We have received several emails and telephone calls from our overseas friends and relatives. We are all OK and have been unaffected by the troubles. Fortunately our youngest son, Lawrie, who is a policeman is away on holiday and so has not been involved in trying to quell the riots. This is a great relief to Julia and I as you can imagine.
There have been many reasons put forward for the riots; the best one I heard was from a black pastor on TV. He said that many parents are now frightened to discipline their children for fear of social services descending on them; schools do nothing as many are put off by all the legislation; the police feel hindered by all the human rights lawyers that appear out of the woodwork. The result is a generation (or two) who have never known discipline. While this analysis may be simplistic I believe that there is a kernel of truth within it. Discipline must start in the home as does education.
