thugs who pull raids on small neighbourhood stores and, while stealing small sums of money, shoot or injure the proprietors. Far too many of us console ourselves by thinking that these things do not happen in Bermnuda.

When we become complacent we should remember Mr. Dudley Bassett of Somerset.

Mr. Bassett and his Somerset News Agency, which he operated for more than 50 years, were Somerset Village institutions. He has been called "a great source of inspiration to the many who crossed his path''.

Mr. Bassett was a Lodge man and a Justice of the Peace and did long service for Sandys Secondary School. He was also a great help to many of the young people in Sandys.

Yet last year he was mugged one night in his shop by two young men who stole less than $60. The elderly Mr. Bassett could hardly have been a physical threat to two young men, yet he was mugged. It was, of course, an act of cowardice. He never recovered from the effects of that mugging and now he is gone.

An act of senseless violence against him goes against the grain of his long life. We can only ask the question, Why? There is no easy answer.

Perhaps these young men have no real regard for other human beings. It may be that they have watched too much television and too many films which depict violence as commonplace. If you view senseless violence too often it becomes normal and acceptable. You can become numb to the reality of the results of violence.

It is possible that these young men were so desperate to feed drug habits that nothing would be allowed to stand in their way. If they had possessed a gun, they might well have shot Mr. Bassett there and then. Perhaps they just did not care or had nothing in their lives to care for.

Any old man, off his guard, might have been seen as easy prey. And that is a serious problem for older people in any community because there is little they can do to defend themselves against young men, especially two young men. We cannot accept that they should lock themselves away for protection because it is not safe to go about their business. Living in fear is no way to live.

Bermuda is in the process of revising the entire school system to stop young men "falling through the cracks''. If we do succeed in that aim it will come far too late for Mr. Bassett. If we do not succeed it will be tragic for the Dudley Bassett's of the future.

There is a lesson to be learned from this sorry event. Not one of us can afford to be complacent. People who commit violent crimes threaten each and every one of us.