In the jumble of thoughts and emotions several things have stuck out for me:
- the quiet yet heartbroken dignity of Rhys' dad;
- the pictures on the BBC 10 o'clock news of heavily armed para-military police on the streets of Liverpool (much too little, much too late);
- the shameful fact that the police have had to appeal for help in catching the killer - surely his parents know he's done this and will come forward to give Rhys' parents some tiny amount of comfort;
- the fact that only 150 people bothered to attend a vigil for Rhys - in a city the size of Liverpool 100 times that number would have been a poor turn-out
- and the knowledge that Rhys' murder is not an isolated feature; in England this year 17 other people 18 and under have been stabbed or shot to death
With each dreadful killing we all become a little less horrified.
I don't pretend to know why this is happening or how to stop it but will offer the following observations:
- Children need a secure, stable & supportive life to help them grow; they need boundaries and to know right from wrong, and they need to understand praise for good and reprimand for bad
- This comes from both schools (where teachers have the legally supported ability to discipline misbehaviour) and, more importantly, home
- A quick trawl through Amazon or Game uncovers games promising extremes of disturbing violence, without consequence - let's not kid ourselves that age restrictions on PC games work - save the drip drip drip of desensitising of the player. Does this lead to a culture in which it becomes acceptable, encouraged even, for some inadequates to pull the trigger, or push in the blade?
Together, the silent majority must drag the country back towards civility
