Friday, February 01, 2013

justice, selfishness, bigotry… and sadness


We come across beautiful moments every day of our lives (if only we took notice).
We see, hear and read about some absolutely wonderful things that are happening and about people’s kindness or determination in difficult circumstances… oh, and lots of other very positive, heart-warming matters. 
But, sadly, there’s also an awful lot of evil in the world and, just recently, I keep coming across events (and that’s just in this country – I appreciate that, worldwide, there are SO many more) that depress me and make me sad or angry.
There are LOTS of examples… here are just three:
1.    The Muslim family in Nottinghamshire who’ve been hounded out of their home after a series of racist attacks and wicked taunts… no one has yet been charged in connection with the incidents.
2.    And, locally, a Bristol man recently received a jail sentence for killing a young mother due to dangerous driving… a drink-driver (more than twice legal limit); he’d left the scene of the accident; he’d apparently been driving without a licence or insurance for 13 years(!); he’d also had previous convictions for failing to stop after an accident (banned for a year) and for failing to provide a breath specimen (banned for two years). He’s been jailed for 6 years 8 months (with the prospect of early release after 4 years or so?).
3.    And again, locally: a 38 year-old man has appeared in court charged with causing the deaths of a couple (see the above photograph) who were knocked off their tandem bicycle near Bristol. The car allegedly involved in the crash was being followed by police. The man was remanded in custody charged with two counts of causing death by dangerous driving. He’s also been charged with driving while disqualified, driving with no insurance and failing to stop at the scene of a collision. In the light of the previous example, I wonder if this man’s sentence (if he’s found guilty) will follow similar lines?
What a depressing society we live in, when the actions of mindless individuals have such a profound effect on the lives of others…
Photo: extract from the BBC website (Rod Minchin).

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