Respect!

Why are young people killing other young people? Is it because they think they are not being respected?.  Road rage is an adult example of the same response: someone cuts you up and you become enraged because they have not respected you.  The responses range from curses under your breath to physical assaults on the ‘offending’ driver.

There is so much in the news at the moment about knife crimes and the latest initiatives of the police.  However, we continue to have more killings including a current court case concerning a young boy who was killed after two groups got into a fight because of the ‘wrong’ look.  Another example of how strong the reaction can be to a perceived lack of ‘respect’.

The Police are toughening measures for young people found carrying knives; there is a new anti-knife advertising campaign designed by teenagers.  This is all going to help focus our attention on the symptoms of what is happening but it is not sorting out the cause.  Many young people are simply afraid: afraid of being attacked and paradoxically  they are afraid of not carrying a knife! 

I believe that we have to go behind the violence and the reactions to the very real perceived threat of violence. 
There have been various examples in the past where schools have sought to operate mediation initiatives.  I think that this is a positive way forward; we all need to look at how we deal with conflict and as adult role models , how do our children see us deal with conflict?

Questions for Us To Reflect OnWhat do our children see when we are driving?

How do we behave with strangers who we may feel have been ‘rude’.? How many times do we think somebody needs to be ‘taught a lesson’?

How do we behave at home: how do we put our needs over at home?

How do we treat our children when we are instilling ‘respect and discipline’?

How do we listen to what children are saying?

Is it a question of ‘Do what I say’ rather than ‘Do what I do’.?

Have we taught that ‘might is right’?

If you are interested in communicating in a different way whether with adults or with children then consider signing up for one of our courses which are running in September:

A new run of Words That Change Actions starts Thursday 11 September

And How To Talk So Kids Will Listen starts Monday 15 September.

We can all contribute to the part we play in Society; we all have power and responsibility – we can make a difference!As Gandhi says:             ‘Be the Change you wish to see in the world.’ 

This entry was posted on 12/06/2008 at 09:30 pm and is filed under Diary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.