" Bullets don't have a name; they get whoever is in the way " - Youth Violence and

today's world !

Youth violence is defined as: “The intentional use of physical force or power, threatened
or actual, exerted by or against children, adolescents or young adults, ages 10–29, which
results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, mal
development, or deprivation” (Mercy et al. 2002). Violence is widespread in the United
States and disproportionately affects youth ages 10–29. The young person can be the
victim, perpetrator, bystander, or any combination of these roles. Violence can occur in
the context of a dating relationship or among peers (for example, in schools or
neighborhoods). Youth violence includes aggressive behaviors such as verbal abuse,
bullying, hitting, slapping, or fistfighting.

Top 10 Causes of Violence in the Order that Children Cited Them

1. The Media
2. Substance Abuse
3. Gangs
4. Unemployment
5. Weapons
6. Poverty
7. Peer Pressure
8. Broken Homes
9. Poor Family Environment / Bad Neighborhoods
10. Intolerance / Ignorance

The great sydney riots of Cornulla on Dec 11 , 2005 were alledgely blamed to be incited
by Alan Johnson and 2GB and the transcripts of the same can be read here at this blog .
This follows the aftermath of the Middle east violence. An isolated incident involving a
youth of Lebanese descent and a surf lifesaver at North Cronulla beach was blown out of
all proportions to incite racist violence against anyone of Middle Eastern appearance.
This was no spontaneous outburst.Who was the main beneficiary? None other than Prime
Minister John Howard and his Liberal government, which is notorious for stirring up
anti-immigrant sentiment and fears of terrorist attack to divert attention from its own
regressive economic and social program.

Rewinding back a month earlier Youth Violence in the streets of Paris in November 2005
was also as a result of an isolated incident where a youth was electrocuted to death while
escaping from police alledgely. This got blown out of proportions again and led to a
nationwide state of emergency.
 Courtesy
theage.co.au Photo :AP

Lets roll back some more years and very close to home in our neighbouring Sri Lanka.
For three days, beginning on July 23, 1983, racial carnage erupted right across the island
as state-sponsored thugs indiscriminately attacked Tamils. Hundreds of people were
killed and homes and businesses worth tens of millions of dollars burnt to the ground.
The then president JR Jayewardane justified the death and destruction in his address to
the nation. In words eerily similar to those of Howard PM of Australia during the cornulla
riots, he declared: “The Sinhala people who inherit a history of over 2,000 years are
opposed to the division of the country.” This led to the birth of separatist organizations
like LTTE, TULF and so on. Today war on terror ravages between LTTE and Sri lanka in
a big way.

Today’s society is spinning downward into such a culture of bizarre mindsets, beliefs and
practices. Violence is paraded about like the ice cream truck on a Saturday afternoon.
The result is being recorded — we call it imprinting — on the brains of the young.

Youth Risk Behavior Survey: Center for Disease Control's Youth Risk Behavior Survey
(YRBS), is a school-based survey designed to produce a nationally representative sample
of risk behaviors among students in grades 9-12. The 1997 YRBS reported that:

• 18.3% of high school students carried a weapon (e.g., gun, knife, or club) during
the 30 days preceding the survey, down from 26.1% in 1991
• 5.9% of high school students carried a gun during the 30 days preceding the
survey
• 8.5% of high school students carried a weapon on school property during the 30
days preceding the survey
• 7.4% of high school students were threatened or injured with a weapon on school
property during the 12 months preceding the survey.