Hooliganism on steroids
“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have. You kill but cannot obtain. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may waste what you get on your pleasures.” James 4:1-3 (New International Version)
First-century Christian apologists, such as the writer of the book of James in the New Testament, widely thought to be the brother of Jesus, attributed “fights and quarrels” to sin. Yet in both the observation and attempted diagnosis of James 4:1-3 there are strains of human behaviourism, which would not be developed as a scientific discipline until the 19th century.
Without delving into psychology, it is reasonable to deduce that, to some yet to be determined extent, anxiety disorder may be at the root of the fussing and fighting that’s part of the daily Jamaican experience. Anxiety disorder, as the name suggests, refers to a heightened state of anxiety: persistent and excessive feelings of worry and a general feeling of unmet desires, so aptly described by the writer of the book of James in the Bible.
Among psychologists it is generally felt that social media, which has reframed what success and successful people look like, increases the threat. Consider also the hell it must be for poor, struggling youth living in the unequal society that is Jamaica. Seeing conspicuous wealth in the high-end cars on the roads and luxury apartments going up everywhere, neither of which their inferior schooling or hard work will put them in the position of owning. Add to that the stress of living in a high-crime environment. It’s enough to cause anxiety above and beyond the normal.
A United States task force conducted a study in which 40 per cent of the women and 26 per cent of the men screened positive for anxiety disorder. The results are indicative of a looming problem in need of a solution. Jamaica should follow suit. The social destabilisation caused by fussing and fighting has passed crisis stage.
Hooligans, that’s what they are!
When I was a boy in short pants going to school, the words “hooligan” and “hooliganism” were very much a part of the Jamaican vocabulary, used to characterise certain forms of behaviour, especially by schoolers. Today, not so much, if at all. Along with corporal punishment, the use of these words has been banished from schools in an overreaction to research into the psychological harm such actions and words inflict on students.
A hooligan is a young, violent troublemaker, a rowdy, who makes trouble for others. “Hooliganism” refers to the behaviour displayed by these miscreants who act in an unseemly manner and cause damage to property in public spaces.
We are afraid, it seems, to call things as they are. We prefer to resort to the use of euphemisms, substituting indirect words or mild expressions in place of those thought to be too harsh in describing unpleasant situations. It’s akin to sprinkling talcum powder on mess, as if by removing the stench it will change what’s beneath.
‘Schoolers Brawl’ screamed the front-page headline of one of our daily newspapers. The accompanying story described the raucous caused by boys from some of our prominent high schools, resulting in the closing of one school to allow tempers to cool.
A brawl? Excuse me?
This was hooliganism on steroids. There is only one way to effectively treat with such behaviour. Identify, isolate, and punish the hooligans.
After being locked down in a meeting for a day, the principals of the affected schools issued a joint statement, which read in part, “It is important to emphasise that this kind of behaviour cannot and will not be tolerated.” The statement said the students involved would face disciplinary action. One hopes the punishment was more than turning a blind eye or a slap on the wrist.
In identifying root causes, the tendency is to blame lack of proper parenting or to debase the entire culture. While we seek long-term solutions to the problem, let’s start by admitting that a hooligan by any other name is still a hooligan and must be dealt with in the only way hooliganism can be deterred — through quick and decisive disciplinary action.
Dr Henley Morgan is founder and executive chairman of the Trench Town-based Social Enterprise, Agency for Inner-city Renewal and author of My Trench Town Journey — Lessons in Social Entrepreneurship and Community Transformation for Policy Makers, Development Leaders, and Practitioners. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or hmorgan@cwjamaica.com.