A mini essay
25 August 1998
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Having recently read The Grapes of Wrath, I have a new appreciation for the dignity of the ordinary person. Two newspaper articles this week have started me thinking.
Earlier this week I read an article in a London paper that spoke of the threat posed by train vandals. Unlike the usual lark of spray painting upon the sides of trains, the havoc wreaked by these vandals had an almost inhuman aspect to it. The pranks they described were invariably dangerous, whether it was placing heavy objects upon the tracks, throwing rocks from overhead bridges, or more chillingly, hanging rocks from cables off bridges at train window height.
Coincidentally, the Sydney Morning Herald today reports that police have arrested 2 men and 2 youths in Sydney for the murder of a truck driver. The driver was killed instantly when a rock crashed through his window as he drove under a bridge, from which the rock was dropped. From what I can tell, the problems in the UK are not directly related with this incident in Australia.
Reading the London report, I was left feeling dismayed that a society would tolerate this. True, the authorities are doing their best to catch those responsible, but this type of behaviour is somehow evil because of the violent intentions. Raising the topic in the media should be enough to shame those who partake in such activities. Our reaction to this type of behaviour should cut through our sex, politics and education, and come straight from the heart. Our humanity should abhor this act. We have seen a similar reaction from all sides of the Irish troubles in the past week as all key parties have expressed their anger at the Omagh bombing. In that case, the "real IRA" have been forced to back down from their pathetic rhetoric in the face of overwhelming public hatred of their actions. I suspect any Irish group contemplating any further terrorist... [continues]
25 August 1998
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Having recently read The Grapes of Wrath, I have a new appreciation for the dignity of the ordinary person. Two newspaper articles this week have started me thinking.
Earlier this week I read an article in a London paper that spoke of the threat posed by train vandals. Unlike the usual lark of spray painting upon the sides of trains, the havoc wreaked by these vandals had an almost inhuman aspect to it. The pranks they described were invariably dangerous, whether it was placing heavy objects upon the tracks, throwing rocks from overhead bridges, or more chillingly, hanging rocks from cables off bridges at train window height.
Coincidentally, the Sydney Morning Herald today reports that police have arrested 2 men and 2 youths in Sydney for the murder of a truck driver. The driver was killed instantly when a rock crashed through his window as he drove under a bridge, from which the rock was dropped. From what I can tell, the problems in the UK are not directly related with this incident in Australia.
Reading the London report, I was left feeling dismayed that a society would tolerate this. True, the authorities are doing their best to catch those responsible, but this type of behaviour is somehow evil because of the violent intentions. Raising the topic in the media should be enough to shame those who partake in such activities. Our reaction to this type of behaviour should cut through our sex, politics and education, and come straight from the heart. Our humanity should abhor this act. We have seen a similar reaction from all sides of the Irish troubles in the past week as all key parties have expressed their anger at the Omagh bombing. In that case, the "real IRA" have been forced to back down from their pathetic rhetoric in the face of overwhelming public hatred of their actions. I suspect any Irish group contemplating any further terrorist... [continues]
Cite This Essay
- APA
-
(2010, 12). Mini. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 12, 2010, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/Mini-521246.html
- MLA
-
"Mini" StudyMode.com. 12 2010. 12 2010 <http://www.studymode.com/essays/Mini-521246.html>.
- CHICAGO
-
"Mini." StudyMode.com. 12, 2010. Accessed 12, 2010. http://www.studymode.com/essays/Mini-521246.html.
