The Bahama Journal Editorial
Death, crime and despair now pervade areas like, Bain Town, Grant’s Town, Pinewood Gardens and other heartland communities in our land.
In those once thriving communities, we now have a situation where the common denominator has to do with young men and women who are seemingly prepared to do whatever is necessary in order to get over in this consumer-drenched society.
As a consequence, the trade in guns, drugs and sex continues apace; with boys, girls, men and women all engage in the brutality and carnality that comes whenever a society is put on the track to debauchery, idol worship and paganism.
In this regard, we cite but one untimely death of one young man – namely Sharmoco Newbold - to help us illuminate the point we make.
Here we are today quite certain that, in the fullness of time, Sharmoco Newbold will only leave behind the barest trace of the fact that he once lived; this due to the shortness of the life that was his.
Had it not been for his violent death and the riot that followed in Bain Town, his name would not –as it were- ring a bell.
He was allegedly felled by a police man.
This young man’s funeral was one of many that took place over the weekend; and so as we note it for our own reasons; we note also that, over the weekend, some of our nation’s Church families got together in solemn praise and worship to bid their farewells to this or that neighbor, family member or friend who had died.
This is as it should be as the living affirm both their connection with their dead and assert their faith that though we all must walk the road that leads from womb to tomb – yet shall we all be raised again in the glorious Resurrection.
But even as these commemorations are routine in this so-called and self-styled Christianity suffused land; there is also one other matter that is today especially poignant – this being the nauseating extent to which this community or that is called upon to bid adieu to this or that young man cut down on the cusp of manhood and civic responsibility.
Herein we find the beating heart of what is a terrifyingly nasty statistic; this being the high extent to which young men are killing each other.
And for sure – at the cankered core of this dread phenomenon we find young men confused to no end about what it means to be a real man; and thus their dread demeanor; their alcohol and drugs laced braggadocio and for sure – in at least some cases- the guns and the knives and the idea that they must get rich quick or die trying.
Tragically, very many of these youth – for no fault of their own making – sometimes grew up in homes where they were for all intents and purposes fatherless and motherless.
And since the rot goes so very deep, practically none of them would have had even the semblance of a praying grandmother; and so, by default, very many of these errant youth were dragged into adolescence and fury by the street and by this or that other malign force.
And while we are at it, the point must be made that there are so very many youth who are being born to men and women who copulate as if they were animals in heat – creatures that could care less about their young.
This is not to say that the rhetoric about how this or that ‘bouncing baby boy or girl’ was born to this or that woman on whatever day, invariably the fact remains that, this child is loved as if it was some kind animated doll – and soon thereafter once it reaches its rag-doll state, it is abandoned.
The child grows, goes to school, trudges along the dusty mean streets in its decaying neighborhood where it quickly learns the ways of that world; itself a place where hustling for money is the order of the day and a human market-place where the human person is itself merely one other commodity up for barter or sale.
And thus and thereafter, we come across children ailing with venereal diseases; youth being introduced to alcohol and drugs; youth in savage mimicry of their elders fighting like dogs and dying like them.
On occasion, some are shot dead by the police; on other occasions, this or that young man or woman is stabbed where it hurts most – in the heart.
But no matter how they die, the fact remains that the untimely and violent demise of even one human person in our land is a chronicle of a death that should not have been.
December 6th, 2010
The Bahama Journal Editorial
A political blog about Bahamian politics in The Bahamas, Bahamian Politicans - and the entire Bahamas political lot. Bahamian Blogger Dennis Dames keeps you updated on the political news and views throughout the islands of The Bahamas without fear or favor. Bahamian Politicians and the Bahamian Political Arena: Updates one Post at a time on Bahamas Politics and Bahamas Politicans; and their local, regional and international policies and perspectives.
Showing posts with label Sharmoco Newbold. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sharmoco Newbold. Show all posts
Monday, December 6, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
“…carnage unleashed…”
Rough Cut
By Felix F. Bethel
The Bahama Journal
What I am trying to say is that something is dreadfully wrong in this place where the police can apparently get away with killing people who – for whatever reason –cross them.
Something has got to be wrong when the people are afraid of the police. And as far as I am concerned, the people are afraid of the police because of the fact that far too many people have been killed at the hands of the police.
And as far as I am concerned, far too many police officers are allowed to carry guns/ and for sure –as the record attests and confirms – far too many law-abiding citizens are losing confidence in the men and women to whom they should be looking for protection.
Another Thursday and –yet again- one day closer to the time when Jesus will come and put an end to all this damned foolishness.
What I’m trying to say is that I am sick and tired of all the killing; sick and tired of all the lies I am told –day in and day out.
And Lord knows - I am sick and tired of all those fine citizens – who even as they call for justice on behalf of some lost soul- are writhing in the coils of bloody vengeance.
