A tribe that’s losing its head
So, what’s going wrong? Why is Malta sinking according to so many objective standards? Yesterday, mediocrity was the main burr in the saddle, edging out those elements that did the island proud.
Today mediocrity seems to be the least of it. Why, for instance, is there a culture of violence developing?
There have always been a minority of violent people and incidents of violence. But never as on the present scale.
Paceville gives abundant examples. People who go there, presumably to relax and be entertained, frequently end up in fights, leading even to deaths.
Those who are hired to iron out such incidents within haunts of so-called entertainment all too often end up using much more force than might be necessary to quell such incidents.
Do bouncers have training to do their job, which requires much more than brawn?
Do they have a code of behaviour and ethics?
Put simply, are they in any way taught that strong-arm tactics should only be used in the final analysis to counter – not to start or increase – violence?
What of the police charged with monitoring the area? They are hard pressed in numbers, no doubt about that.
Should they be increased, particularly in plain clothes, lest we give the impression that ours is a police-ridden state? Are they given special training? Do they, in turn, have a code of ethics?
Why are the police armed with weapons that shoot to kill, as happened to an immigrant wielding a knife but surrounded by several policemen?
Are armed police given strict instructions when it is permitted to fire their weapons, which should be more of a deterrent than a threat? Are they instructed to shoot, when ultimately and essentially necessary, to disable rather than to kill? Are they given the right circumstances to do their onerous jobs?
Why is violence spreading to town and village, even to such stupid bullying extremes as captured on tape near Marsaxlokk a few days ago?
To get back to Paceville and other areas where youths congregate, why has the age of such youths fallen so dramatically as to include 13- and 14-year-old girls dressed to invite dangerous but welcome attention?
Why are drugs distributed so liberally there?
A youngish Maltese couple who now live abroad told me during one of their visits that they were aghast at the freedom and visibility whereby drugs are traded in Paceville.
It is in the nature of humanity to experiment, even with the devil. But when did experiment become matter-of-fact usage, the couple asked. Cannot the police take still stricter action?
Why are such a high percentage of newly married couples breaking up not long after having taken their vows? Is it because the traditional basis of marriage – love and mutual respect – has dissipated?
Is it because couples marry for materialistic reasons – to escape from parental control, to jointly finance an abode? Such break-ups have nothing to do with the new divorce legislation.
They have become a trend in recent years. Why? Is whatever can be done about it being done, like sensitive education and guidance to youths early on, to prepare them for what they will face and also be tempted by?
Why has the concept of God, of a supreme being if one does not want to be tied by a specific faith, become almost redundant? Why is church attendance in freefall? Why are even non-religious values being so devalued?
There are so many other questions to ask. They all amount to a strong impression that we are close to becoming a tribe that lost its head.
The most fearful aspect of all is that these social issues do not form part of our political discussion, which is rooted in one basic objective: retaining or gaining naked power.
Why are the leaders of our tribe so nonchalant about it all?
Do they not recognise the abyss we are falling into?
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andreana attard
Aug 20th 2012, 16:35
Social values are changing drastically and quickly. It is normal for such values to change in a post modern society but the quickness of it all is breathtaking and it almost leaves me feeling like a citizen without identity. We (the Maltese) are now not much different from other countries in our statistics of marital breakdowns, violence, drugs. And you're right, Mr Spiteri, why are the leaders of our tribe so nonchalant about it? To be fair, one of the leaders, the Archbishop, has spoken with alarm but speaking up in pastoral letters is not enough. I think the media should do something. I think heads of stations should get together and work on a serious plan of action to turn around locally produced programmes that promote solid values. As for politicians,whom you referred to as leaders of our tribe, what can I say, except that I don't have faith in most of them.
Mr Peter Vella
Aug 20th 2012, 16:07
Mr Spiteri seems to be suffering from a common ailment amongst Labourites, selective memory. In the 80s as a student I worked in a Paceville club. The violence and the drugs were a very common feature then and I don't remember Mr Spiteri and his cabinet colleagues of the time doing anything about it. A well known labour thug and his cronied used to turn up regularly at the club, beating up people they did not like or not paying for drinks. I will not talk about the Police of the time, the way they operated will forever remain a huge blot in their history. I ask Mr Spiteri Which party when in government bred the culture of bullying and violence? he should know the answer.
In my current job I get to visit many of the European capitals on a regular basis. If anyone thinks that we have a drug problem and a marriage breakdown problem in Malta, he or she should take off the blinkers and catch a plane. We do not know how luck we are in Malta, we can still afford to let our teenage kids out at night without worrying.
