In Passage 1, the author states that crime is more prominent in countries with the greatest income inequality. I agree with his point as it is applicable to Singapore. Singapore's income inequality has been reduced through means such as subsidies to th poor. At the same time, it is known that Singapore has a very low crime rate. This proves that countries with little income inequality has little crime rate. This claim is also supported by the author in passage 2.
In Passage 2, the author states that riots are all occuring in destitute neighbourhoods. I agree to his point to a certain extent as it is applicable to Singapore since Singapore does not have destitute neighbourhoods and have no riots in present day. This proves that the author's statement is somewhat true. However, it is flawed as not all riots occur in destitute neighbourhoods only. Riots may not occur only due to income inequality as there are other reasons like racial or political problems. Therefore, not all riots ovvur in destitute neighbourhoods only. Thus, i agree to th author's claim to a limited extent.
In conclusion, Singapore's cirme violence is low as it has low income inequality & has no destitute neighbourhoods. Both authors' claims supports each other and are applicable to my society.
25/07/10
Showing posts with label guns. Show all posts
Showing posts with label guns. Show all posts
Monday, July 26, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
AQ/Ying Ting/10S403
In Passage 1, the author states that criminal violence could be due to a society's structure. For societies who are of a heterogenous structure, it is hard to bind people together and thus creates feelings of alienation among citizens. The author states the United States as an example, which he calls 'a nation of strangers', with a high level of homicidal violence. This view is becoming more and more applicable in my society, as Singapore has an increasing number of immigrants coming into our society. It is part of the government's plan to increase population to 6 million people in the near future, and more immigrants are allowed into our society. This changes our society's structure into a heterogenous structure, where percentage of immigrants in our society is considered high in relation to number of locals. Recently, there was a series of slashings in our society, which is more commonly known as the Kallang Slashings, where immigrant workers robbed and attacked random strangers. This has sparked up many discussions and debates on whether or not immigrants might pose a threat to our society's welfare. I feel that the sense of alienation among immigrants is increasing as more and more immigrants are entering our society, and there is discrimination among Singaporeans against these immigrants, which migth cause them to feel even more alienated and lonely in our country, thus affecting their psyches adversely. Thus, the issue of a heterogenous society causing feelings of societal alienation is becoming an increasing cause for concern in my society.
In Passage 2, the author thinks that increased emphasis on multiculturalism and respect for other cultures in France is not a solution to preventing riots and violence. He substantiates his point by saying that the riots and violence is due to the population being highly deculturalised and individualised. I disagree with the author, as in my society, such emphasis on multiculturalism and respect for other cultures has been effective in preventing riots and violence. I feel that the author is not being very fair in deriving such a conclusion. However, I feel that in all societies, the people in the society must be willing to embrace such emphasis and reforms. With increased understanding among race, religions and cultures, riots and violence can be decreased. I feel that a deculturalised society can in fact become more bonded if people are willing to embrace one another's cultures. By being appreciative of one another's culture, individuals will be willing to accept one other for who they are. This will lead to the society becoming less deculturalised and individualised. In Singapore, there was a 1964 Racial Riot which was triggered by a clash between a group of Malays and a Chinese policemen. The government has since taken steps to alleviate racial discrimination and misunderstandings, such as creating Racial Harmony Day. In recent years, there have been no racial riots in our society and younger generations of Singaporeans are more able to appreciate the cultural diversity in Singapore. This emphasis on multiculturalism and respect for other cultures has helped Singapore become a multi-racial and multi-religious society today. Thus, I strongly believe that such emphasis on multiculturalism and respect for other religions can help in reducing violence in a society.
