Greed creates uncaring, violent young men

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18: Every Bermudian has an opinion on how to remedy the issue of violent crime in Bermuda, ranging from the need for more prayer and civilian intervention to capital punishment.

It is human to seek out ways to cope with and eliminate an issue that permeates our society to its core, but I believe that it is vastly more important to analyze the catalysts of the negative uprising that we are currently witnessing.

The discovery of the root causes of this anti social behaviour will allow us to produce solutions that could help us through these difficult times — despite the pervasive feeling that the problems have grown too large for intervention.

The racist nature of abhorrent behaviour in this society and other western societies is glaring and impossible to ignore. I could give a lengthy account of why ‘post traumatic slave syndrome’ is to blame for this problem and I believe that its role is very significant in the attitudes of black youth today. I am concerned about having an overly simplistic perspective on all that affects humanity; however, my observations lead me to believe that the love of material wealth is the core reason that crime thrives in a community this small.

This western world perspective, where we measure our success with the acquisition of material wealth, has bred ruthless capitalists on every level, from the drug runners at the lowest level of the hierarchy right up to the top executives who enable this activity in our island.

Our youth are overly influenced by the glamour of a drug fuelled lifestyle as it is portrayed by the media. We as a people are lacking self love and subsequently have no love for our fellow citizens, we are not sympathetic to the values that people have and a small subculture of youth with a “gang banger” mentality are developing sociopathic attitudes toward life as they decide that in this economy, their best choices are to kill or be killed.

Exploitation

As a student of development studies, I see that this is very much the model that is apparent in the very highest levels of society. We praise free market capitalism when its very function relies on poverty and the exploitation of those countries with raw materials.

If we condone it on this scale, what is to stop us from condoning the behaviour of these young men who would rather kill than work in a society where honesty and honour are rewarded with hardship? We are seeing the negative effects of this consumerist culture, where young people are using consumption of products — clothing, sneakers and gold chains — to define who they are. Some might purchase homes or vehicles in their families name to protect them from being confiscated if the source of their funds is uncovered.

Our sense of community has been shattered; we literally do not know if our neighbours are killers or not and as we grasp the span of the crimes and how deeply they permeate our personal lives we realise that Bermuda is simply too small to sustain this type of ignorant living. I believe that while concrete solutions are not within my grasp, there are deeply psychological problems that have prompted Bermudian men to justify killing one another but I cannot say with any certainty that my assumptions about this violent outbreak are accurate.

I believe though, that each and every one of us can find ways to rebuild our communities from the pieces that have been scattered about due to violence, distrust and drugs.

With neighbourhood watches we can increase the strength in our communities. Not condoning illegal activity and calling out those police officers that we see parked on the street amidst the activity of drugs being sold are ways to contribute to the “cleaning up” of this problem. We must instil a sense of pride in our young people that will deter them from becoming the type of miscreants who tear up families over something as insignificant as a piece of paper with numbers printed on it.

The government should also look at effective ways to address these issues, such as the decriminalisation of marijuana. Theoretically, we can rely on this move to increase GDP as the government is able to put a tax on the purchase of the substance.

Our rich history

We must demand real focus and attention to the things that help shape our youth such as a full education that makes children, specifically black children, aware of the rich history that precedes them.

We must form relationships with our children’s teachers and take an active role in their lives.

If Bermuda is serious about addressing the severity of this issue, we must be willing to make substantial changes to the way that things have been done. The generation of young people with a “take whatever I want by force” mentality was raised by the generation of those lamenting the fruits of their labour or lack thereof.

To change the world we must first take a brutally honest look at ourselves and affect change from within, recognising that there are things within every one of us that can be improved, things which will inevitably lead toward the improvement of our country.