ADOLF Hitler was a pioneer in creating laws to prevent cruelty to animals. He was also one of the first to label smoking as an unhealthy practice, and he created the AutoBahn, Germany’s most famous highway.

He also was a rabid racist, a warmonger, and led a campaign against Jews that led to six million of their people being murdered, in addition to starting a war that killed 49 million.

I say this to counter the argument that dons have a place in our communities.

Many have been quick to point out that criminal dons are an efficient control mechanism against crimes and criminality in high-crime zones.

It is true that during the Christopher “Dudus” Coke reign in west Kingston there were lower reported cases of crime in that police division.

However, here are some of the reasons persons with this view should consider.

Firstly, there is a big distinction between reported crime statistics and actual crime statistics.

When a don controls a community there is a plethora of crimes committed by him to secure his power that are never reported. These range from assaults to homicides, where the bodies are never found and the families dare not report them missing. So, the belief that there is no crime is a misnomer.

There is never a democratic process to elect a don so his rule may not have the support of the entire community. This leads to communities becoming segmented into small gang zones, each led by its own self-appointed dunce.

The Central Village communities of Windsor Heights all used to fall under one community, informally titled Sufferers Heights. It now is divided into fiefdoms such as Square, Elbow, Zambia, Compound, etc, all at war with each other. Waterford is another example. During the Vybz Kartel Gaza gang’s reign of terror, they created a gang zone that had no previous identity.

By saying this, there was no legitimate geographical division in Waterford that would separate Gaza from any other community in Waterford; they just chose a few communities and named them Gaza. This was the core of the divisions that led to the death of “Lizard”. He was never from the don’s actual community but was rather one who was part of the group of communities that became Gaza.

The citizens of the community can’t interact freely or safely with other communities, so their experiences and their world becomes small and limited.

So, let’s look deeper. Mongrel ‘A’ becomes the don for his section of board houses and pit toilets. Maybe a few hundred persons of various ages fall under his governance.

He was never elected so what is the process and his qualifications? Brutality!

His position is achieved because he is brutal, and he gets this recognition because he brutalises any opposition.

Okay, so he pays some school fees, buys some school books, puts on treats. So how does he finance this benevolence?

He has no job, no business, no inheritance so where do his resources come from?

They come at the expense of others, some criminal acts like extortion, narcotics even kidnapping. The source may differ but the cost of tears is the same. His money is stained with someone else’s misery.

Okay, so you remember earlier I spoke of the Dudus Coke reign of terror which featured controlled crimes in west Kingston? Yes, okay. Well, he fueled crime everywhere else, resulting in Jamaica’s highest-ever rate of homicide in 2009 of 1,690 murders — so it’s really just a matter of where the don’s effect is felt.

He may not defecate on his own doorstep but trust me, his actions are being felt elsewhere.

So the phenomenon, though not unique to Jamaica, has unique characteristics that make our don culture different.

One such uniqueness is its history — ours was actually created by our political parties for political control. Although we are not the only country to use thuggery as a political tool, we are the only one that marched with ther coffins and endorsed them as good citizens and activists.

Although all criminals are usually lacking in intelligence, ours seem uniquely dunce. This is true, trust me.

The political party designation and the lack of denial or even discussion with political leaders about the gangs that have defined connections to parties makes us unique.

The Klans gang’s identity is intertwined with the People’s National Party, as is One Order with the Jamaica Labour Party. Yet no one asks the parliamentary representative why — at least not in public forums. It’s like it’s accepted, even acceptable.

Political control is another area that makes our scenario unique. They literally can destroy a candidate’s ability to be elected. This power makes them different from other environments. It’s similar but not the same.

Sexual abuse of minors, usually females, is a core tenet of don rule. This may not be forced, but the ability to resist or show unwillingness can lead to attacks against family members or the females themselves.

So how can we move away from this culture? Better yet, how can we destroy these dons themselves? The answer is the anti-gang legislation. A don without a gang is rather like the National Democratic Movement with no seats in any House of Government — powerless.

To be a leader of a gang or even a member, is a crime. This legislation could end thug law. I am seeing the evolution of our country and its crime taking place as we speak because of the new gun Act and because of the anti-gang legislation. What is required now is a strategy to make the best use of these newly adapted legislations that will result in shorter tenures for gang leaders but longer sentences in our cages. A motivated constabulary force now has the tools to fix this problem.

We now need to be a society acting as one to destroy gangs instead of fighting among ourselves, with attacks against law enforcement by groups and movements who wish to appear still relevant.

That, however, is another discussion for another day.

Feedback: drjasonamckay@gmail.com