Comments on: 12 year old thief gunned down – what are your thoughts?

By: SHOUT – Let’s stand up against crime : We Blog The World

SHOUT – Let’s stand up against crime : We Blog The World — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 22:47:46 +0000

[...] 12 year old thief gunned down – what are your thoughts? [...]

By: Magda

Magda — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:30:10 +0000

To revert to the 12 year old that was shot, if he did not steal or attempt to steal the cell then he would still have been ok. What was he trying to prove, that at his age he can do what the rest do?

Sorry, I have no sympathy for him. Not after reading how some of the whites have been tortured to death. Broken glass shoved up vaginas, breasts cut off and slogans written on the walls while the women were still alive! and this after being repeately raped and beaten.

I can only say God help us all!

By: Magda

Magda — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:18:00 +0000

Nowadays it just seem the norm to rape, kill, torture, murder innocent people, farmers, elderly, riot, strike burn and plunder.etc.

Is there any African state that is not living in poverty. Amazing they have guns and bullets but NO FOOD?? Each family consists from 4 to 10 children!!!

The stupid whites are for every jumping in to assist, for what? do you really think they are going to thank you one day?

They wanted to govern themselves so let them and stay out! and please do not refer back to apartheid! Our country is worse off now than before.

By: Macfear

Macfear — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 11:43:09 +0000

If I dont know its wrong to steel murder and rape.Why do i run away or us a GUN to do so.Tristan???????????

By: lili

lili — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 07:19:04 +0000

I tend to agree that it is a bit severe to shoot a kid for a cell phone, but we dont know what other crimes this person was a victim of. At the same time, we often let ourselves become victims by not fighting back. As a law abiding person we have no protection from any quarter, what must we do?

I have been hi-jacked twice, and my feelings as a woman are that if someone shot my attackers and drove off I would not have divulged details.

I feel that it is time to fight back, because criminals will kill you for five rand.

By: marc

marc — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:32:31 +0000

Nic. no its not ok if you only rape and kill one person. But then you should get lifetime in prison. The fact is, if a person is evil enough do kill or rape twice, then surely he/she has no remorse and deserves to be put to death.

By: Peter

Peter — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 06:03:48 +0000

one should also consider the victim of the cell phone theft… was this the final straw? how many times in the past has he come close to crime? how many times had he been affected by violent crime within his family circle? sure its over reaction – but the innocent are fed up and need to respond. I would like to get some understanding of the psychological effects that this violent crime in SA has on generally law abiding citizens…. does it manifest itself in incidents like this?

By: David C

David C — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:40:17 +0000

One other thing worth adding – one of SA’s most prominent economists [who also lobbies for a basic social grant] noted in a presentation last year that 85% of first-time crime is poverty-related. If true, this means people mainly steal for the first time out of necessity, and then after that it becomes a bad, and in some cases, violent habit.

This also links directly to education, where improved education would help provide income or a means of living other than crime, and so reduce the root cause of crime. A basic social grant would also help in this way, and South Africa can afford this, believe it or not.

Punishing crime is like treating the symptons rather than the cause. Let’s face it, it’s a long-term problem. Alleviating poverty, unemployment and education is the first step, and I believe also the best step, to getting us out of this vicious cycle.

By: Emil

Emil — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:39:44 +0000

Nic, thanks for your response. I have written a post a while back stating that we are indeed loosing our morality (http://emiljung.co.za/?p=139). I don’t want to republish that post here, so I invite you all to read it and comment (yeh yeh, a little opportunistic of me in soliciting some contributions, I know).

By: Tristan

Tristan — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:25:27 +0000

Marc A, thanks for your observations, I enjoy healthy debate.

I see where you’re coming from and I commend your community projects. I too have been involved and it is encouraging to see the enthusiasm for education, particularly amongst the kids.

I cannot accept your argument that the cause is not because of education or job opportunities. This is precisely the cause!
As an example, the criminal that held a gun to my head was young, clearly nervous, probably high and probably without education; he does not understand the implications of his actions or the process by which crime is dealt with.

Take the 12 year old, he probably has no idea that taking a cellphone is wrong because he has been lead to believe that it is normal, or he was forced to do it by a gang leader, or he was high, there are a number of possible reasons.

The notion of conscious decision making is fundamentally about education, of which the majority of criminals do not have. One kid once commented to me that taking somebody’s wallet is okay because that person can afford a new wallet while he needed the money for food. True or not, it points to the need for a systematic education renewel system centered around the right to an education.

Unfortunately, we do not have enough of these. The demand has outgrown the supply. But that is no reason to abandon hope simply because intervention strategies aren’t working. We’re a young democracy, things take time and if anything, this should accelerate the need to look at new education strategies.