Jimmy Mizen - One Of Many Teenagers Killed

15/05/2008 by Ellie at TFP.

I am  feeling a great sense of sadness at the violence amongst young people and the catastrophic effect the repercussions have on the immediate family and the community at large.In our ‘Conversations With Ellie and Jadzia’ last month we explored the ‘Seeds of Anger’.  The tragic consequences of anger became only too clear as I read about the sentencing for life of two young teenagers who had killed a 16 yr old boy.   Only one day later another 16 year old boy is killed a few hundred yards from where I live.
This hit the national news and has once again sparked the cry ‘Something must be Done’.  But what can be done?Boris Johnson the new mayor vowed to stop knife crimes.  A policy of zero tolerance is being discussed.  In a Newsnight special the other evening Melanie Phillips was saying we need more policing.  Although these measures would have an impact if they are effectively implemented I believe it is not getting to the heart of the matter.  Ray Lewis, London’s Deputy Mayor For Young People was talking of broken families and lack of boundaries and the need for education.  I also think that the way into this cycle of aggression is through education in the schools.  As well as teaching literacy there should also be an awareness of emotional intelligence and development so that young people are taught to explore, accept and express their feelings rather than suppression which can then cause frustration and anger when needs are ignored or not acknowledged. The rapid advance in technology has had an immense impact on how young people communicate: through text messaging, MSN, Facebook etc.

I believe that these impersonal methods of communication have caused our young people to disconnect from their emotions.  These instant messaging methods create a screen so that users are less inhibited in expressing strong emotions such as anger and because of this they are unaware of the impact on the recipient.  In this way they can effectively disconnect from the consequences of their anger and avoid the need to talk face to face about feelings and their reactions to the events around them.

What real feelings lie beneath the anger that feeds the circles of aggression in our society?  It is our universal responsibility to help our children reconnect with their emotions and true compassionate nature.  Children learn from what they see: what we as adults model is what they learn.

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