I Have a Question

Why is our civilization so quick to resort to violence as a solution to so many different kinds of problem? The other week I attended the emergency department of an inner suburban public hospital in the city where I live Melbourne, Australia. On arrival I presented the triage nurse with a letter from my GP and described an acute pain I was feeling in relation to a medical condition I was suffering. She recorded my personal details and asked me to be seated and wait for the examining doctor to come and check me out. As I was waiting I saw a young man, I estimate his age to be about 27 to 29 yrs. seated at a reception window talking to an admissions clerk. I was too far away to hear what was being said. Suddenly two uniformed security officers marched up behind him and escorted him out of the department and into a nearby laneway clearly visible through the plate glass doors. Before long he was lying on the ground and they were both putting the boot in. The two security officers were both armed with batons. I did not see the young man produce a weapon of any kind. No doubt the young man said something which offended the admissions clerk but this does little to boost the reputation of an organization which puts up signs all over the place saying how much they care and uses a logo derived from a stylized crucifix as a trademark. This is the emergency department of a public hospital, not a place of worship for the select few of a particular faith. Surely there must be some other way to deal with an irate or disgruntled customer in a public institution. The medical officers who dealt with me as a public patient were nothing but professional. After giving me a CT Scan I was admitted and sent to theatre on the day that I attended. I was not a perfect gentleman either with sporadic pain that shifted at random and at one minute had me feeling like I was being torn in half and a minute later would disappear. I can't know what that other young fellow said but the treatment he received did little to enhance my opinion of our government's funding of emergency services. Am I wrong to think this way? What must we do to prevent this kind of thing from happening again?

will999 · 70-79, M

Thanks for your thoughtful comments all four of you. IMHO the custodians of our peace and security are less likely to behave badly if they know for a definite fact that they are being watched and could very well be called apon to give account of any such incidents of unprovoked attack of armed security officers by unarmed persons. Do you think it would help to prevent or reduce this kind of thing if incident prone areas such as the reception area of the ER were under 24/7 video surveillance and mandatory reporting of all such incidents was required, with any misbehaviour that occurs outside of the monitored zone being regarded as especially suspect? My bias is in favour of public scrutiny of those with a licence to use force. Do other countries have this problem? If so how do ther manage it?