Friday, May 12, 2017

Children and Knife Crime

Knives Taken from Schoolchildren
Let's talk about solutions.  

In the news today, we learn about the increase in children bringing weapons into school, particularly knives.  

This is in the news now, but it is something I have been very concerned about for some time.  I am particularly concerned about violence within Black communities, but this is something that affects ALL communities.  Listen below for more.  



Click here for my interview with Ike Lasater.  

Click here for more blogs from the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence.  

Click here for blogs about how violence affects Black communities

Click here for Success Strategies for Black People.  


2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Zhana,

Thanks for bringing my attention to your Blog which I have made time to listen to.

A lot of what you have mentioned is very evident in all of today's society, young people I am afraid to say, are raising themselves as their parents are preoccupied with working several jobs, drawn in to family dramas and negative interactions with current and former partners.

Children are observing all this and are being forced to raise by pseudo family units (sometimes gangs but always), what they see around them and much of that isn't good nor uplifting.

NVC may address some of the issues but I don't think it will heal all for what causes these young people to resolve conflicts through weapons. Changing how people speak to each other is only part of the problem it is also about how they act towards each other. I think (and this is just my opinion) as the adage goes 'actions speak louder than words'... and they have to unlearn the need to resolve things physically first before developing a new vocabulary that NVC offers?

Kind regards

Jennifer J Harris

Anonymous said...

Thanks very much for your comments, Jennifer.

Yes, I agree that the family is breaking down to a certain extent, leaving young people to seek alternatives. Unfortunately, within Black communities, we have long had a situation where parents were out at work, leaving children to fend for themselves. But I think the current level of violence is unprecedented.

Then, too, patterns of communication, miscommunication and violence are often learned within the home and family environnment.

We all need to unlearn our patterns of violence, and NVC offers a powerful alternative. It's not just about how we talk to each other. It's about how we listen to each other.