… or so my CRIM teacher said. Now, I hope I don’t run the danger of paraphrasing her wrongly (this danger is why I seldom quote or paraphrase people ^^; ), but her words are still stuck in my mind. XD
Maybe I shouldn’t go into details for her and my own sake? Let’s just say this: It is a fact that the media warps people’s perception of reality. Even though official surveys and statistics can tell you that the rates of, for example, youth crime have dropped (in Canada at least), people still feel as if the danger is growing. And how would they not? All people ever see on TV or in newspapers is how things get more dangerous, but not the things that got safer. After all, that would make for a not-so-good news story, right? People want to be shocked rather than relieved, apparently.
And so it is that the general public is often terribly misinformed when it comes to a variety of issues. The thing we were particularly talking about in class was the overall “go tough on crime attitude”. Apparently it is backfiring; it doesn’t keep crime of the streets, it increases it. But try telling that to the people who feel unsafe and hang on the lips of the media. And don’t get me started on H1N1. That is one thing I will not share my opinion on. All I can say is that everyone should make an informed decision on whether or not they get the vaccine.
Now, I apologize for not giving sources, which, naturally, should be backing me up if I want to carry out an argument. But then again, how many people read this small blog, and how many of them are interested in this? Well, I can refer you to the StatsCan article that I referred to when saying that youth crime is down. Since my teacher was nice enough to email it to me. All I can say is, if you’re interested, read it, if not, this talk ends here. Actually it ends here either way, because I want to go back to the title of this blog, such as to not leave the wrong impression of my teacher.
Apparently, the elected government wants to revise the previous government’s standing/changes on youth crime policies. You see, the previous gov. has apparently recognized that punishing criminals under general deterrence did not serve its purpose, and probably never has, so they changed a few things.
The new government now says that these changes have increased crime rates, and that it will go back to using a system that focuses on deterrence (I believe it was in the statement under which they were elected). Clearly the statistics prove that the change did have a positive impact, and as such, the change back to the old ways would do opposite of what is promised to us. This is the part that made my dear professor begin the fury, so to speak. It wasn’t a long anti-Harper rant or anything, but she told us that she hopes that this contradiction would pent up some rage in us.
Because it is so clear that what they are planning to do -and misleading people regarding the statistics at that- is plain ridiculous. If you’ve informed yourself about the issue, you’d probably agree. I apologize for being so half-assed about these statements, but like I said, I hate having to paraphrase people, and I know for a fact that the way I express myself can be awkward at times.
Anyways, our teach asked us to try and involve people in a discussion on this ridicule. Have I done my part? I suppose, in a way. Anyone reading this is a step forward, even if they only think little about it. But, don’t take my word for everything, do your own research and see what you think is right or not. I do envy my prof’s ability when it comes to discussing these things… I am a tad intimidated, yup.
So, pent up rage against those who try to veil our eyes and mislead us? I suppose, but I don’t want to start a rally of hatred. Please, nobody misunderstand the “Spread the rage!”. It is so easy to take things out of context or be mis-quoted… I don’t want this to be one of those things ^^;
I do so very much hope my CRIM teacher never reads this. I’d be embarrassed with no end. I always feel my representation of someone else’s argument to be weak, and as such, I feel like I let them down, weakening their argument and all… T^T
Oh, and one more thing: Of all people, those who did not vote have no right to complain about the government and how it does things. There is not point in waiting for the world to change.
I suppose, for Canada, that sort of includes me, seeing as I can’t vote here, but at the same time, I feel like I’m not really complaining about them (yet) anyways. Perhaps I am not complaining enough though; if I want to live in this country, it is all the more important for me to watch its development I suppose.
Why must I personally find politics to be lame and boring, when it is of such importance? Sometimes I wish I was naturally interested in it ^^:
