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Proverb: a good father is worth 100 teachers
A key component of the grave and ultimately fatal misbehaviors in Caribbean males is anger. When there is serious crime, antisocial behavior in schools, general disorder then the matter of angry young males is at the surface.
The question asked is where this anger comes from. Yes, anger is a universal human condition. However, it appears that in recent decades anger in young males has risen dramatically. Male anger may be a result of the digitized culture within which we all exist. Social inequality and economic deprivation may be another cause. Deviancy driven by anger places male deviants in juvenile court that can lead to prison.
Most of male juvenile delinquents come from single parent homes where there is dysfunction. That is not to say that juvenile delinquents do not derive from two parent homes.
Now, educators understand anger well. Anger is a cause of most acts of teenage deviancy. School fights, assault, attacks on teachers, poor school attendance and performance, and even unsportsmanlike behavior on the soccer or softball field all have anger as a source.
Anger is front and center in the violence that leads to the imprisonment and death of males in the territory and elsewhere.
The Caribbean is not alone. The UK, over the past two decades has gone through an epidemic of knifings and anti-social behavior among its own male youth, especially those from working class, and low-income backgrounds.
Parents of boys know this tale well. The sudden and angry outburst from Little Johnny. The school altercation Little Johnny has played a part. Then, tragically, where the call received that Little Johnny is lying in a bed in intensive care in critical condition after a stabbing.
Anger is not unique to dysfunctional homes. In a regular two parent or single – parent home with a strong mommy anger in the male children in the household is a frequent affair.
The trouble with anger are the consequences of anger. Anger leads to poor choices, broken relationships, poor career and economic outcomes, injury, and ultimately death. Anger shatters families and the futures of children and youth caught in the wake of that anger.
Again, the missing father figure is a cause of youth anger. When six foot four inch Little Johnny acts up at home where daddy is absent, mom is limited in her ability to respond. Little Johnny believes he can get away with his poor behavior. He tries the same thing on the dangerous streets and the natural force of a more aggressive kid or the law stops Johnny. In the worst case, Johnny’s anger leads to a serious outcome such as injury or death.
The answer to the proceeding must be community. It take a village to raise a child is a Caribbean mantra. To avoid losing more males to the evil that is anger it is important to identify anger in our boys at earliest and address that anger through corporate fatherhood.
Organizations such as Save the Seed, YEP, MALE, DYAS and various church youth groups are an example of the corporate father. Without these we will lose more young males to the violence, anger generates.
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