Kristen Gyles | Handful of criminals, multitude of badmen

“Weh yah seh badman?”

“Deh yah enuh, bad chargie.”

… And so begins a conversation between a ‘badman’ and a ‘bad chargie’ who will, the very next minute, join the chorus that crime is out of control and the Government must act now.

There is a weird dynamic between the disdain Jamaicans have for crime and how much the same crime and aggression, in general, is glorified. Deep down, it seems many of us think it’s cool to be a criminal. It’s why we greet each other as ‘badman’ and ‘killy killy’; and it’s why we gravitate towards songs where artistes say they are ‘psycho’ and call themselves ‘uncle demon’. There must be some mystical kind of appeal to crime that no one is willing to confess about.

In fact, some of the most violent lyrics become bestsellers in Jamaica. That is, despite last year’s Don Anderson poll which suggests that 82 per cent of Jamaicans see a connection between dancehall music and crime. My guess is that the market for dancehall music isn’t just the measly 18 per cent of Jamaicans who either don’t see a connection between the two or say they are unsure of there being any connection. Even many avid fans of the current class of dancehall music will admit to some link between their favourite tunes and the crime (they say) they hate, but clearly don’t think the said link matters too much.

HOTHEAD

That aside, another element of the current Jamaican culture is bragging about being a ‘hothead’. Once there is the slightest hint of disrespect or violation, we resort to throwing around all kinds of threats to prove just how much damage we can do. Why do we see so much merit in being a flat-out warmonger? We speak to and about ourselves as though we are gangsters, but in the same breath, we explicitly bemoan the impacts of crime. Very weird. Somehow, we seem to be fascinated by the concept of crime and don’t appear quite sure of whether we actually dislike it. That is, until we become victims.

And all the chest-puffing and intimidation aren’t just useless chatter. We actually have a culture of aggression. We see it in the heated road disputes, the deadly domestic conflicts and the seemingly increased prevalence and intensity of school fights. Fixing the problem may start with examining how we speak to, and interact with, each other. We do a lot of taunting and threatening until someone becomes riled up enough to pull a weapon. While we do need ingenious and creative ways of addressing the crime scourge, if we all practise working on ourselves, we would help to eliminate the problem. Instead of getting even all the time, why not exercise some give and take; forgive, and practice understanding. Then those will become the culture.

BRAINLESS

The murder which took place last week at a Burger King outlet in Barbican was a stark reminder of how brainless we become when dealing with conflict. There is no rational explanation behind why two groups of men travelling in motor vehicles should have chosen to swing machetes and knives at each other, as opposed to simply driving away. But, that is the hothead syndrome at work. Unfortunately, this is how many crimes are committed. And, doubtless, this is how many of the 1,498 murders last year were committed.

And then, aside from general aggression, there is an acute obsession with responding to ‘disses’, which seems to model the ‘Culture of Honour’ largely associated with US Southerners. The Culture of Honour is a cultural norm in which people feel obligated to defend their honour or reputation, by using violence to respond to insults or other perceived forms of disrespect. Sometimes we must learn to let disses go – not because the transgressor is right and we are wrong, but because by responding, we give up our right and often become wrong. Many conflicts would have been avoided if someone simply walked away, and many of the contention not avoided lead to the crimes we lament year after year.

Yes, we should hold our government accountable for a sustainable and effective crime plan. And, yes, we should hold our police and defence forces accountable to the utmost professionalism and commitment. But, since we are making New Year’s resolutions, why not commit to the total suppression of that idiotic voice that keeps telling us we must bad-drive the bad driver, or give the rude cashier a good tongue-lashing. There’s nothing cool or fashionable about getting even, especially when it will only results in injury, whether physical or emotional, or even worse, loss of life.

Kristen Gyles is a free-thinking public affairs opinionator. Send feedback to kristengyles@gmail.com.