joffa corfe wrote:Joel wrote:Oh...and the alcopops tax is really working, isn't it? :roll:
Forget the tax..Your on the money mate. Lolly drinks are killing our young and each other..It's like the loaded shot gun..this stuff is so high in alcohol content it should be banned...it's designed to get everyone as shit faced as quickly as possible.
We're in strife because no-one has the answer..The greedy irresponsible night clubs who are out to make a buck dont care about bashings and murders on it's footsteps..Governments piss arse around too scared of losing the easy vote..People like me are shoved away as being non realistic and over the top..we have banned the wooden spoon in the household..we have banned discipline in our schools..can anyone see a trend here ?
Our streets are out of control..we live in a society that believes it can do as it wants and say as it wants when it wants..We no longer respect our elders instead we kill em..We no longer respect our police force...Head for the hills folks whilst we all piss over each other with well meaning rhetoric the problem is magnifying!
There's a lot in your thread Joffa:
I too am angry about what happended to Pendles. The bloke who hit him though was probably drinking beer.
To blame schools or the non use of coporal punishment in home is not related to this or to the so called decay of the social fabric.
Most young people I know are responsible, aware thoughful human beings. Nieces, nephews, my children, their friends & work place colleagues. They have to contend with a lot more social & societal pressure in many respects than I did (& I'm rudeboy's age - young that is)
Drinking habits are learned in the home. That is the major source of socialization for most people most of the time. We ( the collective we of course) glorify drinking through sponsorship of sports & make it glamorous. We used to take pride in how much Booney drank mid flight - Look at Flea Weightman - he was also a product of the culture of drinking & the poor bastard ended up with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus - after a real binge.
I agree with you about night clubs etc.
What are the facts? Have we really become a more violent society? We need to compare stats from many years ago to now. Criminologists often study this (any students of Uni criminology on Nicks? - & I don't mean the TAFE courses to become justice workers).
I understand the level of street violence was a lot higher when they had 6pm closing times. Our beloved team as well as other working class teams were nurtured in an era of extreme poverty & violence.
In my view people need to be taught how to parent - & this ought to start at schools.
As for punsihment, violent offenders need to be confronted with what they've done. We need to make the prisons public & make the punishment part of a rehabilitation process where the perpetrator works with people with an acquired brain injury, meet the families in mediation etc. (if the families want)
to actually face the consequences of their actions. That will be a hell of a lot more powerful & useful than locking them up where they are likely to come out worse than when they go in - that is for a first offence.
The tax on alcohol is a disincentive & is a good stategy but not on its own. It was suggested by people who work every day in the very difficult fields of addictions & rehabilitation of drug & alcohol users. It needs more educvation & input & is but one of a number of strategies designed to reduce binge drinking etc especially by the younger aged people.
Banning of course does not work (see the prohibition era)
Night club owners in the city & elsewhere need to be subjected to much more stringent controls. Ultimately a person needs to take personal responsibility for their actions.
It's all too easy to say we are merely at the mercy of vested interests & the rich & powerful - yes we know that but we move on & keep on trying to reform. We need to be critical in our thinking - not negative but analytical based on evidence & not on the other vested interests - the media who help amplify & fan the flames of a moral panic.
I wonder how a national service - not army but community service would work? (Akin to Sweden etc I was going to say Norway but look at what happended to Tiger!) as a possible strategy.
“I even went as far as becoming a Southern Baptist until I realised they didn’t keep ‘em under long enough” Kinky Friedman
