What to do… about youths

In his address to the Annual Police Officers’ Conference at Eve Leary, Pressy felt it necessary to raise the issue of the escalating upsurge of violence and other anti-social behaviour among our youths! Now your Eyewitness has been around long enough to know that in every generation, youths are considered to be upstarts and disruptive! Today’s grandfathers and grandmothers were the rebels in the sixties who changed the world from fashion – minis and bell bottoms – to anti-war protesters abroad! Here in ole’ Mudland, while they had their Afros and minis, etc, they were also in the forefront of the ethnic violence in that era!!
The point your Eyewitness wanna make is that youths of any generation will react and sometimes rebel AGAINST the order into which they were born – which they feel is confining!! But this doesn’t mean they should be allowed to get away with EVERYTHING they do!! At all times, those in authority gotta look at the interests of the society as a whole and decide where to draw the line. Youths gotta be made aware of this perspective – and concede that with their (disapproved) behaviour, they’ve influenced where the new line’s being drawn!!
According to the report in this paper, Pressie asserted that “school-based gangs, cyberbullying, vaping, and changing social values” pose serious long-term risks to public safety if left unaddressed. He said, however, it ain’t just a matter for the police to deal with – but parents and the entire society. So, let’s take a closer look at the enumerated pathologies afflicting our youths – starting with “school-based gangs”. Now schools have always had cliques – whether boys or girls who’d hang out together – and inevitably have run-ins with other cliques!! From many of the videos of school kids engaged in “violence” against each other, it’s a lot of hair pulling by girls and cuffs by boys that may lead to them rolling into drains off the streets!
But your Eyewitness thinks Pressie’s talking about a whole new type of gang – ones influenced by what we see in American inner-city schools!! These have led to those schools erecting metal detectors at their entrances to try to prevent knives and other weapons from being brought in!! If we allow our kids to get to the point of mixing it up with weapons – then we’re in for some serious trouble. So yes, we can’t be complacent about this new development!! Those 30 kids reportedly nabbed for skulking ain’t such a novelty – but that bus driver supplying liquor to kids on his bus certainly is!!
So yes…while the challenge of youthful indiscretions has always been with us – we gotta have a national conversation for a united plan to deal with its present iteration!! Gotta be a rod of correction!!

…about Bajan democracy
In Guyana, the Opposition constantly gripes about our Voters Roll being “bloated” – cause it’s about 88 per cent of the population. Their claim is that with one-third of the population being under 18, the numbers gotta be padded to facilitate rigging by the PPP Govt!! Never mind that they know that our law permits Guyanese who have migrated to remain on the list – and this is the cause of our high percentage!! And never mind that the PPP lost the 2015 elections with the identically compiled list!!
Well over in Barbados – which also has the same rule on not disenfranchising overseas Bajans – they have the same voters list conundrum. The Opposition DLP, which entered the just-concluded elections without a single seat, was once again completely blanked by Mia Mottley’s BLP, 30–zip!! They’d complained about voters list irregularities – and so for the first time, Barbados had Caricom and Commonwealth Observers!!
Will the DLP follow the Guyanese opposition’s practice and protest??

…dogs sucking eggs
They say, “when dog ‘custom to suck egg and eat yard fowl and yard duck, he does never stop.’” SOCU raided the unlicensed Mohammed’s Cambio premises and found evidence of foreign exchange trading!!!
Charges to follow!!