The headline "
Sex education leads to more crimes against women, says Mumbai police chief" was obviously striking. My immediate reaction was - what would
Martin Beck think? I was already sad and depressed after having finished reading the series yesterday.
The sadness was not just because I now had no more novels of Sjowall and Wahloo but, more so, because as Martin Beck's career progressed, his bosses became more insufferable and incompetent.
As Martin Beck says to his soul mate who finally leaves the police force in disillusionment that a decade ago when the nationalization (centralization) of the police force began is the time when the decay started. Sadly, our nation also seems to want CBI to do every investigation :(
The key message, though, for me was that violence in society cannot be solved by increasing violence by the police. That would instead set an example to be followed. It also results in alienation of the police from the public.
We can see the difference - Martin Beck started as a cop on the beat. The recruits by the end of the series were represented by the example of Kenneth Kvastmo.
The "illustrious" example of Bulldozer Olsen can be seen in the recent harassment of
Aaron Swartz - only worse.
Returning to the headline, I am at a complete loss at what to make of it except that "Ignorance is bliss"! It would be a terrific joke were it not a representation of closed minds. There should be more sex education so that the social values are harmonious with biological and psychological imperatives.