TJC09_violence/BaoLin/10S416

From passage 1, the author states that “Another observation is that murder and violence are higher in nations with the largest income inequality.” I agree with the author that income inequality may result in higher possibility of committing crimes as people who are poorer might steal or commit other crimes to get what they wanted. People who are poor might also feel unjust and get stress up with their difficulties in life; they might as a result get into committing crimes in order to relieve stress. I feel that this point is not really applicable to Singapore as we do not have very high crime rates. Even though the difference in income inequality would cause crimes to occur and every country has income inequality, Singapore had helped to lower the income inequality by subsiding less to the richer ones by mean testing. Therefore, the relationship of income inequality and committing of crimes will not be applicable to Singapore.

From passage 2, the author states that “increased emphasis on multiculturalism and respect for other cultures in France is not the answer.” I feel that discrimination and misunderstanding of other culture is one of the reasons that cause riots. Even though someone from another culture might offend him unknowingly, he will still get angry and even turn violent. However, there are also other reasons like poverty and unemployment. Therefore, I agree with the author that that is not the only way to prevent conflicts from happening. I feel that it is quite applicable to Singapore as we are a multiracial country. So riots due to different cultures have a very high possibility of happening. Some examples of riots in Singapore are the Maria Hertogh riot in 1950 and the race riots in 1964. There are also other reasons that will cause crimes to occur by people with psychological problems and poverty. Therefore, it is applicable to Singapore.