Addressing social ills is more important

THE EDITOR, Madam:

There are many things wrong with Jamaica right now, among these is violent crime, with murders sitting ignominiously at the top.

There have been a lot of hue and cry about the need for the Government to come up with a crime plan. However, little will change fundamentally unless social ills are addressed in a meaningful way, this in tandem with a reset of the mindset of our people.

Time after time on the nightly newscast we see elderly women in their 60s, usually after some disaster like a fire, crying that they need help because they have lost everything and “mi have mi children and grandchildren to look after”.

If these women started giving birth in their 40s (highly unlikely), their children are adults so where are they, and why is it that these women are not only saddled with them but their offsprings?

If we were to extrapolate, in another 10 years these now 70-year-old women would be responsible for children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

A crime plan yes, but a change in mindset and social norms are urgently needed.

No amount of crime plans will succeed when a 32-year-old and her 17-year-old daughter are together on the same dance floor getting their groove on, this while her babyfather is rubbing out his hand middle on some corner chatting up his next victim.

We are in serious trouble.

CONCERNED JAMAICAN