on a patrol car at Sydney Olympic Park and another who allegedly hit an officer on the head with a chair.Mr Kaldas made a very good point, one I believe many people, including parents, don’t fully understand when he said: “The bottom line is people must begin to realise that their actions can have really negative long-term impacts on their lives and the lives of others.
A few stats
Queensland has the highest assault rate on the eastern seaboard, with 3.1 per cent of over-14s assaulted compared to 2.7 per cent in NSW and 3 per cent in Victoria.
In Queensland, 437,000 assaults involved 111,700 victims in 2011/12 – with 30.5 per cent assaulted at least three times.
Source: ABS 2012
tragic examples
Thomas Kelly was a young man with a bright future who died in July 2012 after he was king hit during a night out in Kings Cross. ”I don’t think Thomas Kelly’s family will ever get over what happened to him.’ said Mr Kaldas.
More than two-thirds of men who had been assaulted reported that the perpetrator was under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time, according to data published last week.
As I write this, 23 year old Michael McEwan is in hospital in critical condition after being attacked near Bondi Beach about 1:45am Saturday morning in an alcohol fuelled violence attack.
Another young man had his head stomped on after he was set upon by four people outside a Sydney city nightclub. And a 48-year-old was hit in the head from behind at Rozelle.
A young man was punched in the face in Kings Cross in front of police officers. And a 28-year-old man’s ear was almost almost severed when he was attacked with a glass at a party at a hotel near Wollongong.
While this goes on and while people’s lives and families are left in ruins with horrific consequences, police & security do their best to curb the violence. As a society we look for another band aid fix.
a couple of underlying causes
Any issue that has been going on for decades and becoming increasingly worse is not going to be fixed overnight. Like anything, if we don’t start towards the correct answer, we certainly won’t achieve one.
Looking at individual incidents and the mindset of those who are the perpetrators, a couple of things are very evident:
1) There is a distinct lack of respect for other people and properly
2) They tend to have an attitude and actions which demand that they can do what they want and have what they want. Similar the 1970’s and 1980’s ‘if it feels good do it’ mantra.
what is the answer?
1) What do you do in your family culture and language that encourages respect for police, authority, property and people in general?
2) When your children get into trouble at school, at a friend’s house or by a neighbour, do you instantly jump to your child’s defence? Or do you talk to everybody involved to find out the complete story?
Even if the other authority figure was in the wrong, is there a lesson that your child could learn which could benefit them later in life?
3) As alcohol is a major contributor; if you drink alcohol, do you teach and demonstrate to your children how to do so responsibly? And how to look after their mates if they’re drinking?
Drunken violence needs to be dealt with, and we all have a part to play.