In Passage 2, the author thinks that increased emphasis on multiculturalism and respect for other cultures in France is not a solution to preventing riots and violence. He substantiates his point by saying that the riots and violence is due to the population being highly deculturalised and individualised. I disagree with the author, as in my society, such emphasis on multiculturalism and respect for other cultures has been effective in preventing riots and violence. I feel that the author is not being very fair in deriving such a conclusion. However, I feel that in all societies, the people in the society must be willing to embrace such emphasis and reforms. With increased understanding among race, religions and cultures, riots and violence can be decreased. I feel that a deculturalised society can in fact become more bonded if people are willing to embrace one another's cultures. By being appreciative of one another's culture, individuals will be willing to accept one other for who they are. This will lead to the society becoming less deculturalised and individualised. In Singapore, there was a 1964 Racial Riot which was triggered by a clash between a group of Malays and a Chinese policemen. The government has since taken steps to alleviate racial discrimination and misunderstandings, such as creating Racial Harmony Day. In recent years, there have been no racial riots in our society and younger generations of Singaporeans are more able to appreciate the cultural diversity in Singapore. This emphasis on multiculturalism and respect for other cultures has helped Singapore become a multi-racial and multi-religious society today. Thus, I strongly believe that such emphasis on multiculturalism and respect for other religions can help in reducing violence in a society.
AQ----PAN JIEMING------10S403
In the first passage, the author made it very clear that murder and violence are higher in nations with largerincome inequality. This is partly true, as people sometimes do react to unfairness with extreme criminal actions. Take for instance, when the poor have no food and basic necessities for survival, the only thing they can do is to steal cheat and beg. The problem worsen when they notice how the rich has been wasting the food and enjoying themselves. When such thing happens, they may become frustrated at the unfairness of life and indulge in crime. Sure enough, this is an issue closely related to criminal violence. However, this is not so much of an concerning issue to my society in Singapore. First of all, Singapore has a very strong economy where there is rarely any economic crisis. Citizens are able to earn a living in the toughest World wide economic recession. Then, the government has given every citizen despite their differences the same welfare. Medisave, Medifund etc are given to all the citizens to ensure equal rights of every individual. So to the poor, basic necessities like healthcare and education are ensured. Funds are set up to help the needy as well. Therefore, in Singapore, this issue isn't such a concern compared to other country in world.
In the second passage, the author claims that "the riots are geographically and socially very circumscribed: all are occuring in about 100 suburbs, or more precisely, destitute neighbourhoods". This is a reaction from the cultural minority when they feel that they are unfairly treated. It is likely due to the social and economic exclusion to the different minor race which cause the riots. The issue here is that it is hard to achieve racial harmony. The minority race or culture always feel discriminated and wanting to be treated fairly. However, the majority may not think its necessary. When the tension between the different cultural group builds up, a little spark is all it takes to start a riot. Similarly in Singapore, a multiracial society, have a history of riots between the Chinese and Malay due to tension and misunderstanding. This is indeed an issue of Singapore's concern. That is why, the government are adopting all kinds of measures to promote racial harmony. The country will fall if it faces internal struggle each day. Thus it is important and necessary to keep Singapore harmonious.
In conclusion, there are many issues relating to criminal violence, economic and social especially. It is important to solve these root of the problem in order to lower crime rates. It is the responsibility of every government to ensure fairness and safety in the nation.
In the second passage, the author claims that "the riots are geographically and socially very circumscribed: all are occuring in about 100 suburbs, or more precisely, destitute neighbourhoods". This is a reaction from the cultural minority when they feel that they are unfairly treated. It is likely due to the social and economic exclusion to the different minor race which cause the riots. The issue here is that it is hard to achieve racial harmony. The minority race or culture always feel discriminated and wanting to be treated fairly. However, the majority may not think its necessary. When the tension between the different cultural group builds up, a little spark is all it takes to start a riot. Similarly in Singapore, a multiracial society, have a history of riots between the Chinese and Malay due to tension and misunderstanding. This is indeed an issue of Singapore's concern. That is why, the government are adopting all kinds of measures to promote racial harmony. The country will fall if it faces internal struggle each day. Thus it is important and necessary to keep Singapore harmonious.
In conclusion, there are many issues relating to criminal violence, economic and social especially. It is important to solve these root of the problem in order to lower crime rates. It is the responsibility of every government to ensure fairness and safety in the nation.
