Student compares violence to ripples on a lake

July 23, 2009

Students Against Violence Everywhere spokesperson, Johnny O’Donnell reported recently a conversation he had with a fellow student which produced a thoughtful and apposite  quote:

“I asked the boy, 15 and Maori, to come up with a quote for the Yes Vote campaign and later that day he said:

“Violence is a ripple effect. It starts off as a drop in the water but soon creates a ripple effect which disturbs all the waters. This is no different than smacking a child. It may start as a smack but can trigger other violent behaviours from both the parent and the child. We need to keep our waters calm and let children have peace in their own homes”.

He later emailed me with this addition:

“The ripple also does not just affect the child, it ripples in its destructive path to affect the whanau and friends of that child.”