Heard talk today about council rates possibly being raised as the cost of street lighting is due to rise and it is the local councils that pay for street lighting. Now people are afraid our street lights will be turned off early.
Thinking about that I then realised that years ago all street lighting in the suburbs was turned off at 1a.m. and yet we were safe and felt no need for our streets to be lit after that time.
I know our city has grown a lot since then but what has happened to the population that a need is felt for streets to be lit up right through the night? It seems the world has gone to pot when folk are fearful of venturing out in the dark for fear of something bad happening to them.
My years on this mortal coil are numbered as I am nearing age 80 but my concerns are for my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren as well as other citizens of this beautiful state of ours. What sort of world are they moving into? I have no answer and I doubt anyone else has either. It saddens me as I remember the past and attempt to look into the future.
Mimsie, it's a pleasure to meet you (via the lovely post that Pink Patent Mary Jane wrote about you and your daughter). It's a real privellege to meet a blogger of your generation, it really is.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure about the world, Mimsie, but I do think that a lot of the perceived 'violence' out there is just that - a perception. I think that most parts of Australia are about as safe or unsafe as they ever were. I for one choose not to live my life as if the world has gone to pot. I just don't believe that's true and I'm not scared of being out and about in the area that I live in. I hope to pass that onto my children too. What are all those good folk cowering from, exactly? I'm not even sure. I know that some parts of the world are more violent than they were 'back in the day', but most are just the same and only the perception of danger has increased.
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I try and post a comment but it is not working. Am going to try once more so here goes.
ReplyDeleteWow it worked that time!!! I am amazed but it won't work using Firefox so have switched to Google Chrome.
ReplyDeleteFirstly Maxabella I am happy to make your acquaintance and I hope we will become blogger friends.
I had to respond to your comment regarding safety issues in our city and suburbs.
It unfortunately is not just a perception for the following reasons:
Our home was burlged about 22 years back and my son and his wife have been burgled twice and one granddaughter has been burlged twice and also had her car stolen. The car was found with little damage but regarding the burglaries it was fortunate on all occasions that none of us were home so were not threatened or hurt. There have been quite a few home invasions of late when people trying to defend their possessions have been injured quite badly.
In regard to being out and about; last year my eldest grandson was accosted by a lowlife at his local railway station one night when returning home from work. He was knocked to the ground and kicked and all his personal possessions were stolen. My GS was fortunate in that his head hit the ground where there was a grassy patch and although he had a very sore jaw and a headache he was OK physically but it hasn't done a lot for him psychologically.
There have been many instances over past months of young men being 'king hit' with their heads hitting the pavement or road and them dying as a result. There have also been several shootings over the past few weeks as well as nasty home invasions where the home owners have been assaulted and in some cases badly beaten when trying to defend their possessions.
Road rage has also become a problem and we are told to lock our car doors when out driving so we cannot be attacked by crazy drivers who feel we may have done something they don't like.
I still long for the time when at night I could walk almost anywhere in our city or suburbs without fear of molestation but I am sad to say I wouldn't do it now and I fear for any of my family who may be out at night.
I am so pleased for you that you live somewhere safe and I can only hope it stays that way far into the future.
Once again, thanks for taking the trouble to check our my blog.