Garth Rattray

I once witnessed a young mother scold her male toddler by threatening to "wipe di knife" across his neck for disobeying her directive to leave it alone. I've seen a mother thump her little boy with staggering force because he wouldn't stop crying for ice cream.

Violence and threats of violence render violent acts commonplace. Violence then becomes the language through which forceful messages are conveyed.

Soon after Minister of Education Andrew Holness warned parents against promoting violence, I asked M.J. (a 50-year-old inner-city mother that raised several decent and law-abiding children) what were her views on inner-city parenting and the impact on our society. Given the opportunity to vent, she exploded into a plaintiff diatribe on the pitfalls of poor parenting. I had known M.J. for most of my life but I never before appreciated her ability for detailed observations and analytical reasoning.

Spurred on by years of sequestered emotions kept secret for fear of retribution from her neighbours, M.J. provided first-hand confirmation of what many have been postulating all along - that many inner-city parents (especially mothers) know of the illegal activities of their children but cover them up out of fear, out of 'love', because they see their boys as 'soldiers' (sources of pride and protection), or to benefit from the spoils of nefarious acts. She related how she had seen many little boys grow up with parents that never admit to their children's blatant wrongdoing.

For many parents, their young ones can commit no sin. M.J. opined that failing to correct and discipline children that threaten playmates to 'shot dem inna dem head' and mounting spirited and defiant defences whenever anyone dared to blame their little 'angels' for some wrongdoing serve to foster criminal behaviour.

Hardened criminals

That misguided protection carries over into the adult lives of those children as they grow into hardened criminals and cold-blooded murderers who employ warped and evil thinking to justify their most heinous acts. Many mothers of slain criminals know all too well that their sons are 'shottahs' (gunmen) and killers; however, when they are killed in legitimate gun battles with the police, those same mothers are among the first to block the roads and demonstrate in support of their 'innocent babies'. Parents often portray heartless killers as harmless men who habitually and quietly read their Bibles in bed. The perfunctory and hypocritical demands for justice from those parents render justifiable killings indistinguishable from illegal and immoral extrajudicial executions.

M.J. related how she repeatedly witnessed neighbours sprawled out on the ground or physically supported by friends while bawling, "Him ah no gunman an dem kill him!" on television when the entire community knew him as a shottah with his M-16 assault rifle securely hidden but always within easy reach should the need arise.

M.J. also revealed to me something that I never considered before. She explained that remittances (which have surpassed our export earnings) were sometimes to blame for our criminal activities. She said that remittances funded many gunmen and allowed them to party with careless girls (that eventually have babies for them). The monthly monies buy food and 'bling', while leaving the youths free to pursue a life of criminality and terrorism.

She went on to explain that, even after incarceration, many mothers made their weekly pilgrimage to prison, heavily laden with bags of groceries, toiletries and other items to comfort their children behind bars. With all this in mind, it is clear that we must actively involve parents (especially mothers) in our fight against crime.