AQ/Nordiyanah Samsuddin/10S403 (:
In passage one, the author states that murder and violence are higher in countries with very significant income inequality. I do concede that in certain countries with very significant income inequality, murder and violence rates are relatively high. This is due to the fact that citizens do not receive equal benefits and do not enjoy the same standard of living. Those at the lower ends of the income spectrum may be desperate enough to commit certain crimes just to ensure their survival. However, this may not be true for all nations. For instance, income inequality in Singapore is not really that significant. The gap between the rich and the poor is not as wide as the poor are often aided by the government and non-government institutions. For instance, the poor in Singapore are given more monetary benefits than the rich. Hence, this issue would not be of concerrn to my society.
In passage two it is said that riots would normally happen in destitiue neighbourhoods. This may be true as the poor may resort to rioting just to have their voice heard by the government. However, this may not be true in the Singapore context as the poor and the rich are not divided or segregated. They live together in the same neighbourhoods regardless of their income. Hence, this view is not applicable to my society.
In passage two it is said that riots would normally happen in destitiue neighbourhoods. This may be true as the poor may resort to rioting just to have their voice heard by the government. However, this may not be true in the Singapore context as the poor and the rich are not divided or segregated. They live together in the same neighbourhoods regardless of their income. Hence, this view is not applicable to my society.
AQ/Pang Chin Wang/10S403
In passage 1, the writer states that in countries where the income gap is wider, there is a higher percentage of crimes committed. When people have little or no money for survival, it might cause them to be desperate enough to commit crimes in order to obtain food and water. However, this is not completely true as people are brought up with different cultures.Some might have been brought up to be people of integrity while others grow up with principles that they follow. As a result, even when these people are desperate for money, they will not go against their conscience in order to obtain them. For example, children in Singapore are taught the importance of moral values and good character. In addition, the consequences of criminals are also greatly emphasized by the country's education system as children go to school in order to cultivate good character among the students. As a result, Singapore has been able to maintain a low crime rate in its country. Therefore, even though there might be a issue of income inequality, a nation will not experience an issue of criminal violence if their citizens are conscious of its consequences and are raised with good moral values. However, the author is also true such that cases of criminal violence are exceptionally high in countries with an issue of income inequality. This may be caused as a result of countries with a large immigration intake which usually bring about problems regarding illegal immigration. This is because when a country has a large number of illegal immigrants, these immigrants are usually unable to get normal jobs such as clerks and cashiers because of their status. Hence, getting a job for them is difficult but if they do get a job, they would usually be paid only a meager sum as compared to locals. This would cause many of them to have financial problems and as a result, many result to crimes in order to get money for survival. For example, the United States which is experiencing an issue of income inequality is also facing a problem of high crime rate. It has many cases of homicides and robberies yearly committed by illegal immigrants. Therefore, this point is not applicable to my society.
In passage 2, the author states that riots mostly occur in destitute communities. Such communities suffer extreme poverty whereby they do not have enough food and have difficulties with their finances. Moreover, they are unable to receive an education when young and therefore many of them are unemployed and have to find other means to support their families and themselves. As a result, many people living in such communities gather and form gang in order to ensure their own survival as people with similar backgrounds often try to take advantage of them. However, this is not applicable to Singapore as people with financial difficulties are provided aid from the government and so it would be least possible that they would start a riot as they are provided essential necessities.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
AQ/ALICIA/10S403
In passage 1, the author states that an observation is that murder and violence are higher in nations with the largest income inequality. When there is income inequality, it may mean that there is a difference in level of education between those people who are earning more income than those who are earning lesser. Hence, they have different skills and thus have different kinds of jobs which different pay. These may lead to those people with lesser income to resort to crime as their income may not be sufficient for their daily necessities. These same group of people may be the less educated ones too as their parents could not sent them to school and without any skills, they cannot get jobs and may have no choice but to commit crimes for their livelihood. In South Africa, there is a high crime rate that has always been an issue in the country. Reports have shown that those who commit the crimes like fraud are people with very little education. Hence it is true in this context that crime rates are higher in countries with large income inequality. In Singapore, there is a low crime rate. This is due to the fact that the government subsidies education and makes it compulsory for every child to have at least a primary school education. This would have equipped them with some skills to be able to find a job. Even when people in Singapore have financial problems due to their low income, the government will help them and thus, there is no need to commit crimes to get money. Therefore the author's point is applicable to my society.
