Plea for peace

I HONESTLY don’t know who to send this to, as I’m unaware of who will actually care and listen. But I think it’s time that someone heard a teenager’s thoughts on violence.
My name is Kelsey Ryan, I am 13 years old and live with my nan and pop. As they are now in their seventies and eighties, at dinner time, they enjoy watching the news while they eat. Now of course being a teenager my life revolves around the television, however I would rather stare at walls than watch the news, not because of the people that present it nor because there are other shows on that I would enjoy, but because of the news that they report.
It is never happy, always sad, unsettling and traumatic. I cannot remember the last time I saw good things happening on the news. I enjoy knowing what’s going on around me, my family say I’m a sticky beak, I don’t deny that accusation because I don’t believe anyone should be withheld from the truth.
I see advertisements on the TV encouraging the community to file a complaint if they see something on a specific show or even on an ad that they find defies a “code of practice”. Many say that violence should not be broadcast on TV because younger generations will learn and act upon it.
I think that violence is happening not only on TV but all around us, in our parks, shopping centres, our streets and even in our homes and unless we care enough to stop it happening in real life, that it should continue on TV. These TV shows/documentaries are only showing us what’s happening right here right now all around the world, unless of course everyone cares enough to put a stop to it.
Recently I decided to watch the news while eating dinner and saw that a man over 80 years old was brutally beaten by a man and a woman, he was then robbed and left on the ground.
He was helpless, alone and on a walking stick. He had no way of defending himself. I was not alone while watching this so I went in my bedroom afterwards and I could not stop crying.
How could these people stoop so low? Leave a poor, innocent man brutally beaten on the ground, what has gone into these people’s minds so that they think it’s okay to not have respect for the elderly, this man has grandchildren. I could not imagine how frightened he would be to even go outside his own house again.
I just want people to feel safe, comfortable and that they have no reason to feel afraid, but how can they do that when things like this are happening every day. Some things that can prevent violence could be to:
– Have more police on duty and in all areas so they won’t be too late to save someone who’s been hurt.
– Have more CCTV cameras, in ALL areas.
– More school assemblies involving violence victims and police to show and tell children and teenagers the impact of violence.
– More documentaries that show what violence can do, but also how it can be stopped.
These are only a few of the millions of things we can do to stop violence, I understand that some things might not be achievable but if we all work together, it will be. Even with donations the impact it will have on our society will be life-changingI know that many will say “you’re only a teenager so what would you know” but we kids listen and wonder about these things more than you think. It’s tearing us apart seeing that men and women can’t even respect the elderly now, imagine what this world will be like in 10 years?
Kelsey Ryan,
Narre Warren.