In one telling instance, a fine Christian lady told me that if she ever had the opportunity she would use it wisely; and that she would lynch the man who killed her grandson.
When I tried to explain that this would make her a killer, she dismissed me and all that I had to say, noting that I was too smart for my own good, with all that God-talk in my head and in my mouth.
But since she is still my beloved sister in Christ, my fervent prayers continue for both this woman and her family; and so, even as I note this or that in aid of helping bringing peace to this troubled land that is mine; I tell you that, another Black man is now dead.
Take note that, Sharmoco Newbold is dead; having been wasted – some say- by a police man.
In time, we might all have some idea; some bit of information concerning why he had to die as he did when he bit the dust as he did, this Saturday past.
But in the meanwhile as we await the coming of that day when truth is revealed; take note that, having thought deeply about the matter on today’s agenda, I am prepared to argue that, this land that is ours is an infernal kind of place – an archipelagic necropolis; a place where Death reigns and lurks; triumphant with the results of carnage unleashed.
Having thought deeply about the matter on today’s agenda, I am prepared to argue that, this land that is ours is an infernal kind of place – an archipelagic necropolis; a place where Death lurks and for sure, our land has become –inch by bloody inch - a place where thugs in uniform routinely kill unarmed citizens.
Indeed, today’s exotic-erotic Bahamas is a hellish, messed up kind of place. It is a place where you can get killed for apparently no real reason.
It is a fact that, "The shooting death of 18-year-old Brenton Smith has raised questions as to whether the armed members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force have adequate firearms training to ensure they react properly to high-pressure situations or whether some are "trigger- happy" officers whose first instinct is to pull the trigger.
Now know that, "It was just before 8 pm on a warm summer's evening -- on the cusp of the country's 36th Independence anniversary -- when the 2008 graduate of St Augustine's College walked with a friend through a popular shortcut used by many in the Kemp Road area. The path led to the nearby City Market food store on Village Road.
"He was in a hurry to flag down a jitney before it got dark and warned his friend not to make him late for his younger sister's singing recital. "But he never made it there…"
As I now imagine things – even as Brenton tried to find his way to his sister’s recital, the death angels hovered about in the immediate vicinity of that food-store that had been robbed in that same time as Hector Brenton just happened to be passing by.
The rest of the story is simple enough – Brenton was laid low by police gun-fire.
Today, Brenton Hector Smith is still dead.
The police officer who killed him is alive and well and working as a police officer. And from all that I currently suspect, this officer is armed.
While I have no basis on which to pin a judgment or opinion to the effect that this man is dangerous; I hope that his path and mine never cross.
Or to be a tad more charitable, I hope to see him on the Judgment Day – and then only so that I can get an opportunity to get the real story as to how it came to be that Hector Brenton Smith was destroyed -as he was – where he was on that fateful night when a police officer was man enough to kill him. Even now, some of my fellow-Bahamians do verily believe that Hector Brenton Smith was killed in cold blood.
For my part, I just do not know a thing about this.
What I do know is that a Coroner’s Jury did last Thursday – on a Thursday just like this one – did say that it was unanimous in its conclusion that the police officer with the gun had acted in his own self-defense when he apprehended that his life might be at danger; thus that one blast that sent Hector Brenton Smith to thy kingdom come – on a one way ticket to Oblivion. And so, that is how it is done in today’s stinking Bahamas.
I am today so very sorry for my people.
And on the basis of all that I know and believe – based on my faith in a Risen Savior- I am sure that I will see this student of mine on that day when Gabriel gets set to blow his trumpet.
I am also certain that the man who killed him will bow and confess to God Almighty for what he did when he did what he did on that fateful night when he shot the shot that felled the boy who was trying to find his way home through what he thought was a short-cut from one dead end road to another crime-infested street.
Little did Brenton know that the route he took was that one that would take him – in a flash of fire and in the stench of his own shed-blood – to that place where the dead congregate.
And the preacher-man said some days later: dust to dust and ashes to ashes and another young man’s remains were returned to the earth.
The same kind of thing happened for Jermaine Mackey’s family when they had to bury what was left of him in the aftermath of his death by police gun-fire on St. James Road in the Eastern District of this infernal island.
And then, there was that now-notorious case of a young man who was known as Sharky, but whose real name was Deron Bethel – this case being the one where –as he sat in his car and as he tried to get away from what was clearly a bad scene unfolding – he was shot through the heart.
He bled to death.
And even now, his mother grieves for the man-child who emerged – head-first- from her womb. Today this woman is grandchild to her dead son’s child – my God-son –Deron Bethel, Jr.
And still, blessed are the peacemakers.
November 25th, 2010
The Bahama Journal
By Felix F. Bethel
The Bahama Journal
What I am trying to say is that something is dreadfully wrong in this place where the police can apparently get away with killing people who – for whatever reason –cross them.
