Robinson

The Beast wasn't himself. Maybe we left him waiting too long while rounding up a fourth. First hand of the afternoon, in fourth seat, he drew double deuce instead of cutting my pose. Immediately, two sixes faced Dessie, who passed with "if him ever 'ave six ..." the threateningly muttered accompaniment. Autry cut one end and, belatedly, The Beast cut the other. Dessie was livid. "You're a Domino Dunce!" Dessie declared.

"Sorry, P, tired."

Dessie wouldn't be mollified. "I shoulda cut you with a domino!"

That's the most threatening it ever got. Back then, bad play was a crime whose punishment involved having to duck a flying domino. Since then, we have made significant progress. But can we safely enjoy progress? We've advanced scientifically, but can't protect our schoolchildren from violence.

"Well, I think it's fine building jumbo planes

or taking a ride on a cosmic train.

Switch on summer from a slot machine

Get what you want if you want

'cause you can get anything.

I know we've come a long way.

We're changing day to day

But, tell me, where do the children play?"

Contrary to popular propaganda, Jamaica's violent crime, now unmanageable after 35 years' steady increase, can't be blamed on the drug trade. The root cause of Jamaica's violence has always been political tribalism. The drug trade isn't inherently violent. It's inherently corrupt. The genesis of violence lies in how we treat each other/resolve disputes, including drug trade-related disputes. In this, political tribalism leads by example.

And the problem of crime in schools is not a "worldwide problem", as was blithely postulated on TVJ some weeks ago by the usually intelligent and reliable Earl Moxam and the garrulous Simon Crosskill, citing three examples from the United States of America (USA). America is a particularly bad example from which we seem anxious to absorb all the wrong cultural attitudes.

767,000 violent crimes

In 2006, there were 767,000 violent crimes among United States (US) students aged 12-18; eight per cent of students in grades 9-12 reported being threatened or injured with a weapon; 86 per cent of public schools reported at least one crime at their school during 2005-06. We are adopting (and adapting) our new cultural colonialist masters' example. Where else do 'loaders' ask willing female students to sit in male students' laps on the school bus? Where else is pornography the preferred accessory heading to school?

Look at school crime statistics elsewhere, especially in Europe, that bastion of anti-Christian immorality where (horror of horrors) homosexuality is accepted as an alternative lifestyle. Where else in Christianity, but Jamaica, is it constantly preached, even in schools, that the correct response to an alternative sexual orientation is death by vigilante? Where else do people die on the way home from a political rally for wearing the 'wrong' colour shirt?

What are some concrete steps? Since the fundamental premise is that leadership is by example, we must force members of parliament to live in their constituencies. Representing squalor from Ivory Towers is neither leadership nor democracy. He who feels it, knows it, and will correct it. Only with the institutionalised inequities of the garrisons dismantled can effective crime reduction policies be developed.

When will we focus on reducing crime in schools? We breed and cultivate tomorrow's criminals within our educational institutions! We must approach this clinically:

Information: Use poll science to collect data identifying/measuring school issues, staff/student attitudes and behaviour.

Curriculum development: Design and develop a definitive school safety programme (including problem-solving classes) as a collaborative effort with students' input from the poll data. Make dispute-resolution learning tools like chess and bridge compulsory.

Police cooperation/integration is a must. Every school should have a police liaison assigned and additional officers committed as needed situationally.

It begins with ending garrison politics. Why would our children follow any other example when their leaders endorse this easy way out? Second, attack the long-term problem via enlightened education policies. Only then will the constabulary be relevant and able to address short-term policing issues.

But until then, where do our children play?

Gordon Robinson is an attorney-at-law. Send questions and comments to columns@gleanerjm.com.