Learning from Singapore's Experience to Address Juvenile Crime
In traditional society, respecting the elderly was a core value, and people would not have conflicts with elders, let alone argue with them. In traditional society, in principle, there were no young people who disrespected their elders. This was not because traditional society was "rigid and conservative," but rather because its logical structure was very simple and clear.
An elderly person reminding teenagers of something was attacked with stones; a bus driver who asked teenagers to pay for the ride was dragged out of the vehicle and kicked for a long time; a couple was surrounded by a group of people on the street, knocked down, and beaten into unconsciousness... Such news is now common, and we are no longer surprised, only shaking our heads and sighing that the police can never catch all the "hoodlums." However, we should no longer limit the problem to "individual hoodlums," but face this social phenomenon - the crimes committed by teenagers on the streets daily are just the tip of the iceberg.
In traditional society, respecting the elderly was a core value, and people would not have conflicts with elders, let alone argue with them. In traditional society, in principle, there were no young people who disrespected their elders. This was not because traditional society was "rigid and conservative," but rather because its logical structure was very simple and clear.
Traditional society believed that every elder had significant value, simply because they had walked further on the path of life. Elders seemed to be sending a signal to others: "Yes, I am ahead, but I am still moving forward and have not given up. You can bravely follow my steps." Elders are respected not because they are smarter, more experienced, stronger, or wealthier (these are not necessary conditions), but because "one day, you will become them." Respecting the elderly and setting an example through one's own behavior is essentially protecting yourself - time passes, and one day you will also grow old!
Therefore, a person who is rude and disrespectful to the elderly when he is young is promoting a code of conduct that will eventually come back to haunt him.
There was a time when all civilized tribes and nations, regardless of their level of technological development, understood this principle. But today's youth see themselves as "eternally young and indulgent" and are even unaware that aging will one day come to them.
Evidently, we have gradually fallen into this dilemma over a long period of development. There was a time when we no longer respected the elderly who lived diligently and piously during the Tsarist Russian era - these "backward representatives" of the past were either pushed to the margins of life or forced to "roll up their sleeves" and follow the Communist Youth League. Indeed, the communist cause once advocated respecting the elderly within the framework of Soviet tradition (such as respecting old Bolsheviks and model workers), but by the 1990s, we discarded this value as useless, claiming that the elderly and the young "are no different, but the elderly are worse due to 'low competitiveness.' In the 1990s, some people told us to "let those who cannot adapt to the market disappear early," trying to replace "respecting the elderly" with "respecting the rich (the so-called 'successful ones')." Now, we are reaping the bitter fruits of this ideological indoctrination.
How can we get out of this dangerous situation? The West has been powerless against it, while in some Asian countries, such problems do not exist at all. Perhaps, it is time for us to learn from the advanced experiences of the East?
Director Andrei Konchalovsky has repeatedly stated that corporal punishment (such as the method used by Lee Kuan Yew in Singapore) is far more effective than imprisonment. Shouldn't we listen to the views of this master? In Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei, there is indeed no problem of street hoodlums, as these countries still use traditional methods - whipping with a rattan cane - to punish a series of offenses. Minors who attack passersby face this punishment. The whip marks on the buttocks will accompany them for life, but young offenders will not pick up prison habits, and their recidivism rate is extremely low, almost negligible. Recently, Malaysia began to impose two strokes of the rattan on illegal immigrants, and the results were astonishing: the number of illegal immigrants dropped rapidly. Moreover, these countries are not "medieval": after being whipped, illegal immigrants are sent to hospitals for careful treatment and are only deported after recovery.
Certainly, blindly copying Western or Eastern experiences may not be beneficial. But why don't we first pilot this approach in a region of Russia? If its effectiveness can be proven, it can be promoted nationwide. In Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei, caning can be applied to anyone under 50 years old, but in Russia, we could be more humane and limit the applicable age to the youth stage - under 25 years old. Although Russia does not grow rattans, birch trees are everywhere (note: this refers to using birch branches instead of rattans for corporal punishment). Do you think this is a barbaric, brutal, and dehumanizing practice? Are you outraged by this "dirty violence"? They are just children, after all? Then go and search for news videos related to "Russian teenagers beating passersby who remind them" and I hope you have a pleasant experience watching them.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7556540669158867498/
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