shazunah/tjc09_violence

In passage one, the author states that, “Rates of criminal violence are higher in mobile and heterogeneous societies where it is hard to put down roots and establish the social glue that binds people into a community.” It is inevitable that such societies would have higher rate of criminal violence as these people do not see themselves as a community hence they do not have the sense of belonging and dependency towards their society. This may be due to differences in race and nationality as mobile societies often have higher rate of immigrants into their countries. Such differences may lead to criminal violence when there is lack of understanding due to lack of communication. This is applicable to my society as Singapore has a growing number of immigrants from all over the world mainly from China and India. Such large number of immigrants may affect the livelihood of the residents if these foreign workers are not able to adapt to the local social habits. Cleanliness, safety, transportation and noise were among the major issues affecting the residents. Residents have complaint that during the night of every weekend or public holiday, hundreds or may be a thousand of foreign workers (mostly if not all Indian nationals) congregate over a large area stretching from the rectangular open space in front of the Boon Lay MRT Station to the periphery of the interchange. The masses not only leave a great deal of unsightly litter. Education is not able to resolve the problem as Singapore is increasingly taking more immigrants therefore it is rendered useless. On the other hand, immigrants may also face frustrations as they live in cramped dormitories which are located next to Choa Chu Kang Cemetery. There are also a few other dormitories for such workers in other areas, such as Kaki Bukit, Woodlands, Jurong and Geylang. Some of these locations are far-flung hence causing inconvenience to these immigrants. There is a clear line between immigrants and the locals hence misunderstanding between the two parties can easily trigger criminal violence. Hence this social issue on criminal violence is evidently applicable to my society in Singapore.

On top of that, passage two mentions that increased emphasis on multiculturalism and respect for other cultures would solve criminal violence. This is only applicable to the minority, even with emphasized multiculturalism there bound to be disagreements and disputes as there is still distinction between different cultures. There may be acceptance but any misunderstanding can cause criminal violence to happen. This is applicable to my society as Singapore is a multi cultural nation where we celebrate racial harmony to emphasize on multiculturalism. However such bonds and understanding can be easily threatened by terrorist tendencies. Mas Selamat, a JI member captured in Singapore have caused tensions and suspicion between the different religious groups hence such emphasis may not be effective to preventing criminal violence.