We have come to accept that, for our voices to be heard and to settle arguments, violence is the answer.

When we march to highlight the lack of service delivery, we carry arms and search for someone or something to attack.

Today we report on a seven-year-old boy who was beaten up by his schoolmates after he reported them to a teacher, as ordered, for being rowdy.

The boy was beaten so badly that his liver and kidneys might have been injured. He is said to have suffered severe injuries to his spine.

How can children so young resort to this kind of behaviour?

Though many parents do a sterling job of raising their children and teaching them to respect the rights of others, there are also children who engage in acts of frightening ferocity.

The finger should point at us.

Adults use violence to raise their concerns.

Pupils in Northern Cape have, for the past four months, been unable to attend school and have instead been forced to join adults in their violent protests about the lack of tarred roads .

For many strikers, violence is a tool they use to get what they want.

Soccer fans who can't accept that their team lost to a better one also use violence to vent their anger.

The police, whose mandate is to maintain law and order, use excessive force.

With children joining their parents in their predilection for violence, South Africa is in danger of becoming a nation of hooligans.

We need to accept that we are an angry country and realise that violence creates no solutions.

Dialogue gave us democracy and a country admired by the world. We cannot lose it all because we are unable to manage our anger.