Violence Within Our Tamil Youth

Written By: Ran Cakes

Suryafight
Last week, the McMaster TSA held a formal which was the spark of conversation for days after the event- all for the wrong reasons. I was unable to attend due to other priorities. According to the rumours however, after consumption of too many cups of “ginger ale”, the party became more violent than expected in that people started to harm one another. After the event, the McMaster TSA president posted this response on her Facebook page: “…And at first I thought I was disappointed because something MAC TSA execs and directors put so much hard work into was washing down the drain because of idiots that cannot control their feelings with alcohol in their system. BUT THEN I realized I’m more disappointed in the fact that OUR TAMILS CANNOT GET ALONG FOR MORE THAN 5 HOURS!?…”

It’s important to note, however, that this was not the first case of violence after overconsumption at a TSA event. I’ve heard of a case at another formal where a girl had to been carried out for obnoxious behaviour after having a bit too much to drink. Peers who have attended many TSA formals say that this happens a lot, so much so that it’s become the norm. I know of people who refuse to attend formals anymore due to fear of the violence. All this comes down to the question – why have our Tamil youth become so violent?

I’m not trying to make a general statement; I obviously know that not every young individual has a tendency to flip tables when they’re mad.

At the same time, I’ve been to many diverse formals, ranging from Chinese Student Association (CSA) formals, Afrofest (African formal) and formals from different faculties such as nursing formals. I can boldly say that never have I ever encountered such behaviour at any of the aforementioned events. But then again, I could just be at the wrong events.

Considering how the only people allowed access to these events are university students, it’s safe to assume that most of us belong to the same age group and have obtained a certain degree of education. Apparently though, education means nothing when your ‘boy’ needs ‘backup’.  It’s embarrassing that these things have to happen especially after all the endless amount of work that is put into these events.

So we come back to the question, why do these fights start up in the first place? Is it the alcohol getting to our head? Maybe people are just trying to mimic something they’ve seen elsewhere. Or is it something we grew up with?

Could it be the endless amounts of Tamil movies we’ve watched as kids? Honestly, when was the last Tamil movie you’ve watched that didn’t have the main hero, who is supposedly an angel, beat up 10 guys to save a girl from being harassed? There are other realistic ways to solve conflicts. Instead Tamil movies love any opportunity to raise a fist.

Another reason could be within our parents itself. Even though it’s joked about, our parents did actually threaten us with ‘puttu’ sticks growing up. We grew up thinking violence is a way to make people listen. We’ve seen our uncles go to parties, drink their brandy, and then fight with their brothers, and then not talk to them for a couple of years.

I remember a case when I was in middle school of a father running over his daughter and her boyfriend with a car because he didn’t approve of the relationship. Many people in the community were conflicted. Some supported the father, saying he was just disciplining. No, that’s not right. There are always better ways to discipline a child.

There could be other factors of course. These are just things from our childhood that could be the reason of their violent nature. It’s unfortunate that things like this must happen and ruin it for everyone else.

What can we do to control our youth at these events? It seems as if taking away alcohol won’t help.

All views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect www.tamilyouth.ca’s views and opinions. 

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