In passage 2, the author states that riots are occurring in destitute neighbourhoods. People who live in such neighbourhood are usually the poor. These people may also have little education and thus face a hard time trying to get a job hence they may be unhappy with the way their life is and thus start riots in order to get the government's attention to do something to their neighbourhood so that their life will improve. This is not very applicable in Singapore as there is a strict law regarding riots and thus people do not start riots. As Singapore is a small country with little land, it is not very accurate to say that they are destitute neighbourhoods here. The government tries to help its people as much as possible when it comes to housing and jobs. Hence, people do not have to start riots in order to get the government's attention. Therefore this point is not much of a concern in my society.
AQ/ Jaron/ 10S403
The author of passage 1 states that nations with large income inequality gaps have a higher rate of crime and violence. This is somewhat true. With countries involving people of extreme poverty and wealth, the income gap may result in disputes among the two groups due to differences in quality of life. In order for the poorer people to make ends meet, they may resort to crimes such as robbery or kidnap so as to plunder as much money as possible. This large income inequality gap may be the result of globalisation or poor governance on the country's part. Globalisation can cause the rich to become richer and the poor to become poorer due to the advancements in global activities, while poor governance may cause an unequal or unfair distribution of resources and wealth to the people of the country. However in Singapore, the government makes an attempt to close this income inequality gap by offering greater subsidies to patients, based on their income levels, in hospitals and this is known as Means Testing. Poorer families are offered greater subsidies in Class C wards based on their income levels as compared to richer families. This has proven to be effective in bridging the gap in between income levels as a fairer method of offering subsidies among the country's citizens is being implemented. As such, the income inequality gap in Singapore is not a factor of occurence of crime and violence and thus is not applicable to Singapore.
Roy states that riots are occuring in destitute neighbourhoods. This is not always true. Denizens of poor neighbourhoods tend to have a lack in basic necessities such as food, water and proper sanitation due to several reasons such as discrimination. These unfavourable conditions may cause the people to believe that the government is neglecting their neighbourhood. As a result, people may form up parties to riot against the government to show their unhappiness in a bid to receive the necessary and adequate amenities. However in Singapore, the government also aims to provide better housing for its people and eradicate racial discrimination. Basic housing such as Housing Development Board flats are at most equipped with electricity and plumbing. It is also ensured by the government that there is a healthy mix of different races in each flat so as to encourage social and cultural interactions so as to prevent racism. With this improved standard of living for poorer families in Singapore, destitute neighbourhoods are slowly becoming inexistant. As such, this not much of a concern to Singapore.
The two author points may be largely due to the poor governance of a country which in turn cause unhappiness and social unrest among its people and with better governance, crime and violence rates may slowly decline and in turn help the country in the big picture.
Roy states that riots are occuring in destitute neighbourhoods. This is not always true. Denizens of poor neighbourhoods tend to have a lack in basic necessities such as food, water and proper sanitation due to several reasons such as discrimination. These unfavourable conditions may cause the people to believe that the government is neglecting their neighbourhood. As a result, people may form up parties to riot against the government to show their unhappiness in a bid to receive the necessary and adequate amenities. However in Singapore, the government also aims to provide better housing for its people and eradicate racial discrimination. Basic housing such as Housing Development Board flats are at most equipped with electricity and plumbing. It is also ensured by the government that there is a healthy mix of different races in each flat so as to encourage social and cultural interactions so as to prevent racism. With this improved standard of living for poorer families in Singapore, destitute neighbourhoods are slowly becoming inexistant. As such, this not much of a concern to Singapore.
