Remember the Berenstein Bears?

I am a child of the 80s and some of my first experiences reading were with the Berenstein Bears. They had all kinds of helpful life lessons such as "get along with your siblings", "share the good things in life (like candy, if I remember correctly)", "always tell the truth", "what to do when you find someone's wallet" and so on.
Honestly, and sadly, I think childhood is over--and not just for me--if this is any indication.

"When an increase in rudeness and aggressive behavior is noticed at Bear Country School, teachers and parents decide that something must be done."

Today, in Toronto, Premier McGuinty made an announcement to help with progress on a very dark chapter of Ontario's history. The province has promised more police officers immediately for Toronto; more OPP officers to be assigned immediately to special weapons taskforces for the province; 31 new gun-smart prosecutors to devote themselves to putting those apprehended behind bars; and the Premier has appealed to the 4 political party leaders to implement higher minimum sentencing, reverse onus bail legislation, and tougher laws on guns.

The Premier stresses that this announcement is in no way a solution.

The problem is so tangled that there is no one solution available. Just thinking about it is overwhelming.

There are other cities in the world who think little of Toronto's decline. The shootings here are still a fraction of what they are in infamous American cities for example. Or what about what someone in Iraq live through each day? Just yesterday, the Toronto Star reported a school master beheaded in front of his wife and children by Taliban extremists.

But you know what? This is Toronto. This is Canada. And people just don't shoot people here. I often think back to Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine. I remember the Canadian scenes where he visits Windsor and Toronto and folks didn't even lock their doors. He claimed that of the single digit gun crimes in Canada each year, most happened with American guns in the hands of visiting Americans. I think back to those scenes and I am embarrassed. Last year, 52 were killed in Toronto with guns alone. That doesn't even cover other seemingly random acts of violence, nor those injured.

So what has changed since Bowling for Columbine? Why are Torontonians (and Canadians) shooting each other?

Drugs? Gang warfare? Social status? Someone should ask those apprehended perhaps. Maybe with the right questions, the answers could start to appear.

I long for the days when I could look at a person on the street and not wonder where their gun is hiding.