Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Boxing Day Shopping and Shooting

What the hell is going on in Toronto?

How could shoppers on Boxing Day get shot in broad daylight? Or, how could those perpetrators be brazen enough to commit murder on Yonge Street, where there is 3X the volume of pedestrians than normal, and expect to get away with it? What in the world possessed them to do this?

How the hell did they get guns anyway? And what the hell are their parents teaching them? Have their parents taught them anything at all? I'm not one to blame others for one person's mistakes, but hearing about all these crimes that have happened in Toronto this year, I'm really fed up.

These losers grow up in Toronto, with a great chance at getting a good education, with good food and a place to live. Why do they still allow themselves to turn into criminals and murderers? How could entering a life of crime and murder get them ahead to a better life?

Some might argue in their defense that these criminals have grown up in impoverished neighborhoods, without a lot of social or familial support, with being discriminated against becuase of their race, gender, language and whatnot. Well, you know what I would like to say to these people? Many immigrants since the 1960s have arrived in Canada in just a state. They live in impoverished homes. They have to cope with terrible language barriers that prevent them from getting stable employment. They don't have the language skills to go and seek social assistance from the government or the community centres. And do these immigrant children grow up to be criminals and murderers? NO. They grow up to be business people, doctors, dentists, teachers, lawyers, and so on.

The path to leading a good life depends on each step a person takes, not all the obstacles that one has to face. We all have to live through some type of shit or another. Some of us have the decency to make the right decisions, and others don't. For those who don't, don't blame it on lack of social programs or racial discrimination. Take responsibility and stop blaming it on "society."

8 comments:

chasezgranger said...

Sorry to hear about the shooting. Unfortunately not everyone is as brave as immigrants. Immigrants went to Canada to better themselves, these people out of lack of security and guidance resort to new family who will make them feel secured and be there with them. It has a lot to do with how these kids are being treated at home or how they'd like to be treated at home and so they turn to a group that's will to accept them and their flaws.

Unknown said...

That's a valid point, Granger.

However, there is a very big gap between finding a group of friends to belong with, and finding a bunch of criminals to do drugs with and go around shooting ppl.

There are always other choices, alternatives.

chasezgranger said...

There are other choices, but for some reason the angrier the individual is, the more damage that person wants to create. By allowing themselves to be in a gang they can control the world that has denied them anything they want and defend the one that has protected him.

Unknown said...

A world that has denied them what they want. How about a world where they have to earn what they want, and not just sit there and expect everything to be given to them?

Some are lucky enough to have everything growing up. Some are not. Some have to work a lot harder than others. This happens to everyone, not only to one group.

What bugs me is that this is used almost as an excuse for the social problems that they encounter. I refuse to accept that attitude and the justification for it.

chasezgranger said...

You're right, this excuse is, as well as many others, unacceptable. Unfortunately some of these kids are so screwed up, emotionally, that can't see straight. Some of these kids are just bad; there are simply bad people in the world who enjoy doing very bad things. These bad people take advantage of the emotionally unsecured because they are weak. The only way to help this is by reaching out them and hope you don't get killed in the process.

Anonymous said...

you guys just like having conversations with each other don't you?

I think though it comes down to the individual. You can never say it's not about society and the pressures that come along with that. In the end though the choice comes down to the individual and how much you're willing to accept the decisions that you've made in life.

Sadly, I don't think we're wired that way. Prone to pass the blame to others before ourselves...

Unknown said...

Yes, Anon, we like going back and forth. It's much easier on YIM, but oh well =P

And I agree with Anon, that it is in the end up to the individual. I can understand how a young boy can make friends with the wrong people, but at the end of the day, if you took up a gun, that's your decision. If you shoot someone to death, that's also your decision. Live with it and stop blaming everyone else for giving you a hard life. It's your life, and you have to make the best out of it.

chasezgranger said...

Well yes we do like our conversations. :)

As Perdy knows now, my own cousin stole my PSP from me and I can sure as hell agree now that it is the individual's choice. Much of my ranting yesterday had to do with how she wants to feel popular and have things that other teenagers have. She's old enough to know what is morally right and wrong.