Insights: WHY THEY DO SO

There was news last week, that a young man opened fire in a shopping mall in Denmark and killed some people before killing himself. This was without any provocation. The people killed were totally unknown to him and he had no enmity with them. He destroyed so many lives simultaneously. This is not an isolated case. Stray cases like this have been happening in U.S., U.K. and other places as well since more than a decade or so. What is worrying is that all these senseless crimes are committed by teenagers or young adults. Young school children who are barely adolescent have been known to open fire and kill school mates. These cases are baffling. These young criminals do not come from very poor backgrounds, where people say that poverty leads to crime. Majority of them are affluent enough to have their basic needs fulfilled. Then why do they take to crime? Social workers and counselors have traced the background of some of these juvenile criminals. They suggest broken families and lack of parental guidance to be one of the reasons why these youngsters resort to crime. Another reason is drug addiction. Once a person is hooked on drugs, he can go to any extent to procure drugs and that includes looting and killing people. To show off as being macho in front of friends is yet another cause for juvenile crime. But in case of meaningless killings without any apparent cause, followed by suicide has a more deep rooted cause than the others. I think that many of these young criminals have no creative work to occupy their time with. No set goal about life to occupy their minds. If their demands are fulfilled as soon as they put it, they have nothing to look forward to. It is a well known fact that material things can never bring true happiness. Someone craves for a new laptop or car or maybe a pair of branded jeans. But after he gets those things, he gets bored of them in a very short time and looses the initial pleasure he felt after obtaining them. Being glued to computers and electronic entertainment all the time, their bodies and mind never feel fresh. Consuming junk food all the time deprives them of essential nutrients and they lack the natural vitality and strength of body present in this age. All this adds on the sense of boredom and lethargy. Thus life seems very dull and boring to them. To experience the thrill they lack, some of these teenagers resort to crime. Having no fixed aim in life, they have nothing positive to work upon. Having no set of good values to follow, they have no scruples in committing crimes of any sort Maybe Albert Camus, had foreseen events like this to happen about more than 70 years ago . He has depicted a similar character in his famous classic, THE STRANGER”, who kills a man for no apparent reason and feels no remorse or guilt after that. It is imperative for all to be concerned and stop this menace of juvenile crime. First and foremost it is important for adults in the family to,” keep an eye”, on their words. It should not be in the form of spying. But there should be open communication between children and their parents and other elders so they know what sort of company he keeps and what are his leisure time activities? Elders themselves have to set a model of good ethical conduct for their children to follow. A youngster should be engaged in some creative work in all his free time. Good amount of physical activity is very useful to keep his body fit and mind fresh. Right from childhood, a child should be given a target to obtain. He may follow it or have another idea but the idea should be positive. Apart from this, he should be encouraged to have a positive and realistic attitude towards life. Good literature and moral teaching will help to improve the attitudes and positive mind sets of these young people. Collective efforts of parents and school teachers will definitely bring down the rate of such horrible crimes committed by youngsters. E-mail-rachna212002@yahoo.co.uk

Lifestyle

Insights: WHY THEY DO SO