There is a proverb that states, “A good father is worth 100 teachers.”
A key component of the grave and sometimes fatal misbehaviour of Caribbean males is anger. When there is serious crime, antisocial behaviour in schools, or general disorder, then the matter of angry young males is often at the surface.
Where does this anger originate? 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 digitised culture within which we all exist. Social inequality and economic deprivation may be another cause. Deviancy driven by anger places young males in juvenile court on a path that can lead to prison.
Most male juvenile delinquents come from single-parent homes where there is dysfunction, though that is not to say that juvenile delinquents do not derive from two-parent homes as well.
Teachers and parents
Educators understand anger well, and they know that it is a cause of most acts of teenage deviancy. School fights, assaults, attacks on teachers, poor school attendance and performance, and even unsportsmanlike behaviour on the football or softball field all have anger as a source.
Anger is also front and centre in the violence that leads to the imprisonment and death of males in the Virgin Islands and elsewhere.
The Caribbean is not alone. Over the past two decades, the United Kingdom has gone through an epidemic of knifings and antisocial behaviour among its own male youth, especially those from working-class and low-income backgrounds.
Parents of boys know this tale well. Often it starts with apparently minor incidents, such as a sudden and angry outburst from Little Johnny or a school altercation in which Little Johnny has played a part. Then, tragically, a call is received that Little Johnny is lying in a hospital bed in critical condition after a stabbing.
Consequences
The trouble with anger is its consequences. Anger can lead to poor choices, broken relationships, poor career and economic outcomes, injury and even death. Anger shatters families and the futures of youths caught in its wake.
Again, the missing father figure is often a cause of youth anger. When six foot, four inch Little Johnny acts up at home where his father is absent, his mother may be limited in her ability to respond. Little Johnny then believes he can get away with his poor behaviour. He tries the same thing on the dangerous streets, and the natural force of a more aggressive kid or the law stops him. In the worst case, Johnny’s anger leads to a serious outcome, such as injury or death.
The answer to such problems must be community. An often-repeated mantra in the Caribbean states, “It takes a village to raise a child.” To avoid losing more males to the evil that is anger, it is important to identify anger in our boys early and address that anger through corporate fatherhood.
Organisations such as Save the Seed Energy Centre, the Youth Empowerment Project, M.A.L.E., the government’s Department of Youth Affairs and Sports, and various church youth groups are examples of the corporate father. Without these, we will lose more young males to the violence that anger generates.
