Youth responsibility

MY first statement here is “I am not a racist”. I never have been and I never will be.

I was born in FNQ and went to school in both primary and secondary with students whose parents were indigenous and also from various European countries. We were all friends and did not care about the colour of each other’s skin.

After all, under the skin our blood is red, we all have the same internal organs and we all love in our own unique ways.

I value any human being by their willingness to work hard, to help in an hour of crisis and to support each other when needed. This is called being Australian.

What I now find disturbing is the abhorrent attitude toward not being responsible for our own actions. For years now (not months) the residents in FNQ and further afield, have been subjected to home invasions, assaults and thefts, mammoth car thefts, street side assaults and verbal abuse from juvenile “thugs” who have never needed (because of massive government handouts) to appreciate what it feels like to be proud of a “good day’s work for a good day’s pay”.

I must insert here that not all offenders were by indigenous community members but a few “hangers on” also with no direction. Then tonight on SBS I note that a juvenile with a long history of offences was wrestled during an arrest.

Followed by this was an elder of the indigenous community stating that this matter is because the youth was indigenous. When are the elders of these indigenous groups going to step up and take control of these “out of control” young people who have no direction in their lives? There has been literally many thousands of government dollars and discussion hours directed to this cause but – guess what? It is not working.

Brenda Lawler, Earlville