Post by ef1 on Sept 28, 2008 11:00:21 GMT
i think its a worthy cause for flying squad to represent, lots of us know someone who has been a victim of violence so lets do our bit and subscribe.i copied this from 3run,
'The problem I'm talking about is youth gun and knife crime. Being from London, this issue is close to me, not least because Londoners are constantly told by the media how much of an epidemic knife crime has become in our city (whether or not this is sensationalism is besides the point) but I know that it is an issue in cities all over the UK. I live in a suburb of London that has a huge diversity of people from different cultures and (dare I say it) 'classes', and always assumed the knife crime stayed within certain 'hotspots' such as Lewisham and Peckham until I found out that over half of the stabbings in London have been in the North - many in my borough. Earlier in the year one of my friends from primary school was stabbed to death in his own bedroom. Yes, many of the stabbings are gang related, but an increasing number - including my friend - have absolutely nothing to do with gangs. The fact is that thousands of young people - gang members or not - are carrying knives 'for protection'. By simply carrying a knife they are vastly increasing their chances of using one to attack someone, whether they intend to or not. I don't know how prominent this is in the national media, but in London everyone is blaming everyone else. Its the governments fault for not addressing it. It's the courts fault for not penalising harshly enough. Its the police's fault for not working the streets hard enough. Its the parent's fault for not disciplining. This goes round in circles of pointed fingers ad nauseum and NO-ONE seems to do anything but argue.
However, I met a guy called Alexander Rose at Uni this year who has pretty much given up every minute of his spare time to campaign against the knife crime in our city. He was involved in various gang related activities until one of his best friends was stabbed and killed, at which point he woke up to what he was doing with his life and decided to make a change. He launched the STOP campaign (Solve This Ongoing Problem), selling t-shirts with the slogan and speaking at events around the city to young people. However, unlike many of the campaigns Alex believes that rather than telling people that they are wrong and need to stop carrying knives, young people need to be motivated and inspired to do something with their lives. He preaches a message of positivity rather than negativity and aims to inject something useful into the youth culture of today rather than get on their backs all the time. I think this is so vital - young people seem to be so full of apathy and hopelessness and they are dead end roads. They lead to anger and they lead to violence.
Now for the reason I am telling you all of this - As part of Alex's campaign he has started filming short videos for Youtube. I have been watching the progress of STOP from the shadows since he started selling t-shirts in our university cafeteria, and if I'm honest I thought it was a bit of a lost cause. However as you probably have all guessed by now I love Youtube (oh dear...) and watching these videos has made me realise that there is so much potential here to make a difference. I can stand on the sidelines forever and pretend that knife crime isn't my problem, but that would make me a coward and I would be lying to myself if I thought it didn't involve me. I wont stand idly by when I can do something that can contribute to a positive change. I want to see Alex's campaign be successful - not just because he is a friend but because SOMETHING NEEDS TO CHANGE. Countless lives are ruined because of knives, and I believe that each one of us has the power to do something about it, however small that something may be.
So I'm asking a favour from every single member of 3run. Here is a link to Alex's STOP channel - uk.youtube.com/user/STOPcampaignTV
Subscribe. That's it. If this is something that you personally care about then spread the word (that's not a guilt trip, I'm just trying to be real). It may seem like a small thing, but consider this - Chris Crocker has nearly 180,000 subscribers. His infamous 'Leave Britney Alone' video has 22,500,000 views, and it's 2 minutes of a deranged young man bawwwing about a celebrity. Hilarious as it may be, I don't think that is a productive use of Youtube's server space. Why shouldn't STOP be the channel with 180,000 subscribers? It would certainly be better for everyone if it was. However it requires people to set things into motion - 'The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step'. Your subscription to the STOP channel is a tiny action, you don't even have to watch the videos if you don't want to, but I want to see these videos being watched on young people's screens all around the country. They may not be amazing, they may not be funny, but if a seed of positivity can be planted in people's lives then it can make all the difference. You'd be surprised.
So please, it takes a matter of seconds just to click on the link, but I would thoroughly appreciate it if you would do this for me (and at the risk of sounding slightly cheesy and melodramatic) and for the young people of our nation.'
