Every day, the news bombards us with reports of stabbings, shootings, and escalating violence.
The principles we received from our forebearers are slowly fading away. Values like mateship and aiding the underdog have become distant aspirations.
For today’s wild individuals, fight nights and gang assaults—such as five-on-one attacks and kicking someone when they’re down—seem to provide entertainment. Where does this rampant fury and lack of integrity originate from?
We often point fingers at parents and the insufficient discipline in schools. The inability of police to pursue minor offenses and judges imposing shockingly lenient sentences are also blamed.
While these reasons may hold some merit, I believe it’s rooted in racial issues. In the USA, their immigration policies permit entries from a multitude of countries. However, upon arrival, immigrants often cluster in inner-city neighborhoods that quickly turn into ‘no-go’ zones. Gangs emerge, and violence often erupts due to conflicts between varying social and racial groups, including Mexicans, Cubans, South and Central Americans, African Americans, West Indians, and impoverished white Americans. This situation creates an ideal environment for drug dealers and crime bosses to exploit.
Is this phenomenon occurring here as well?
With increasing numbers arriving from war-torn regions, where violence is a normalized response, guns and knives often become preferred alternatives to dialogue.
Asian immigrants who have settled in Australia over the past decades generally maintain their own communities, and when conflicts do arise, they tend to be limited to local disagreements.
On the other hand, individuals from the former Yugoslavia have experienced mass atrocities and brutal killings, much like those from Iran and Afghanistan.
It’s heartbreaking to consider the children growing up in such a menacing environment. They quickly learn that violence could be just around the corner, potentially leading to a wider proliferation of drugs and crime.
In the USA, gangs have been met with significant law enforcement crackdowns, yet they now thrive within prisons, more powerful than ever.
We must heed the lessons from our international counterparts. Let’s halt this decline before it becomes unmanageable.
Let us remember our roots: assist a friend… refuse to allow bullies to prevail… unite against violent conduct.
Our new immigrants must embrace the values of a good Australian, and we must provide them the time to appreciate that they finally reside in a secure environment.
by TOG