Resident columnist Dickson Igwe
The issue of poor male behaviors in the Virgin Islands lies at the feet of the adult community.
Tolerance for poor male behaviors is sadly part of the wider culture. Where it came from? That is impossible to tell. One assumption is the failure to inculcate the values of a Virgin Islands of yesteryear into the present generation. Respect for life and limb, fear of God, and respect for elders and community is no longer part of the community fabric.
Then the importation of a toxic Americana with the sub type of black hubris and black on black violence is at the root of the drug and gun crime in the society.
There is more. Materialism and a keeping up with the Joneses has become a sub culture in the Virgin Islands. Debt is driving the society. Families are increasingly in debt because of the preceding, and the focus is on earning a living over raising a wholesome family.
The political and social leadership in the Virgin Islands has failed the younger generation. There is disconnect. How often do we hear pastors, and social and political leaders on the airwaves condemning immorality in the community? Never! The culture of wrong and strong is dominant. It is always someone else’s fault.
Consequently, male youth especially see nothing wrong in anti-social behavior. If adults ride around without helmets on motor bikes, why should I bother? If a politician has made great wealth from dishonesty, why should I not do the same? If Jack the Old Stud boasts of his string of ‘’side chicks’’ why should younger jack not become the ‘’village ram?’’ If easy money comes through drug dealing and is the way to great wealth and power why should Little Johnny not aim to become a ‘’Gangsta?’’
The fact is poor male behavior is a simple reflection of the behavior of adults. Children are a product of their culture. As the culture goes so does the younger generation.
A culture that fosters honesty, responsibility, and restraint, will produce children that are honest, responsible, and restrained. On the other hand, one that fosters easy money, tolerance for crime, and materialism, will produce after that type.
So when we see youth performing poorly and behaving badly. Best we look in the mirror.
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Dickson Igwe is an education official in the Virgin Islands. He is also a national sea safety instructor. He writes a national column across media and has authored a story book on the Caribbean: 'The Adventures of a West Indian Villager'. Dickson is focused on economics articles, and he believes economics holds the answer to the full economic and social development of the Caribbean. He is of both West African and Caribbean heritage. Dickson is married with one son.
