Courier's viewpoint: Has society lost all sense of civility? PPS teacher allegedly attacked by student’s mother

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A man, with no regard for human life, guns down 58 unsuspecting concertgoers in Las Vegas.
Another man, angered with his former co-workers like so many other Americans, does what nearly every American wouldn’t do—gun down three of his ex-colleagues, and seriously wound two more in Maryland.
Here in our backyard, an individual guns down an African American mother, with her 7-month-old baby daughter inches away.
Another individual is accused of killing her 20-year-old ex-girlfriend, a Pitt student, for reasons not known and never to be justified.
Have we in this society lost all sense of civility?
Loss of human life is the most tragic of situations, but we’re sure you can think of even non-fatal situations that still have you scratching your head, asking the same question.
In this place we call the “Steel City,” our hearts are made with anything but steel. We have a heart that cares, feels, sympathizes and empathizes. We also should have a heart—and a mind—that allows us to participate in the “civil” part of “civil society,” and treat others according to the Golden Rule.
In the recent past, we’ve seen video evidence of Pittsburgh Police officers using alleged excessive force on the likes of Nathan Stanley III and Daniel Alderman. Were these officers justified in their actions, or do we live in a society where, “anything goes?”
YouTube, TMZ and World Star are all popular websites where videos are posted of “anything goes”—throwing food, drinks and punches at fast food restaurant workers; angry ex-significant others significantly damaging the other’s cars, homes and belongings; even fighting for (basically) no reason by many of our youth at Downtown Pittsburgh events like the Three Rivers Regatta.
America’s current president Donald Trump seems to perpetuate this “anything goes” society. He says “anything,” he tweets “anything,” and you never know—one day he may do “something” that makes another foreign country declare that “anything goes” against the U.S.
What is going on in this society these days? Is it becoming the norm to just do anything, say anything, and then become some sort of “viral, Internet sensation?”
We as a society must get back to being more civil, more compassionate, and to truly think before we act. Here locally, a 29-year-old North Side mother did not seem to get that message. One week ago, Oct. 18, she decided to throw a brick through the open car window of Pittsburgh King teacher Janice Watkins, hitting her in the face. Watkins suffered facial injuries and lost a tooth.
The alleged suspect told officers, according to a police report, “I ain’t gonna lie. I did it.”
And why did this happen? Because earlier in the day, Watkins confiscated the cell phone of the suspect’s fourth-grade daughter, who had one in class. Pittsburgh Public Schools has a no-cellphone policy.
It’s a story that made national news. But it’s a story that never should never have been one. It never should have happened. It is yet another unfortunate instance where seemingly “anything goes,” even against a Pittsburgh teacher whose job, by all accounts, is to teach children right from wrong, and put students in a position to win. News flash: Mothers are supposed to set the same positive tone for their children.
There has to be some sort of new standard in our society. Because right now, the current standard is—well, that there is, in fact, no standard.