Stephen-Claude Hyatt,
Contributor
YOUNG MAN I call upon you because you are strong", is a quotation from the Bible often used by the church and others to encourage young men. The truth however, which we may be missing, is that strength here is not only indicative of physical but also mental, intellectual and emotional being. It means being strong in knowledge, wisdom, understanding and character. Therefore, Jesus was in fact saying, I have called upon you young man because I have equipped you with the necessary things to be strong, effective and successful.
The reality today is that the majority of our young men are not strong but weak. They are weak or lacking with respect to the resources given them to survive, as well as the necessities in order to develop into young men of strength and character. The startling truth is that many of our young men are not strong, because they began life with several disadvantages or handicaps. One such disadvantage is that too many of them have had to spend their formative years without the presence of a father or father-figure. As such, many were not given the practical examples they needed in order to become men of strength, and to step into their calling. Thank God for the few who have learnt to transcend this barrier.
As far as many were taught, a real man gets several women pregnant, even at the same time, and fails to support any of his children. Instead, as soon as he conquers one woman, he moves on to the next 'kill' having received a self-decorated badge of honour for not allowing a woman to 'tie him down'. For other young men, father may be home and supportive of the family financially; however, that is the extent of his support, as the role of nurturing belongs to mom. As a result, the role of the male/father is seen only as disciplinarian and provider of financial resources, and seldom as a source of love and attention. Many of these young men therefore grow with the image in mind, of man being insensitive and indifferent, and not caring much about anything, sometimes not even himself; rather, his image to his friends.
Another lesson taught to our boys, reflects negatively on the mothering they have received. Many boys are taught to be irresponsible indirectly by their mothers. I am speaking here of the gender distinction by mothers, with respect to roles and responsibilities of their children. Though many mothers have seen the errors of their ways, and are trying to shift gears, too many mothers are still adamant about the traditional way of raising their sons. "Mi nuh waan nuh sissy man", says one mother to me, concerned about how 'proper' her son was. "All him waan fi duh a si down roun di house a read book, an mi caan badda wid dat. If yuh eva si how him room always neat an tidy."
I never knew that it was a crime or a reflection of his sexuality, if a boy was interested in reading and keeping his room clean. Mind you, this boy is only 11 years, yet his mother already wants to transform him into an irresponsible time wasting boy. Of course, by the time he gets to Fifth form (grade 11), she is going to want him to be transformed again into the young man who picks up after himself and takes reading and studying seriously. However, by the time he gets to that level, he is already set in his mould, and difficult to transform.
Of interest too, is that during this time of irresponsibility, the young man would have developed several habits, values and attitudes along the way. Many of these are taught by the society, with respect to mood and attitudes. These traits eventually cut into his ability and sense of what is appropriate, which leads to the weakening of character and self-worth. By the time that young man reaches mid-teens, he has developed an accurate recipe for failure.
Usually, he gets expelled from school, as his level of irresponsibility impacts upon his school life, or for some, they begin to experiment with their warped concepts of manhood as depicted by father, or the men around. As a result, they lose their opportunity to get a hold of true knowledge, wisdom and understanding, and a proper education, which leads to hopelessness. Hopelessness then leads to desperation, which in turn leads to desperate measures or actions.
So the police killed seven adolescent males in an operation in Braeton St. Catherine, who according to reports, were guilty of murder and robbery hours before. Is this reason to celebrate? Should we take out the champagne and give thanks that they were caught and 'justice is served'.
Why, yes, but then again no. Yes, in that we all like to know that the police are able to respond quickly and effectively to calls from the public with respect to reports of wrongdoing. Yes, in that the killers of an innocent teacher, principal and friend were identified and given their due. However, if we look at the wider picture, there is really no need to be celebratory.
Seven adolescents were killed, seven young lives ultimately destroyed, seven boys representing the hopelessness and desperation of a wider reality are no more. Could they have been recovered?
Were there signs which we ignored throughout the years? What caused their desperate acts? How many more young men will we be losing for the remainder of this year, to gun violence, aggression and hopelessness?
There really is no need to rejoice but to weep. Is it that the society is reaping what it has sown over the years, and as such we are losing our young men?
Rev. Stephen-Claude Hyatt may be contacted at: Yahgnosis@hotmail.com
