American violence schmiolence!

RAWA NEWS








There is enough violence in the world to keep the overpopulation in check. Darfur, Iraq, sanctioned killings of women in Islam (when suspected of adultery or having been raped), tv shows that glorify the means to the end in often a cruel and violent manner. And so on and so on. Whatever neck of the wood you live in on God's green earth, someone or some people have found a perfect way to blot it with enough red to taint their whole community.
As an immigrant in this country, I have concluded that inspite of this sad sad tragedy at Virginia Tech, the US does not have sole propriety on 'violence', gun culture or not.
This morning, I had a long talk with my mother who lives in the Netherlands and she has often told me about the changes in Dutch society. She said that people these days have a very short fuse. It does not take much for people to get beaten up, or stabbed to death by a bunch of people when something supposedly triggers it. I have written about this before but I have felt it when I visited the Netherlands in 1996. In my little hometown I was singled out a few times because the younger kids (ahem) recognized me as a 'foreigner' and cursed at me and called me names. What the hell is that? There was an agression and attitude in the air that I did not recognize from when I grew up there. Certain overt behaviours were considered 'a-sociaal'/anti social and to a degree still is. But there is a different mood and attitude by a greater part of the population. I sense things have changed the world over and I cannot put my finger on it as to what the cause is. All I know is, that violence is perpetrated the world over. Gunning down a certain number makes for a big news event but it is still isolated. Systematic violence, for example the violence towards girls and women in other cultures but to name one example, is an ongoing thing and should receive the kind of attention that the VT tragedy is receiving right now.

The reason for one person to commit any or many murders is one thing, a whole society that condones killings, is a whole other ballgame.

ENDING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN United Nations Populations Fund