Drinking at the pub and a bit of "biffo " have been a hallmark of Australian life ever since the days of the first fleet. Alcohol loosens the inhibitions and we are an argumentative lot - prepared to have our say about politics, religion, football, horse racing - you name it and someone will certainly have a different opinion !
The big difference seems to be that the rules have changed. The typical pub fight of the past usually started with two people yelling at each other - and that progressed to punches thrown - and when one copped a black eye or a bloody nose - that was the end of it. The combatants walked away - and the next week they were probably back in the same bar, sharing a beer together.
That is not the scene today. We have the phenomenon of a perfect stranger being suddenly assaulted with what the media term "a king hit ". Without warning, someone delivers a punch that sends the victim crashing to the ground - and in many cases - head contact with both the fist and the concrete delivers serious brain injury. Permanent injury and even death is not an unusual result.
But it doesn't stop there. In many instances once the victim has been rendered unconscious, the attacker maintains the rage and delivers vicious kicks to the prone body - and in many instances - specifically at that persons head. It is also not unusual for fellow drinking mates to join in the attack. This is often captured by the street network of cctv cameras - and it is a sickening sight to watch on the TV news.
Those same cctv cameras do a great job of helping the police identify the attacker and when that person faces court they often claim they were so drunk that they do not remember the incident. In some cases, they also admit that they were under the influence of drugs as well as alcohol, and very often the drug in question is "Ice "!
We have seen a law change to specifically deliver a severe penalty to those delivering unprovoked attacks - and yet nothing has changed. Week after week the Sunday papers tell the same news of mayhem on our streets and we follow the progress of victims who are so often placed in a coma and spend weeks in the intensive care ward as they battle to recover from a near death experience.
Sadly, the "monster " who cause this type of carnage morphs back into a usually pleasant young man - once the drugs and alcohol have worn off - and he is standing in the dock and facing charges for his actions. He is also at a loss to explain " why " he decided to unleash his fury at a totally unknown member of the public - and it seems that those skilled in psychiatry are no closer to giving us an answer to that same question.
Somehow the combination of mind altering alcohol and mind altering drugs come together in a deadly cocktail that produces mindless aggression. This manifests itself in vicious attacks on paramedics trying to resuscitate the victims. Today's ambulance crews face a virtual battlefield when they take their vehicle on nightly patrol.
The politicians wrestle with this problem and there are demands to "lock them up "from the public.
Predictably, as the prison population grows, sentence lengths shorten - and even a brief sojurn in gaol usually means the end of the prisoner's employment and adds difficulty in finding work again on release. It seems to be a vicious cycle, from which many return to alcohol and drugs for relief.
Unfortunately there is no sure fire answer. This is not just a "Sydney "problem. It is a world wide phenomenon and at best we can mitigate it by fine tuning our drinking hours and cracking down on the drug trade. Perhaps the best defence lays in the hands of every member of the public.
Be aware that this problem exists - and be very careful where you choose to spend your leisure time. Expect - the unexpected. And keep in mind that old adage about there being "safety in numbers "!
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