Our social ‘glue’ has softened

I just read the news piece about street gang recruitment in and around Victoria schools. Victoria’s extraordinary police chief, Del Manak, figured conspicuously in the article, warning about risks and urging appropriate action, including greater police visibility around schools.

A line jumped out at me: The board voted unanimously last year to cut the liaison program, citing concern for Black and Indigenous students who might not feel comfortable with a police presence.

I’ll resist the temptation to say something snide and critical about the board. I will take for granted that their concerns were well-intentioned and, for all I know, informed or bolstered by facts.

Still, there is Manak, the man we pay (along with the police force he leads) to stand, as much as possible, between us and the darkness. I’m at a loss to explain why or exactly how the social environment has changed, but without painting a rosy picture of an innocent world gone by, this is not the world of 20 or 40 years ago. The glue — the state of social connection — has softened. Bad things creep in, and this condition may worsen.

I don’t know if a civic populace — our civic populace — can re-learn the practices of community, resulting in a local society so mindful and coherent that evil and social damage could barely enter. But I know that until that social task is undertaken, we should be grateful for Chief Manak and an effective force.

If certain student groups might feel uncomfortable with a police presence, deal with that constructively in student/ parent/police/teacher sit-downs.

Everyone needs to be on the same side on this one.

Gene Miller Victoria