Boy, 11, shot dead in pub car park named (SUBMISSION)

Link to article:
http://www.24dash.com/communities/26492.htm


Other links:

1. Britain shocked over shooting of 11-year-old boy
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/23/europe/EU-GEN-Britain-Gun-Death.php

2. Teenager arrested over Rhys death
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/6962849.stm

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Summary Of Article:

Britain at the moment is experiencing its most awful spate of youth murders, with 11 year old Rhys Jones being the latest victim. His is the 18th such murder case this year.

The youngster was playing football with two friends outside the Fir Tree pub in Croxteth, Liverpool when he was shot by a teenager who rode past on a BMX bike, with his face covered by a hood.

"It shouldn't be a case of wrong time, wrong place," Rhys' father, Stephen Jones told a news conference. "It shouldn't happen in this country."

A 16-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with the shooting. (See Link 3).

My Response:

When children start killing others, clearly something is seriously wrong. Miscreant youths who regard themselves to be above the law attack others of their age. Children die, with the children killing them- some as young as nine- imprisoned for many years once caught. It’s a lose-lose situation, if you ask me. Everyone’s lives are wasted.

Here we have an innocent child named Rhys Jones murdered, and a million tears shed. How many more children will be buried? How many more guns will be bought to the shores from Europe? When will Britain finally wake up and change?

I believe that British society fails many of its young people in quite significant ways: inadequate education and family break ups to name a few. But the issue I’m focusing on is the values, ingrained in general, not just British, society. I believe there are positive and negative values. I also believe that such youth crime proves that these days our values - terms that describe our way of life - are things like individualism and materialism, rather than flattering abstractions such as liberty and progress. And if we adopt a materialistic viewpoint, we will realise that people who feel unable to enter into the path of personal progression feel worthless: devoid of respect from society and lacking in self-respect.

What I’m trying to say is that young people’s attraction for gangs is built on a sense of not being respected and regarded as having any worth by mainstream society. People who have been members of gangs talk about how walking about carrying firearms or knives made them feel empowered to demand respect from others; and that the one thing you absolutely couldn’t do was ‘disrespect’ gang members.

Respect.

When I was younger, my parents constantly lectured me on respect and manners. I was expected to help others whenever possible, hold doors open for my elders, smile and say ‘hello”, “please” and “thank you”.

These days, I am quickly realising the importance of those simple gestures. They are basic signs of respect, and help us realise that showing respect to others costs nothing.

On an individual basis, such behaviour will admittedly not make any difference to the state of a country. On a larger scale, it’s a different story. If everybody followed such behaviour and did these simple things, then gradually it would have an impact. This impact will be mainly evident on the children, who will be influenced by such behaviour rather than gun culture. When better and more positive values are passed on and exemplified in any society, both through the word of mouth as well through action, the environment changes dramatically. It becomes safer and more vibrant. Throughout the process, genuine role models are produced, and emulating them will further change things for the better.

Good manners, consideration and compassion - they bring out the best in people. Therefore it is all down to us to value people as people, consistently set examples for others and consistently help others follow them.