Senseless violence

The silent march in Curacao against senseless violence fits St. Maarten like a glove. Like on our sister island, we too experience too much senseless violence – and not only by armed bandits.

Apart from the outright criminal gun violence there is also an unhealthy dose of domestic violence taking place behind closed doors.

The marchers in Curacao demand that their government take action.

What that action should be remains unclear and for good reason because nobody has a solution.

That may sound cynical – and it probably is – but it is a reality nonetheless.

We would begin by doing away with the term senseless violence because it suggests that there are also acceptable forms of violence. With the exception of the violence police officers are permitted to use, that is a serious misconception.

In a civil society, violence is always wrong. Unfortunately too many people seem to be unaware of this.