Of course materialism is growing that is a negative consequence of an affluent society, which came about in spite of the efforts of the MLP to keep us a backwater. Where is the poverty, unemployment and homeless people that you see in droves outside Malta?
Let us not paint too much of a negative picture and try and protect what we have. I would certainly not trust people like Mr Spiteri and his pals in the PL with that.
Peter Simpson
Aug 20th 2012, 16:43
@ Mr Peter Vella
Its a pity you did not travel in the 60s; you would have seen that foreigners had a pension whilst we had none; you would have seen that the Europeans had a welfare State whilst we had none; you would had seen that foreigners had decent housing whilst we had none: you have also noticed that most of the people worked in factories whilst in Malta most of the people worked in the military services; or simply emigrated in their thousands; you have noticed that foreigners had their own currency whist we had the sterling; you would have seen that foreign countries controlled their air space, their harbours , their Marsa Sport grounds, ta Qali, and Kalafrana air/sea fields, whilst we did not control these: the British did.
You would have noticed that there were no free elections because anyone who voted Labour had mortal sin imposed on him, and you know what: your beloved PN without shame, governed twice in 1962 and 1966 against the basic tenants of basic human rights: free elections!
Eddy Privitera
Aug 20th 2012, 17:05
Peter Vella. Don't ask Lino Spiteri about poverty and homeless people, just ask Mons. Victor Grech of Caritas.
When Lino Spiteri militated in the MLP of the time you refer to, the labour government created the WELFARE STATE which drastically reduced poverty which was rampant under former PN governments. That welfare state from which you and your family have been benefitting from since those years !
Gianninu Saliba
Aug 20th 2012, 20:59
Mr. Simpson, how things and history changes according to the Malta Labour Party. You people blame the Nationalist Party for the mortal sin imposed on those voting Labour, but the PN, as you know, had nothing to do with it. It was, first of all, Labour that had a problem with the Church's teachings and it was the Church and not the PN that imposed mortal sin. Then, you Socialists, compare Malta's 1960s to the rest of Europe, but forget that Malta became independent in the mid sixties. We had a mountain to climb, we had to erase the mentality of Malta becoming a small county of the United Kingdom. We had to build Malta's first hotels (apart of the Hotel Phoenicia), the first factories, a new University to accommodate more students and all the basics required to kick start the economy. But then, your beloved Mintoff referred to western Europe as Cain's Europe. But things like that you Minfoffians prefer to forget. Just as much as you want us to forget that we had no water or electricity for three if not four days a week, but we had thugs roaming the streets causing havoc. We had no free speech, but we had a dictatorship. We had job opportunities, but we had massive unemployment. Yes, I am talking about the 70s and 80s. No wonder that you and your Party does not want to talk about the past. Your bright, intelligent, competent and efficient (I am being sarcastic) new leader wants us to talk about the future... and yet he has no plans about the future. He wants to make us believe that he is tailor-made as a Prime Minister and that he is an economist. Your Joseph does not even realize that the world has been going through a crisis since 2008, or a least he does not admit it in public. He also does not know what being a Prime Minister entails, and that's why he will never be able to occupy such an important position. As far as Lino Spiteri is concerned he knows first hand that what I have just stated is the truth and Malta's darkest days were when he was a Labour Minister. God, we pray you, save us from going back to hell.
Peter Simpson
Aug 21st 2012, 16:48
@Gianninu Saliba. Funny how only fanatics like you call Mintoff a dictator; the New York Times did not call him so, neither did the BBC or La Republica. The fact that the PN did not take Mintoff to court in th 80s-freedom is based on the rule of law- says it all.
Only blue eyed boys, who see nothing but blue, distort and paint history in only one colour : blue, your only primary colour!
Luckily, the New York Times, and the BBC-hardly a socialist newspaper and corporation-can give a very objective and unbiased picture of Mintoff the founding father of the Maltese nation!
Carmel Camilleri
Aug 20th 2012, 15:25
I pity Lino. You seem to be suffering from a lapse of memory or trying to mislead the readers especially those under certain age. Being a leading figure of the MLP during the 70s and the 80s you should remember that violence and thuggery had the tacit approval of your Govt and the connival of the police. But Lino do you really believe what you write when even many members of your party admit the dirty past that you formed part of. You have lost your credibility if you ever had any.
