Dear Reader,

When all is said and done, the problem of Jamaica is essentially a problem of the middle and upper classes, including those who are a part of the failed political elite of the country.

The announcement a few days ago by the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) following the murder and shooting of two prominent citizens, supports my argument of the blatant self-interest that has characterised that sector of the Jamaican society. While I expect that we should all be grateful for the PSOJ's generous contribution of $20 million for the Crime Stop programme, I find it interesting that the country can count on one hand the number of times we have witnessed that type of collective initiative and enthusiasm for projects to improve the lives of the very young men whose criminal behaviour the PSOJ expects to eradicate with a monetary lump sum.

The last time members of the PSOJ came into direct contact with the lifestyle of the poor, some of its members confessed that they had no idea that people in Jamaica lived in such squalid and abject poverty. What a statement! It didn't take long, however, for that realisation to fade into the collective distant memory of the PSOJ. Many of us expected that the "awakening" would have been followed by a programme of sustained support for community development, but alas, that was not forthcoming. With the exception of a few companies with an enlightened sense of corporate responsibility, the majority have been satisfied with making sporadic donations representing the tiniest percentage of their annual profits.

Some of the largest companies have strategically integrated corporate donations with their advertising campaigns, making product sales the basis of altruism. What is interesting is that there seems to be no regard for the fact that often product promotions are in direct conflict with universally held values and principles.

The biggest hypocrisy of all are those so-called upstanding members of the private sector who are calling for a reduction of crime, but whose products and services are a direct contributor to those factors that drive criminality. Even without the benefit of empirical studies, it must be clear even to the blind that the consistent conditioning of the people's minds with a steady diet of violent, as well as lewd and sexually explicit materials in the print and electronic media, is a major factor in the growth of criminality.

There is no doubt in my mind that when the story of crime and violence is finally complete, that the Jamaican media and its clients will have to take much of the responsibility for promoting and popularising those factors that drive and sustain criminal behaviour.

Those companies whose products promote and support the violent side of dancehall music should be taken to task for aiding and abetting criminality. Those who don't understand the connection between the glorification of violence and sex and the growing crime rate in the country ought to have their heads examined. And there is no point in talking about free choice, which is the excuse some people give for peddling trash to the poor. Making the right choices is a product of good socialisation and education, and many Jamaicans have systematically been denied the benefit of those two ideals and processes. It is hypocritical, if not dishonest, to talk about free choice in a society with the alarming rate of illiteracy like ours.

With all the talk of crime and violence, the general pattern is that at the slightest sign of a decline in profits, the first items eliminated from corporate budgets are charitable donations, as if the poor among us can be erased as easily as figures on a sheet of paper. There are very few endowments and foundations named after those in the society to whom much is given, and unlike countries like the United States where wealthy families ensure that the legacy of democracy and American values are strengthened and sustained through special trusts and funds, here at home very few people seem to recognise and appreciate that type of wisdom.

I have no quarrel with the PSOJ pumping money into the "hard policing" efforts of the government, but hard policing must be accompanied by a raft of social interventions that can provide hope as well as tangible opportunities for the young and the poor. As the popular song says, "A hungry man is a angry man", and right now many of our people are teetering on the brink of starvation and complete destitution.

Outside of the church, the PSOJ is by far the most influential entity with the country's civil society. Its reach extends into the highest levels of government, and includes some of the wealthiest and most powerful men inside and outside of Jamaica. The PSOJ is one institution that can definitely put its money where its mouth is, and when it speaks, it not only speaks with authority, but it has irrefutable political and economic leverage.

If the PSOJ is sincere about the eradication of crime, then it ought to take the matter of community development seriously, understanding that poverty and crime are natural enemies that have to be eliminated simultaneously.
With love,

bab2609@yahoo.com

The fear factor

Feeding the multitude

DANGEROUS PETS