IS anyone shocked any more when incidents of violence are brought to our attention -- such as the battered face of a pensioner who has been beaten and robbed of a small amount of money or valuable jewellery or mementos.

The majority, especially the older generation, feel very angry and dismayed about the present situation, but it appears we will just have to live out the rest of our lives in such sad times.

It would appear that violence is acceptable today and examples can be seen all around us in so-called sport and entertainment and even in programmes on TV called light-entertainment, like the most popular soap, EastEnders, where the characters snarl at each other, rob each other, cheat on each other and shoot each other and there is never any sense of fun or humour.

Turn on the TV every night and you get advice before the beginning of some movies to beware of serious violence or bad language. How thoughtful of them.

Now, we have valuable police time taken up patrolling a school grounds in an effort to calm a situation which could have resulted in a fatality.

We have hate on the roads, hate in sports stadiums and some footballers and other sports personalities who behave like thugs inside and outside the arena -- a very poor example to our younger generation.

Ah, well, no point in complaining and at least in time, when we oldies have departed, the generation then will have no memories like we have of better times gone by.

ED STITT, Hillside View, Brierfield, Nelson.