Dear Sir,

Don’t shoot the messenger! I don’t know, but I would hazard a guess that the editor of The Royal Gazette felt the intent of his editorial was missed and instead he received a barrage of attacks from many readers who thought he showed tacit support for the horrendous murder of a teenager by a woman.

The young lady, herself a mother of three, in her defence pleaded that she felt threatened by his behaviour. The jurors unanimously ruled her retaliation was over the top and handed in a verdict of murder. The Editor was trying to highlight a society that has eroded to the extent that its morass is toxic and breeds conflict.

He argued for clemency on the basis the woman was as much a victim of the decayed society, as the young man was a victim of her rage.

No amount of reasoning will alter or put question to the verdict in this case, but before we close the books, let’s not end also the debate on where we are as a society.

I recall many years ago Sir John Swan saying, “Our black boys have a problem”. His comments were twisted in every direction except the proper context. A decade later, we felt the full brunt of that unheeded observation. It will be too late if future statistics turn out data of higher percentages of violent crime, this time happening between parents and children, along with teachers and pupils, etc.

For perhaps a multiplicity of reasons, there are far too many people who are five seconds away from explosive rage. Some form of social therapy must be employed to find relief valves to defuse the build-up and prevalence of tension within society.

We have economic problems, which is a great contributor with no quick fix. We have continuing social change such as the gender roles and information explosion that are breaking down the layers between young and old. In no short order can we provide a recipe for the complexity of this matter.

We will need to find catharsis within the things we already do. The old saying “the cure is wherever the sickness is” happens to be prescriptive. In every aspect of our lives, even at sports, we have to find experiences that unleash happiness.

Happiness is innate; we don’t have to create it because it is already there. We just need to unleash it and make it routine. Love is hinged to charity and one of the greatest doorways for opening up to the floodgates of love is to give and to care for something other than oneself.

So, as we contemplate our many problems, let’s contemplate the areas where we can infiltrate with charity and happiness.

KHALID WASI