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I'm really struggling to find arguments to use in my language analysis piece and i'm not sure how i should structure the paragraphs. I would really appreciate any help! The article is below
STREET violence has become Victoria's Monday morning cliche to the point that it is barely news when some sad soul is bashed into a nursing home or a coffin by kicking, snarling and mindlessly aggressive idiots.
It's tough to admit, but we've grown accustomed to the blood and the death and the brain damage.
We care, but we don't react.
We accept the streets are dangerous and expect it will be somebody else suffering.
That is why there's hope the shock of what happened last Saturday night in Williamstown will cut through the public acceptance and inspire a search for solutions.
On Saturday a gentle and caring man who has probably been in your lounge room was bashed within inches of death.
You know his face well, and his voice.
He is Dr Makesh Haikerwal and he was once president of the Australian Medical Association.
It is certain over the past six years he has appeared on every television set in Victoria, which means he was there in your house, talking to you.
What is important is that Dr Haikerwal was attacked with a baseball bat.
He was using an ATM, but he wasn't simply mugged or robbed. That would have been bad enough.
He was smashed in the head and nearly died. Why?
Robbery is one thing, but why the extreme violence?
The same gang attacked five victims in the western suburbs, injuring others less severely. Think about it.
When news such as this is reported the immediate assumption is the thugs were young.
The assumption was correct. Police are looking for a gang of six or more believed to be behind these attacks, all aged from their late teens to early twenties.
Of course any victim is equally important, but this attack on a well-known man underlines that lunatic violence now seems the way of the world.
Once, brawls were all scuffles, useless round-arm punches, lots of shouting and a few broken noses.
Once, even street thugs didn't kick victims in the head.
What has changed?
Is this a more violent generation?
If so, why? It's a core issue and it must be addressed.
The violence in Victoria is not limited to the city, it is amplified there.
Yes, the streets must be policed properly and the booze barns have to be controlled, but the best way to a long-term solution is to address the problem and the symptom.
That means identifying the reasons behind the violence and anger and dealing with them.
Sadly, the problem is not unique to Australia. It is more likely we are following the rest of the world.
The United Kingdom has this week been shuddering at X-ray images of a 16-year-old with a knife lodged in his skull. That country's psychiatrists are studying the link between low levels of the stress hormone cortisol and delinquent behaviour.
Canada has recently introduced tougher sentencing and plans to name and shame young offenders, abandoning traditional anonymity.
And in New Zealand a judge has warned of a "social catastrophe" developing from youth.
Our own academics have produced statistics that show violent crime by young people, particularly girls and those under 14, has increased.
Adolescent psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg sees several reasons. He believes mass media, including video games, is increasingly violent and may twist those predisposed to violence towards the extreme.
He believes role models are failing and schools are not teaching social skills such as anger management or conflict resolution, which he says should be studied as seriously as mathematics and English.
Finally, inevitably, he blames alcohol and the amount spent by the industry to promote it.
"We live in a secular and disconnected society," he said yesterday. "Kids need a moral compass, but they are living in a moral vacuum where Hollywood and the alcohol industry have more influence on them than anything else."
That said, not all kids are bad, although arguably all are at risk because they will not stay home and hide under the bed.
There are many in the community looking for answers and they are usually those touched by the violence - people like police, ambulance officers, social workers and the relatives and friends of victims.
One of the positive signs comes from a group called Step Back Think, which was formed by mates of James Macready-Bryan, who was left permanently brain damaged by one of those senseless attacks.
Eleven young people are involved and their mission statement is to force cultural change that rejects violence.
Yes, they are naive, despite being bruised by the horrendous injuries to their friend.
But they are also less accepting than older community leaders and carry with them that magnificent belief of youth that the world can be changed.
It is now up to the rest of us to help them and those like them. When he recovers fully Dr Haikerwal would be exactly the man to make that happen.
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