The “feral” and “senseless” youths of London?

Posted: August 12, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Europe, U.S. | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ever since the London riots started this past weekend, it evolved into a violent and destructive force that shocked Britons and the world.

Following each story as the days went by left many bewildered and appalled.

What exactly is going on? Why is this happening?

Slowly reports trying to decipher the chaos came in. Some news sources said there were no racial tensions involved, some said there were, some reports later stated it was largely a mob of young white youth, while other reports said that a portion of those being investigated were from the middle class…just a general confusing mess.

But there seems to be a consensus, however, among media sources that the majority of those wreaking havoc and devastation on English streets are disaffected youth.

David Cameron harshly rebuked the behavior of the youth by saying:

The sight of those young people running down streets, smashing windows, taking property, looting, laughing as they go, the problem of that is a complete lack of responsibility, a lack of proper parenting, a lack of proper upbringing, a lack of proper ethics, a lack of proper morals…That is what we need to change. There is no one trigger that can change these things. It’s about parenting, it’s about discipline in schools, it’s about making sure we have a welfare system that does not reward idleness. It is all of those things. Quoted from the NYT.

Furthermore, there has been widespread use of calling these young–and some of them devastatingly young–children, ‘feral’ rats and their actions ‘senseless.’

Now are the “lack of parenting,” “the lack of proper ethics,” “the lack of proper morals,” the reasons why droves of young people suddenly went on a wild binge of stealing, looting and causing general mayhem without an alarming sense of how their actions were destroying thousands of livelihoods?

What could have possibly driven these young people to destroy everything and anything they wanted?

Is the remedy more “discipline in schools?”

A photo of a slight young English boy, guilty of looting, with his head down and his profile covered by his brown locks of hair has made a lasting impression on my mind.

His stance was one of hopelessness and defeat.

His parents failed him, school failed him, and society failed him.

The level of destruction, pain, and suffering these riots have caused are inexcusable and appalling.

But what is also inexcusable is the way we are brushing off the challenges and hardships that are confronting our youth with the stick of harsher discipline and outdated methods.

How are we to expect the young to grow up as respectable, moral and law-abiding human beings when the environment they are raised in is without the enriching support that they need to do so?

The American youth in our schools are facing similar problems. A spat of articles on American school discipline has been appearing on NPR, which asks whether it is time to rethink our disciplinary measures. The rate of unemployed high school dropouts, according to NPR, are a depressing 40% (!) and among students who drop out, a high percentage of them have been punished through the school disciplinary system.

The more our youth are funneled into holes where only certain behaviors are awarded, and those who do not fit the mold–punished, we will also soon be, if we aren’t already, sitting on a boiling heap of discontented young adults.

Our school systems are badly outdated and are structured to churn out standardized bodies. Those who have the resources might be able to send their children to better schools and nurturing environments but a broad majority of us don’t.

We send our children to the ever more squeezed public schools where those who can’t catch up fall through the ever widening cracks and are forgotten: especially children who have grown up within troubled homes and have been raised in poverty-stricken neighborhoods.

The lack of resources and the lack of time makes it exceedingly difficult to provide the support and attention these children need to discover their potential and be a contributor to society rather than become a future “problem.”

My brother, a youth counselor for troubled children who are predominantly black, in the poorest and most dangerous neighborhood of Chicago, told me the hopeless situations many of these children are in. They fail in school because not only are they brought up in broken homes but their schools lack the proper funding and resources to provide these children with customized care.

A close friend of mine, who worked with high school students on an assignment with Americorp, told me of how she had spent countless hours on one student who showed strong promise. However, the attention and effort she put in towards building a relationship with this student was frowned upon because that was not the policy. You do not become friends with the students.

Despite the positive outcome of this story, it also reveals the tragic reality of our school systems. Children are not getting the attention that they deserve but they are later to blame when they become the black sheep of society.

Especially when the world we live in is changing so rapidly, the new generation of children growing up in this age require a new way of dealing with their needs.

A highly inspirational TED speech by Sir Ken Robinson, stressed the need to revolutionize our education system and meet the challenges of our new millennium. He ends with this note that followed a poem by W.B. Yeates:

Every day and everywhere, our children spread their dreams beneath our feet and we should tread softly

When the confusion dies down, there will be a lot of finger pointing, a lot of punishment, a lot of questions to be asked, and a lot of answers demanded, but let this be a warning that if we forget the young, if we leave them alone and hopeless, “their problem” will most assuredly become ours.

The Life of an Immigrant.

Posted: August 8, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Listen.

The life of an immigrant is the man who paces back and forth underneath my window, smoking that precious cigarette, hoping to release his worries with every single puff.

The life of an immigrant is the mother, father, son, daughter, brother and sister crammed into the stifling crowded bellies of dilapidated boats with the hope that might never be realized.

The life of an immigrant is the smell of curry, fried chipates, and pickled vegetables.

The life of an immigrant is the swollen feet of our pregnant mothers as they work long hours cleaning, steaming, and altering the clothes of others.

The life of an immigrant is the bent backs of our fathers, weighed down by worries, weighed down by work, weighed down by disappointments and failed dreams, but never broken.

The life of an immigrant is the squalid camps in the woods of Spain filled with Africans who left for that ‘better life’ but instead live under plastic bags and drink contaminated water.