John Azzopoardi
Aug 20th 2012, 13:16
The blame for this kind of situation is on Maltese parents for allowing their young children to go to paceville at such a young age because they think it's cool ALso the other blame is on our politicans for allowing such a culture to thrive and finally the legal system and other authorities fro not controlling this situation better. In the US for example, most people who are allowed to get into a bar must be 21 and show an ID. Why cannot this be done in such a small place llike Malta. Why allow club and bar owners to thrive on the backs of the young.
Victor Rodenas
Aug 20th 2012, 14:27
You are right,...but many times it is a false I.D.
Patrick Zammit
Aug 20th 2012, 15:26
The most important thing for our politicians is prohibiting Paceville goers from buying cheap(er) booze from places which are neither clubs nor bars.
Francis Sammut
Aug 20th 2012, 12:59
Questions, questions and more questions! Yes, you're right Mr. Spiteri, 'there are so many other questions to ask.' This is a tall order indeed. For sure, our tribe has lost its head. How apt!
Victor Rodenas
Aug 20th 2012, 12:47
Are we grownups in all levels of society giving youngsters a good example,...I doubt it.
ANTHONY PAVIA
Aug 20th 2012, 12:38
Simple! People have become too angry and annoyed at the shenanigans of their peers. Seeing their peers get away with "murder" (replace with money, land, promotions, criminal activity, paedophile activity, etc, etc and a thousand more etcs') whilst they have to obey silly bureaucratic rules and regulations, has led not only to road rage but life rage??!! Mr Spiteri, the rot begins at the top and works its way down. That is what happened these last 45 years!
Godfrey Sceberras
Aug 20th 2012, 11:32
If we have a good look around us, we should realize what has been gradually going wrong with this forsaken island of ours!
Nobody seems to care anymore and this all comes from the very top, who are only concerned with Politics and nothing else. Especially that the Elections are now approaching, you get only propaganda, who do they think they are fooling! They do not care about the people, but only about themselves and their achievements, instead of setting a good example!
As an example, just call for any required service amongst Government Departments and other so called Authorities and you get nowhere, most people that answer the phone are like zombies, unless you know someone, of course.
Look at our Justice system, it has gone to the lowest of the low and it has become a free for all, is this so called Democracy, I don't think so! The Law has become a farce, to be disobeyed by all bullies, making them literally get away with murder, the citizen has become totally unprotected!
Just look at MEPA allowing all sorts of eyesores to sprout anywhere, without symmetry or anything of the sort and the skyline, all you see is cranes, you just ask visitors to Malta and they will give you a straight answer, it makes you wonder if there is anyone leading this country!
Have a look at the wardens who have no idea how to discipline bad drivers, the driving has become horrendous, there is no discipline whatsoever and when you are on the road, you are now endangering yourself, let alone the pedestrians! Who is teaching them to drive and who is issuing their license, a lot of them should not be on our roads, they are becoming lethal weapons. And what about he dangerous driving of sea craft, may I ask?
Just look at the local TV and you will see violent programs viewed by very many, including children during normal hours.
Have a good look at our Education system, going from bad to worse, a simple example is most of our TV commentators, have no idea in interpreting Maltese the correct way, let alone mastering any other foreign language!
Noise pollution has become a hit wherever you go, particularly at night time with people and cars making loud useless noises, without anyone at the top, taking notice, and what about the vandalism that is taking place all over, I wonder!
Drugs everywhere, have become so common, as though they are smoking cigarettes, not to mention other heavy drugs, now even at weddings, and no-one does anything about it!
There are several other things one could mention, but here one would run out of space.
It all boils down to one thing, there are great weaknesses in the powers that be, that have led this place to become a nightmare and no longer safe to live in!
.
Patrick Zammit
Aug 20th 2012, 10:58
"Why are the police armed with weapons that shoot to kill, as happened to an immigrant wielding a knife but surrounded by several policemen?"
Why does Mr L Spiteri mention the case of an illegal immigrant who was injured, not killed by armed police but conveniently, ommits the case of a fellow Maltese citizen who was killed by armed police in similar circumstances just a few years back?
M Sciberras
Aug 20th 2012, 10:30
I find this constant comparison with how things are overseas irritating because there are really only two comparisons that count - law enforcement and civic education. Law enforcement in Malta is abysmal, from rubbish collection to breaking up fights. And I am horrified at the widespread lack of appreciation of their own country and negativity amongst so many Maltese. Get these right and you will see the first real changes for the better
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