Crime wave or paranoia?

This morning on the news Minomonta was up on his high horse delivering a sermon about looking after the elderly. It appears the the incidence of elderly husbands killing their wives has increased recently (or rather, someone just noticed how often it happens recently). According to Grey Hair #1 expert in... well they don't tell you that, but he was wearing a really important looking suit and someone had clearly combed his hair for him, the reason why these blokes are killling their wives is because they are ill and can't look after them. So for example the wife gets Alzheimers, the hubbie has to suddenly look after her in much the same manner that she looked after him for the last 60 years and finds he can't cope with it. The cooking, the cleaning, the endless unreasonable demands. Oh, it's all too much for old Mr Tanaka who has previously never had to do much more than wipe his own face after a meal. Granted he is elderly too, but isn't it funny how the figures on elderly wives who kill their ailing husbands is not worthy of mention? But I guess these relationships are not always based on love and respect and so forth and the older generation aren't quite to accepting of the divorce culture. The other day on the train I watched an elderly couple get on and the husband bagged them a seat near the door and put their bags down and the wife starts saying "Oh, no lets sit over there" and walks off. The husband has already sat down so he kind of hesitates for a few seconds trying to decide if he should follow her or not, meanwhile she is saying "Come ON" with mega impatience in her voice and waving her hand at him like he's a disobedient dog. He decides to stay where he is and the wife sits down, clearly quite miffed, and is determined to stay where she is and sits staring intently out the window for the next hour of the journey. So they both sit alone, both sulking and more than likely adding to a growing sense of contempt for each other. You can't say they'd be quite happy to nurse the other for the last 5 years of their life!

But everyday in the news they find some statistic about crime in Japan with which to scare the population. Yesterday it was about the number of child abuse cases recently. Apparently a few people recently have been using starvation as a disciplinary tool with their kids. Funny how well behaved kids are when they are too emanciated to lift their head. While disturbing - when you look at the size of the population here, the incident rate is so low it's barely worth reporting, and certainly not worth the huge crisis talk status it's receiving. It's almost as though the Japs want their country to be dangerous. People are always telling me to be careful cos it's so dangerous - what?? You can't tell me a country where a person can leave their iPod on a park bench and come back in 5 hours and find it still there is dangerous. Shops leave their merchandise out on the street all night it's so safe! I have never felt unsafe here. Although I also have to say that I have never felt unsafe in Adelaide either, even with my "dangerous" walk across the bridge over the Torrens behind the uni. I think for the most part people wish Adelaide was dangerous too. Most of the residents seem to love a bit of self-deprecation. Aboriginals sit in the street - sometimes drinking grog, oh my god what a fucking nightmare. Have a look at Redfern in Sydney - that's a problem. Someone got stabbed in Hindley St - can't go there any more. What crap.

Well, I'd love to go on about this some more, but I have classes to prepare for.