The two author points may be largely due to the poor governance of a country which in turn cause unhappiness and social unrest among its people and with better governance, crime and violence rates may slowly decline and in turn help the country in the big picture.
Friday, July 23, 2010
☺AQ / aÐël!nĘ / 10S403 ♫
From Passage 1, it is stated that nations with the largest income inequality has a higher rate of murder and violence. It is true that this disparity in income will lead to crimes such as murder and violence as the difference in standard of living between the two ends of the income level group will cause some disputes. Those living in poverty may feel compelled to turn to such crimes to improve their standard of living. For example, the poor may kidnap a child of a rich family just to earn some ransom to make ends meet. However, this issue would not be much of a concern in the Singapore context as the government of Singapore has ensured that the disparity in income among the citizens will not affect the standard of living of the citizens. For example, the poorer end will receive more subsidies than the rich in areas such as medical fees. There are also other organisations that are established to help them too. As help such as subsidies are present to ensure that all citizens can enjoy a certain level of standard of living despite the difference in income, income inequality is thus not a key factor in Singapore that leads to criminal violence.
In Passage 2, it states that riots occur at destitute neighbourhood. I agree that riots will occur more often at destitute areas. Afterall, the rich will not have much reason to organise riots when they are already living a well-fed life. Furthermore, considering their status in society, riots will be one of the best ways for their voice to be heard. Thus, as the rich has no reason to organise a riot, it would appear that riots occur more at the suburbs. However, once again I feel that this issue would not be much of concern to my society too. It is mainly because Singapore do not have destitute neighbourhood. The government has put in much effort and set aside funds to upgrade old housing estates and ensuring that every citizen has accessed to the various necessary facilities. Therefore, it is not much of an issue to Singapore for riots occurring at destitute neighbourhood. However, there are other causes for riots to happen in Singapore like racial discrimination.
AQ/Ivy/10S403
In passage 1, the author states that murder and violence are higher in nations with largest income inequality. I agree to a large extent with the author's statement and applicable in the context of Singapore as its income disparity is not as serious as other countries such as China. This is because, generally the Singapore population is satisfied and are financially able to afford the cost of living in Singapore. There is only a minority of citizens in low income families who face financial difficulties at which financial aid such as subsidies to basic needs such as housing and education is provided by the government at which the income inequality is lessen between the rich and poor. This supports the author's views as criminal violence committed in Singapore is one of the lowest.
In passage 2, the author states that that riots all are occurring in destitute neighbourhoods. I agree to a certain extent with the author's view as when a person lacks basic necessities such as money, they began to turn to crime to solve their problems. There have been offences committed in Singapore for example the snatch thiefs in Singapore that would resort to violence when the victim puts up with some resistance. However, this is not necessarily true and applicable to the Singapore society as the citizens are generally easily accessed to food, money and housing and criminal violence need not only occur due to lack of basic necessities but could occur due to other reasons such as hatred. One example would be the sensational killing by One eye dragon in 2006 by gunning down nightclub owner Lim Hock Soon just because he was unhappy that the victim was unwilling to lend him money. Hence this shows that riots also known as criminal violence do not necessarily occur in destitute neighbourhoods.
In passage 2, the author states that that riots all are occurring in destitute neighbourhoods. I agree to a certain extent with the author's view as when a person lacks basic necessities such as money, they began to turn to crime to solve their problems. There have been offences committed in Singapore for example the snatch thiefs in Singapore that would resort to violence when the victim puts up with some resistance. However, this is not necessarily true and applicable to the Singapore society as the citizens are generally easily accessed to food, money and housing and criminal violence need not only occur due to lack of basic necessities but could occur due to other reasons such as hatred. One example would be the sensational killing by One eye dragon in 2006 by gunning down nightclub owner Lim Hock Soon just because he was unhappy that the victim was unwilling to lend him money. Hence this shows that riots also known as criminal violence do not necessarily occur in destitute neighbourhoods.
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