For more information, please see the STOP Facebook group: www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=12565590759
'The problem I'm talking about is youth gun and knife crime. Being from London, this issue is close to me, not least because Londoners are constantly told by the media how much of an epidemic knife crime has become in our city (whether or not this is sensationalism is besides the point) but I know that it is an issue in cities all over the UK. I live in a suburb of London that has a huge diversity of people from different cultures and (dare I say it) 'classes', and always assumed the knife crime stayed within certain 'hotspots' such as Lewisham and Peckham until I found out that over half of the stabbings in London have been in the North - many in my borough. Earlier in the year one of my friends from primary school was stabbed to death in his own bedroom. Yes, many of the stabbings are gang related, but an increasing number - including my friend - have absolutely nothing to do with gangs. The fact is that thousands of young people - gang members or not - are carrying knives 'for protection'. By simply carrying a knife they are vastly increasing their chances of using one to attack someone, whether they intend to or not. I don't know how prominent this is in the national media, but in London everyone is blaming everyone else. Its the governments fault for not addressing it. It's the courts fault for not penalising harshly enough. Its the police's fault for not working the streets hard enough. Its the parent's fault for not disciplining. This goes round in circles of pointed fingers ad nauseum and NO-ONE seems to do anything but argue.
However, I met a guy called Alexander Rose at Uni this year who has pretty much given up every minute of his spare time to campaign against the knife crime in our city. He was involved in various gang related activities until one of his best friends was stabbed and killed, at which point he woke up to what he was doing with his life and decided to make a change. He launched the STOP campaign (Solve This Ongoing Problem), selling t-shirts with the slogan and speaking at events around the city to young people. However, unlike many of the campaigns Alex believes that rather than telling people that they are wrong and need to stop carrying knives, young people need to be motivated and inspired to do something with their lives. He preaches a message of positivity rather than negativity and aims to inject something useful into the youth culture of today rather than get on their backs all the time. I think this is so vital - young people seem to be so full of apathy and hopelessness and they are dead end roads. They lead to anger and they lead to violence.
Now for the reason I am telling you all of this - As part of Alex's campaign he has started filming short videos for Youtube. I have been watching the progress of STOP from the shadows since he started selling t-shirts in our university cafeteria, and if I'm honest I thought it was a bit of a lost cause. However as you probably have all guessed by now I love Youtube (oh dear...) and watching these videos has made me realise that there is so much potential here to make a difference. I can stand on the sidelines forever and pretend that knife crime isn't my problem, but that would make me a coward and I would be lying to myself if I thought it didn't involve me. I wont stand idly by when I can do something that can contribute to a positive change. I want to see Alex's campaign be successful - not just because he is a friend but because SOMETHING NEEDS TO CHANGE. Countless lives are ruined because of knives, and I believe that each one of us has the power to do something about it, however small that something may be.
So I'm asking a favour from every single member of 3run. Here is a link to Alex's STOP channel - uk.youtube.com/user/STOPcampaignTV
Subscribe. That's it. If this is something that you personally care about then spread the word (that's not a guilt trip, I'm just trying to be real). It may seem like a small thing, but consider this - Chris Crocker has nearly 180,000 subscribers. His infamous 'Leave Britney Alone' video has 22,500,000 views, and it's 2 minutes of a deranged young man bawwwing about a celebrity. Hilarious as it may be, I don't think that is a productive use of Youtube's server space. Why shouldn't STOP be the channel with 180,000 subscribers? It would certainly be better for everyone if it was. However it requires people to set things into motion - 'The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step'. Your subscription to the STOP channel is a tiny action, you don't even have to watch the videos if you don't want to, but I want to see these videos being watched on young people's screens all around the country. They may not be amazing, they may not be funny, but if a seed of positivity can be planted in people's lives then it can make all the difference. You'd be surprised.
So please, it takes a matter of seconds just to click on the link, but I would thoroughly appreciate it if you would do this for me (and at the risk of sounding slightly cheesy and melodramatic) and for the young people of our nation.'
For more information, please see the STOP Facebook group: www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=12565590759
