The Editor, Sir:

Recently I read in The Gleaner dated Monday, March 10, a letter with the title 'Women in control as men sit on the margins' by Michael Spence. I must commend this gentleman for such a wonderful letter because as a straightforward hard-working man in Jamaica, I am wondering what is happening to the men in our society. It's as if most of these young guys see work as slavery and prefer to stand on the corners and smoke weed all day and beg money from even basic school children.

The true position

As a father, it seems as if the future for most of these young men is extremely dim. As Michael wrote of strategies to nurture our males back to their true position, design and directed by true males, I applaud him for the statement because I do believe that most of the persons who our males are emulating and addressing as role models are not even fit to lead goats or donkeys. Parents must pay more attention to children, check on them when they are locked in their rooms for hours, know the ring tones they have on their phones, why are they coming so late after school and who are their friends.

Parents should give their boys equal responsibilities at home as the girls. As for those attending schools with weapons and drugs and bidding to become the next area leader, they need to stop and ask themselves these questions: "Why do most of the area leaders never live to see age 40 and why are they always hiding from the police?"

Drugs will put you on the police most wanted list and guns will do even worse. We, as fathers, need to inject in the minds of our boys that no job is of the 'Babylon system' because a lot of our young men tend to believe that working with the Government puts them under the Babylon system.

From macro perspective, I implore the Government to offer some sort of training to these idle young men via the HEART institutions which can qualify them for jobs, or give seeds and fertilisers to those willing to farm.

Fathers, how about commending your sons when they are doing good and not wait until bad things happen to condemn them. Let them know that is ok for fathers to hug and tell them that they love them. How about being active in the PTA and showing up at school just to see how they are doing in class and not only to fight teachers and tell them a piece of your mind when your boys are being reprimanded.

What about attending a football match with your boy, playing games with him, take him fishing, accompanying him to church and sharing positive Scripture passages with him. Maybe, just maybe these activities might put them back on track.

I am, etc.,

ORVILLE WEST

rickowest@yahoo.com

Bamboo PO

St Ann