Violence scapegoat

Press, 1 July 1986, Page 16

Violence scapegoat

PA Hamilton Young Maoris have been unfairly held as responsible for society’s violence, says Hamilton’s youth resource centre coordinator, Mr lan Mclntyre. A news media campaign on violence was creating fear and misunderstanding, he said. Mr Mclntyre was responding to recent news media reports on the high level of violence in society, including those blaming “young thugs.” Stories such as this were “an orchestrated litany of lies,” he said. “The media is creating a lot of fear in people and a lot of misunderstanding

in a constant barrage of information on how violent our society is.” Mr Mclntyre said he agreed that our society was quite violent, but that young Maoris were unfairly blamed as causing this, whereas other groups who committed acts of violence were ignored. “They’ve got enough problems being young, Maori and unemployed without society thinking they’re going to turn around and belt them.”

Mr Mclntyre said there was a trend in stories on violence to editorialise or present only one side of the story. This barrage was contributed to by politicans who were “building up public fervour for their own gain” as the start of their three-yearly preelection news media exposure.

Many people who committed crimes of violence were ignored by the media and society at large, said Mr Mclntyre.

“We’re prepared to sit back and watch a neighbour’s child get beaten up because that’s called discipline,”he said. “Or we ignore when so-and-so gets beaten up by her husband because that’s called marriage. “How many front page articles say Mrs Clark was in hospital for the third time.' Yet there’s thousands of Mrs Clarks who end up in hospital every Sunday morning, but we don't hear about them. “But as soon as a Maori pulls a knife on a pakeha it gets media coverage,” said Mr Mclntyre. Society as a whole was responsible for the violent crimes that young Maori people did commit, he said:

“A lot of these people who commit crimes have had crimes committed on them — crimes of neglect and abuse — both directly within their families and indirectly by society. . “If you have no physical home and no emotional home, chances are that you are going to lash out. I don’t think they have many options left.”

Violence was also promoted by society as an acceptable way of solving problems, said Mr Mclntyre, Examples of this

were in rugby and television programmes. ! As many adults also used violence, younger people could not be entirely blamed for following their example, he said. ’/-I'

Instead of just punishing these young people for violent behaviour something more constructive should be done.

It cost $30,000 a year to keep a young person in<a Social Welfare Department home or a penal institution. By comparison, it cost the Government only $22,000 last year for a Hamilton hostel which housed 14 former street kids, and worked at the cause of the problem, not the effect.

Mr Mclntyre said more resources and funding should go into prevention and rehabilitation than punishment. Also, the positive aspects of youth should be reinforced, he said. “Youth have a great deal to offer. They have energy and enthusiasm that needs to be captured and directed. , > “To. me it looks like a much more healthy approach than bringing the full force of the law down on people who are npt even entitled to vote,” said Mr Mclntyre.