A lot of folk "outing" themselves tonight. I arent joinin in, in being out that is! Im staying "in" fer now!
No...I don't see how citing 'education' as the most effective means to nurture more tolerant attitudes to oneanother could be construed as patronising? If a person's behaviour is unacceptable (by consnsus) then rather than simply giving them a good hiding without explanation.... the key to rehabilitation is for that person to understand exactly why their behaviour was unacceptable....if they continued in the same vein, despite knowing their actions were unacceptable, you'd intervene with a suitable punishment... If you extrapolate that principle to a cultural group, then one aspect of the education process is to try to understand their values and evaluate the differences and similarities....we don't necessarily have to agree, but we can reach a mutual compromise....this only happens when people communicate...(was that patronising enough?...)
It's ultimately this type of theorising that got us into this mess IMO. Unless by education you mean taking all concerned and locking them up and throwing away the key. That might have an effect. 30 years ago I'd have agreed with you. Maybe we should write them a stern letter. No wonder we're seen as weak/prey.
Steady! It's a discussion forum. To a great degree I have no opinion as none of this sort of thing directly effects me. I have no axes to grind, I just observe and after 55 years see how things have changed and how stupidly soft and forgiving our nation has become. Not just ours either apparently, 7 years in jail for murdering your wife? Do you mean me? You surely do! I have little patience with anyone who treats others even unkindly, let alone those that are paid to keep others in line and simply don't bother. Blaming the system is weak. I expect all the cops will have resigned by now so they don't have to face disciplinery procedings and loose their pensions, because yet again we see a bunch of people paid by society to protect it putting themselves first. Incidently, back to the missing girl. I use a canal forum, I've been following this since the evening she disappeared and her family were asking boaters if they'd seen her. Ignoring the fact that they're looking for a foreigner, this had been a very hard story to follow with updates from the family (not directly) twitter appeals et all.
I don't think we've lost our moral compass, but I do think that on the whole we've lost our sense of community, and the inherent self-regulation that goes with it. There'll always be miscreancy within any society, and where previously this would have been dealt with at source, so to speak, we now turn to the relevant authorities to resolve our problems. These authorities are now so bloated and bogged down with administrative protocol, it's no wonder the wheels of justice seem to turn inexorably slowly...
It is good to have a good debate on a serious issue, opinions should rarely meet but all need to be used to forge a realistic way forward... IMHO!
If I might be pedantic for a moment. Debating is all about winning an arguement whether you're right or wrong i.e.politics. That's why posh schools have debating societies, to the little poshies can learn to win even when they're wrong. Discussion on the other hand requires an open mind and to be ready to take on board other peoples views, I prefer discussions.
