THE EDITOR, Sir:
PLEASE ALLOW me to respond to that impassioned letter, asking why blacks are killing blacks, by Trevor Radway in Tuesday, January 3 edition of The Gleaner.
In the first place, we must acknowledge that:
1. Killings are not perpetrated only by blacks against blacks, or solely by Jamaicans against Jamaicans. The history of the human race seems to be a history of violence, murder and other forms of cruel and inhumane treatment against one another.
2. It must be noted also, that there are numerous graphic and obscene cases of whites killing whites. For instance, some of the greatest orgies of killings, albeit organised, were the European wars of the 20th century, when in one war alone, that of 1939-45, some 50 million people were killed. Other savage acts of atrocities were carried out in Russia, in Asia and elsewhere. So blacks do not have a monopoly on killings and murders. In fact, blacks are less efficient murderers; we do not as yet possess the atomic bomb.
3. However, in our own time, extreme savagery has for instance taken place in Rwanda where reports have it that almost a million blacks were murdered in the course of a few weeks in an ethnic cleansing that was mostly carried out by machete-wielding black people against other black people. So murder and violence have plagued and continue to plague people - including black people - of various ethnic, religious and political persuasions throughout the world.
SELF-HATRED
Now to the specific question or problem that the writer brings to our attention - the Jamaican phenomenon or syndrome - why we have the highest murder rate per capita, and the worst black-on-black killing, here are the answers:
Those Jamaicans who commit these murders seem to hate themselves and hate their fellow Jamaicans. This hatred may indeed arise from the legacy of racial, cultural and economic oppression that has come about by our history of slavery and colonialism. Murderers gain popularity and notoriety in a culture where the murderer has little fear of being caught and punished for his enterprise, and where the victim of the crime is of little consequence. So this factor, the lack of accountability on all sides, explains the great incidence of murder in Jamaica. Simply put, there is a breakdown in our legal, moral, ethical, judicial, family and religious framework in Jamaica.
Black-on-black violence is a sad familiar theme in Jamaica, particularly amongst the poor, uneducated and unemployed, but in many major American cities also, where black young men are trapped in a sea of poverty and hopelessness, black-on-black violence is a major problem. In this sea of poverty, young men and women try to survive by any means they can. This often means resorting to the illegal drug trade, taking up the gun to solve or create a problem, becoming incestuously linked to the gangster culture.
CRUDE AND CHILDISH VALUES
Large amounts of money are made from the manufacture, sale and distribution of guns and ammunition. The music and entertainment industries obtain financial gain by promoting and supporting the gangster culture; subverting and emasculating the productive, intellectual potential and nation-building resources of the young; and supplanting critical-thinking skills by the superimposition of coarse, crude and childish values on the society.
Some politicians obtain office and are sustained in power by some violent people. Simply put, many a politician and corporate leader have a vested interest in violence. There is definite evidence of this phenomenon in Jamaica. However, the problem of black on black violence won't simply go away until and unless these forms of anti-social and destructive behaviours are deglamorised and are shown to be detrimental to the health and wealth of Jamaicans.
I am, etc.,
GEORGE S. GARWOOD
merleneg@yahoo.com
Port St. Lucie, Florida
Via Go-Jamaica
