Blood hath been shed ere now,

I’ the olden time….

Ay, and since too, murders have been perform’d

Too terrible for the ear.

— Shakespeare, Macbeth III, 4

I saw this movie titled a History of Violence , that showed a man, who on the surface appeared to be a very simple person — meek, humble, quiet, and as we say in Jamaica, ‘act like him cyaan even mash ants’. While working in his small family diner, three tough guys arrived from his past to rough him up and do him harm.

Well, that same simple dude was transformed into a raging warrior as he took them on, unleashing a torrent of violence, taking them out one by one. Things aren’t always what they seem to be, for that guy was a former mob enforcer who decided to give up his violent past and come to live a peaceful life as a respectable store owner in a quiet small town.

But he couldn’t escape his past, and his history of violence caught up with him. Do we as Jamaicans have a history of violence that somehow follows us from generation to generation? Are we products of a violent gene pool that manifests itself down the family tree, and are we now experiencing another violent era in our history as the trees bear bitter fruit?

A history of violence, that’s our tussle today, right after we see what these readers have to say about ‘Emotional PTSD’.

Hi Tony,

I don’t know much about emotional PTSD, but I have heard of cases where people in the military return home and can’t cope with normal life as you stated. The sad part is the trauma and its effects from PTSD drive loved ones away, and many of the PTSD victims end up on the street, homeless, some becoming drug addicts, and those who just can’t cope any longer take their own lives.

Wickham

Ontario, Canada

Hey Daddy Oh,

Emotional PTSD is real, brother, and I am living with one such person. She had an emotionally tumultuous past and hasn’t recovered from it, even now. In her mind, all men are liars, abusers and cheats, all because her father was one, as well as past boyfriends and an ex-husband. She expects conflict all the time, and when it’s not forthcoming, she creates it. As you pointed out, they often miss the battle.

Errol

Let’s face it, the world is a violent place and has been so since Cain allegedly killed Abel back in Bible days. Since then, man has gone on a murderous rampage, destroying each other and everything in sight. I can’t even list the amount of wars throughout history, plus wars that are occurring right now. There seems to be no end.

We in our small corner also contribute to the mayhem, as we perpetuate this history of violence, as our past and present continue to show. Jamaicans are a violent set of people and our crime rate reflects this. Sadly we are violent towards each other.

But this violence isn’t just confined to the present generation, for history has chronicled that Jamaicans don’t take crap from anybody. This goes back to the days of slavery when our ancestors fought back against the terrible oppressive system, with some breaking away to be called The Maroons who created hell for the British.

The Maroons exist to this day with an almost autonomous government living right here in the hills of Jamaica, even going as far as to now trying to establish their own currency. The Maroons were the original freedom fighters who used violence to gain their freedom and self-respect.

No other Caribbean island had inhabitants as violent as Jamaicans. But violence can be used for good or for bad, as one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. History has proven that the meek do not inherit the Earth.

Jamaicans who migrated, established a reputation for toughness with gangs across America that caused huge problems in various cities there. Nobody messed with the Jamaicans and the feared posses were notorious for their violence. Rude Boys, Shottas were names being bandied about.

I remember when I was a film student in London, some white gangs had a penchant for beating up weaker people, and they had a field day bullying and battering young Pakistani boys and men. They even had a term for it, Paki Bashing, as they trolled the streets terrorising hapless Pakistanis.

They couldn’t try that with the Jamaicans, wouldn’t dare confront the Jamaicans and avoided them like how puss ‘fraid a water. “Don’t mess with those Jamaicans, mate, they will sort you out.” So, violence can be positive and be a lifesaver, a deterrent to other violence. I remember many years ago I was attacked by, at first two, then five men, and had to resort to violence to save myself. Thank God for my martial arts training.

Sadly though, this violence has permeated the psyche of so many Jamaicans who display it wantonly every day, bombarding our news in a negative way. It’s as if everyone is on edge, everyone’s angry, and if you step on a man’s foot, bad drive him, look at him a certain way or ‘diss’ him, this violence explodes.

This has leaped into our schools, with some people in authority declaring that they have become battle grounds. The cases of students fighting other students, battling teachers, stabbing up each other, slapping and punching down principals and deans of discipline, bringing armed thugs on the school compound to intimidate teachers and other students, are almost too much to chronicle.

Just last week I saw videos of students embroiled in such violence that would make a barroom brawl pale in comparison. As one poor teacher tried to part the combatants, she had to duck for cover and flee for her life as chairs and desks were hurled across the classroom.

The room looked like a tornado had passed through, a whirlwind of violence. At another school, a dean of discipline was punched to the ground as she tried to part a fight between two students. At yet another, schoolgirls were shown in a mass brawl of epic proportions.

Why are some people surprised and even in denial? I have been writing about this for years, and always warned that this day would come. Others have expressed outrage too, and yet the term ‘Leggo Beasts’, used to describe the behaviour of some children was soundly rebuked. I invite those in denial to spend a week in some classrooms.

Years ago, I was invited to do a summer martial arts programme at a school up in the hills of St Andrew. I had been doing this for many years at various institutions with success. But after three sessions there I walked away, as those ‘children’ were ungovernable. I pity those poor teachers.

Our history of violence is being played out in our school system and ‘the inmates are running the asylum’. There is little or no consequence for violent behaviour as the ‘rights of the child’ have to be protected.

You dare not discipline a child, or the wrath of the parents, friends and relatives, and even the child, will descend on you like a ton of bricks. Even some people in authority will chastise you. I’m not saying that corporal punishment is the answer, but neither is talking, talking, talking with no action. Worse is yet to come.

This violence permeates all sectors of society. Criminologist Jason McKay has addressed this repeatedly in his columns in the Sunday Observer. It appears as if we are more intent on protecting evildoers and ignoring the plight of the victims. Many criminals get light sentences, a slap on the wrist. This merely emboldens them. “Cho, mi can serve two years and come out still fresh. A nuh nutten.”

I saw in the news where a man confessed to killing his woman and got a sentence of life with possible parole after 15 years. Fifteen years for murder? No wonder the violence continues. The consequences for doing evil are slight. This starts in the schools and grows like a monster in our society.

This violence manifests itself in the driving habits of many taxi/bus drivers. A taximan recently knocked down a traffic cop, drove over his legs and sped away. You dare not say anything to any taxi driver who barrels down on you on the wrong side of the road. Even though he’s wrong, his violent behaviour makes him right and he won’t hesitate to cuss you off or even threaten bodily harm.

We have a history of violence which permeates other areas of our lives. I’ll address this further as time goes on.

More time.

seido1yard@gmai.com

Footnote: Sometimes we have to take serious thing and make joke, as we say in Jamaica. There was this news story a few days ago about this JDF soldier who went home and surprised his wife and a policeman in bed together. As they say, in a compromising position… in the matrimonial home. Sojie buss off a shot in the shoulder of the Joe Grine Cop, ‘winged him’ as the cowboy movies always say. Reports say that the wounded cop ran from the house naked, leaving his service pistol behind. I can just imagine his colleagues berating him. “Squaddie, you run leff everything.” Sojie went on his very own Zone of Special Operations and the wife didn’t get the troops deployment changes.