Author Archives: robert.rahmanian

The Australian government has come out with a report that claims racism is NOT the main motive in the ever increasing attacks on foreign students. Australia’s Institute of Criminology believe the attacks are solely related to “opportunistic criminals” who prey on foreign students who work late hours and take public transportation when getting out of work. However, critics strongly believe racism is the driving factor in these violent attacks.

If you ask me, I believe these incidents are occurring because of both racism and factors such as being in the wrong place most of the time. Students from India seem to be targeted the hardest and Australian government attributes this to hours they take public transportation. Here’s an excerpt from the article that summarizes their view:

‘“A lot of the robberies that we have seen that have contributed to their over-representation appear to be linked to the fact that they are working in industries that are trading late at night, that potentially have lower levels of security, which arguably are those that are traditionally targeted by robbers irrespective of racial motivation,” said Jason Payne, the research manager at the Violence and Serious Crime Monitoring Program at the Institute of Criminology in Canberra. “There was also a double in the rate of robberies against students from an Indian background that occurred in locations like service stations, late-night trading convenience stores and in taxis or in and around taxi ranks.”’

While some of these facts are indisputable I would argue that race still plays a role. Jesse Marshall, the president of Australia’s National Union of Students, makes a great argument by saying:

“When you have got Indian international students three times more likely than American international students to be assaulted on or near public transport, how can you say the color of that student’s skin has not had anything to do with the fact that they have been assaulted.”

I find this argument the strongest and believe racism is the stronger driving force.

The Broken Window Theory is present in everyday life and is occurring in the world around us. Rachel Ranis, a sociology professor at Quinnipiac University, makes the argument that she has seen the Broken Window Theory play out on New Havens Whalley Avenue. She goes on to say that the little things are the reason people have left the neighborhood in shambles. The little things she is referring to is graffiti, broken windows and petty crimes. A result of these actions has led to many shop owners and businesses leaving the neighborhood.

The second half of this article describes what kind of gentrification Ranis has experienced in her life and what she sees in the future for Whalley Avenue. She talks about her experience in moving to Hudson, NY and how the neighborhood is filled with antique shops and trendy artist. She makes the same argument for the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. In my opinion, the Broken Window Theory is very apparent and can easily be seen when traveling.

So I came across this article on the internet and found it fascinating. Lothian and Borders police have started a new system that allows civilians to snitch on suspected criminals based on what they see on Facebook. The Scottish force claims this is the first of it’s kind in the country. The article goes on to say that people support the effort and are happy to anonymously report the illegal gains of another.

What I don’t understand is how you can identify a criminal just by looking on facebook. It’s one thing if you know someone who is a criminal and then you find supporting facts and pictures on the internet that reinforce the fact. This article gives me the feeling that cops expect to charge people with criminal acts based only on the story their Facebook tells. That sounds ridiculous as I can’t imagine much success in catching and charging criminals based on pictures and interests. This also sounds like criminals are being stereo typed and put into a specific box of description which is totally wrong. I can think of a few of my friends who are not criminals but their Facebook may tell another story based on the jewelry and cars they have pictures with.