TJC 2009_Violence/Kai Lin/10A202

The social issues raised in both passages would not be of much concern to my society.
The author of The Anatomy of Violence in Passage 1 says that immigrant children who have difficulty speaking the local language find it hard to settle in as a result, they are highly likely to feel outcast and possibly even display signs of violent tendencies. I disagree with the author in this social issue because many immigrant children or teenagers who grow up in countries foreign to them do not become violent people who have fought or even murdered. When placed in safe environments with a good education system, these children or students are unlikely to pick up traits of violence, whether or not they have language difficulties. For example, in Singapore, it is common to see foreign students in primary, secondary and even university schools. These foreigners usually perform well in terms of academic results and gain the respect of their peers because of their stellar results in almost every subject except perhaps English, if they hail from non-English-speaking backgrounds. Hence, their schoolmates look up to them and often request for study tips, proving that these foreign students integrate well into the social circles and are hence rarely outcast or shied away from. Also, there are co-curricular activities (CCAs) that bond Singaporean students with them, such as the Chinese Orchestra, Language Club, and International Dance Club, which allow foreign students to interact and form friendships as they feel comfortable in the familiar environment. Thus, these foreign students are very unlikely to act violently due to feelings of estrangement, as they are unlikely to feel that way in the first place. Hence this issue would not be of much concern to my society. However, it would be of concern to my society when these foreign children are not placed in healthy environments. In the case of Nanyang Technological University student David Widjaja, who was an Indonesian, falling to his death after stabbing his professor in 2009, one possible cause of the violent act is because he felt upset that his scholarship was terminated. Without any school counsellors to address his probably extreme feelings of disappointment and depression, David Widjaja vented his frustrations with a violent act on campus. Hence, in this case of an environment that bred aggression and violence as it failed to subdue it, my society should be threatened. However, since this is only a single case and not a trend, I feel that this social issue is not of much concern to Singapore.
In Passage 2, Olivier Roy says that the government in France has faced difficulties in promoting bonding between people living around each other, hence causing riots to occur. I disagree with the author in this social issue because the government can maintain harmony within a town and sustain it for a long time. Singapore has been enjoying peace and harmony for several decades now, due to the government's efforts in building community centres and organising events for the purpose of strengthening the community spirit. Thus, the threat of riots occurring in Singapore would not be of much concern as long as the government improves or maintains its efforts.