The life of an immigrant is the broken english that stutters forth from the first generation but hopefully will flow easily from the lips of their children.

The life of an immigrant is the veil, the covering, the unknown, the other.

The life of an immigrant is the brown, burned, and blistered skin from the beating sun and backbreaking labor that makes our daily bread possible.

The life of an immigrant is color. Deep Reds, Vivid Blues, Violet Purples, Bright Yellows, Fiery Oranges. The life of an immigrant is color.

The life of an immigrant is the fear of being separated, ignored, and misunderstood.

The life of an immigrant is the story of empathy.

Listen.

Is Multiculturalism the Problem?

Posted: August 4, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Multicultural Series | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

With the recent tragedy in Norway, the contentious volatile issue surrounding immigration in Europe has been brought to the fore once again.

Many are blaming the horrific acts of violence, that will no doubt leave an ugly and unforgettable scar on Norway’s peaceful modern history, on increasingly hostile and extremist rhetoric from the populist right.

Tied within these discussions that raise concerns about divisive lines in European societies, one will most likely come across the now well known debate of “multiculturalism” and how it has been deemed a “failure.”

Multiculturalism, a concept that has been most commonly associated with the celebration and appreciation of diversity, is now being transformed into a concept that denotes division, segregation, a threat to national unity and identity, and an overall sense of negativity.

Leaders in countries such as the Netherlands, France, Germany, and Britain have all publicly, and some even forcefully stated that multiculturalism was not the solution, but instead has assisted in deepening societal fractures, and in Angela Merkel’s famous words, has “utterly failed.”

However, is multiculturalism really the problem? What are the other factors involved that have turned the sentiments towards immigrants, especially those who practice Islam so sour?

In other words, is Multiculturalism incompatible and in opposition to the idea of a harmonious society and consequently a unified national identity?

Does it rather encourage segregation that ultimately leads to negative and divisive results than a peaceful coexistence of differences?

This post is a beginning of a series on Multiculturalism that will briefly examine 5 countries: Britain, Germany, France, Australia, Canada, and the U.S.

I want to investigate these questions by looking into the general approaches each country has taken with their multicultural policies, the predominant attitudes they have towards their immigrants, and possibly raise other factors that may have attributed to the rising high tide of hostility toward migrants and a rejection of multicultural approaches to integration.

I do not know what kind of opinions you will ultimately take away from this series but I can only hope that it will encourage you to think critically about this issue and help combat the negative discourse that surrounds immigration with positive open and productive dialogue!

First post on Britain coming soon!

The Current Face of America

Posted: August 1, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: U.S. | Tags: , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Does not look good.

As the current debt ceiling debacle (see here for another blog post discussion on the debt ceiling) is unfolding on capitol hill with the deadline coming to a close tomorrow at midnight, we are faced with another media storm of scrutiny.

Our reputation.

In yesterday’s New York Times, an article titled, “In World’s Eyes, Much Damage Is Already Done,” asserts that American power is under strain and its competency on the world stage under question.

Not too long ago, I clearly remember the finger pointing and the condescending attitude Americans had towards EU leaders as they grappled with their own economic crisis that was sweeping Europe (and continues to do so) because of their inability to make decisions.

Now the last laugh is on us because we seem to be doing much more worse.

The political infighting, the brinksmanship, and the irresponsible behavior of our lawmakers in this time of crisis has eroded the confidence in our government held by the American people and the world.

In fact, the level of partisanship and party hostilities that we have seen in this debt crisis have even left some seasoned political commentators like Judy Woodruff, baffled and troubled.

Embarrassment, anger, frustration is felt by many but most of all, it is confusion and uncertainty.

Where is this continuing political divide going to lead us in the future?

How are we to expect our lawmakers to efficiently and responsibly pass legislation that will help the American public and the economy come out of this economic slump successfully?

Furthermore, concerns have been raised for the last several months that U.S. attitudes toward the international community is shifting but the recent political circus put these changing attitudes in the spotlight.

Regardless of the fact that we live in a global community where one country’s mistakes can reverberate around the whole world, our policy makers were willing to play a game of high stakes poker with not only the livelihood of Americans but shake the critical and vital relationships with our global neighbors.

Christine Lagarde, the new IMF chief stated that a “default or even downgrade of U.S. debt” would affect the health of not only the U.S. economy but the economic health of the global community. This was actually a risk that some of our politicians were willing to take.

When crises erupt, there seems to be an overwhelming tendency to look inward and completely disregard the reality of the interconnected and global world we live in.

One of the problems could possibly be the damaging age-old American ideologies that have reached an exceptional high point nowadays that mar each political camp and make it difficult to see past anything more than their own noses.

We are living in a drastically different world that is changing everyday. As the world pushes forward (whether we like it or not), I strongly believe it does not make any sense to drag our country backward.

Yes we have a debt crisis, and yes we must make decisive decisions to fix it, and yes there will be pain (I already feel it as a recent graduate…), but I can’t help the feeling of growing dread that this dysfunctional path and changing attitudes among our politicians is not the way to go about it.

Currently, a debt deal is in the works and is expected to pass before or at the August 2 deadline (tomorrow) but our problems are far from over.

I sincerely hope that the damaging and embarrassing show that have put a huge dent in our credibility as a competent actor on the domestic and world stage will urge our politicians to put their differences aside and make an effort to work together and show solidarity in this time of deep economic trouble.