Something has got to be wrong when the people are afraid of the police. And as far as I am concerned, the people are afraid of the police because of the fact that far too many people have been killed at the hands of the police.
And as far as I am concerned, far too many police officers are allowed to carry guns/ and for sure –as the record attests and confirms – far too many law-abiding citizens are losing confidence in the men and women to whom they should be looking for protection.
Another Thursday and –yet again- one day closer to the time when Jesus will come and put an end to all this damned foolishness.
What I’m trying to say is that I am sick and tired of all the killing; sick and tired of all the lies I am told –day in and day out.
And Lord knows - I am sick and tired of all those fine citizens – who even as they call for justice on behalf of some lost soul- are writhing in the coils of bloody vengeance.
In one telling instance, a fine Christian lady told me that if she ever had the opportunity she would use it wisely; and that she would lynch the man who killed her grandson.
When I tried to explain that this would make her a killer, she dismissed me and all that I had to say, noting that I was too smart for my own good, with all that God-talk in my head and in my mouth.
But since she is still my beloved sister in Christ, my fervent prayers continue for both this woman and her family; and so, even as I note this or that in aid of helping bringing peace to this troubled land that is mine; I tell you that, another Black man is now dead.
Take note that, Sharmoco Newbold is dead; having been wasted – some say- by a police man.
In time, we might all have some idea; some bit of information concerning why he had to die as he did when he bit the dust as he did, this Saturday past.
But in the meanwhile as we await the coming of that day when truth is revealed; take note that, having thought deeply about the matter on today’s agenda, I am prepared to argue that, this land that is ours is an infernal kind of place – an archipelagic necropolis; a place where Death reigns and lurks; triumphant with the results of carnage unleashed.
Having thought deeply about the matter on today’s agenda, I am prepared to argue that, this land that is ours is an infernal kind of place – an archipelagic necropolis; a place where Death lurks and for sure, our land has become –inch by bloody inch - a place where thugs in uniform routinely kill unarmed citizens.
Indeed, today’s exotic-erotic Bahamas is a hellish, messed up kind of place. It is a place where you can get killed for apparently no real reason.
It is a fact that, "The shooting death of 18-year-old Brenton Smith has raised questions as to whether the armed members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force have adequate firearms training to ensure they react properly to high-pressure situations or whether some are "trigger- happy" officers whose first instinct is to pull the trigger.
Now know that, "It was just before 8 pm on a warm summer's evening -- on the cusp of the country's 36th Independence anniversary -- when the 2008 graduate of St Augustine's College walked with a friend through a popular shortcut used by many in the Kemp Road area. The path led to the nearby City Market food store on Village Road.
"He was in a hurry to flag down a jitney before it got dark and warned his friend not to make him late for his younger sister's singing recital. "But he never made it there…"
As I now imagine things – even as Brenton tried to find his way to his sister’s recital, the death angels hovered about in the immediate vicinity of that food-store that had been robbed in that same time as Hector Brenton just happened to be passing by.
The rest of the story is simple enough – Brenton was laid low by police gun-fire.
Today, Brenton Hector Smith is still dead.
The police officer who killed him is alive and well and working as a police officer. And from all that I currently suspect, this officer is armed.
While I have no basis on which to pin a judgment or opinion to the effect that this man is dangerous; I hope that his path and mine never cross.
Or to be a tad more charitable, I hope to see him on the Judgment Day – and then only so that I can get an opportunity to get the real story as to how it came to be that Hector Brenton Smith was destroyed -as he was – where he was on that fateful night when a police officer was man enough to kill him. Even now, some of my fellow-Bahamians do verily believe that Hector Brenton Smith was killed in cold blood.
For my part, I just do not know a thing about this.
What I do know is that a Coroner’s Jury did last Thursday – on a Thursday just like this one – did say that it was unanimous in its conclusion that the police officer with the gun had acted in his own self-defense when he apprehended that his life might be at danger; thus that one blast that sent Hector Brenton Smith to thy kingdom come – on a one way ticket to Oblivion. And so, that is how it is done in today’s stinking Bahamas.
I am today so very sorry for my people.
And on the basis of all that I know and believe – based on my faith in a Risen Savior- I am sure that I will see this student of mine on that day when Gabriel gets set to blow his trumpet.
I am also certain that the man who killed him will bow and confess to God Almighty for what he did when he did what he did on that fateful night when he shot the shot that felled the boy who was trying to find his way home through what he thought was a short-cut from one dead end road to another crime-infested street.
Little did Brenton know that the route he took was that one that would take him – in a flash of fire and in the stench of his own shed-blood – to that place where the dead congregate.
And the preacher-man said some days later: dust to dust and ashes to ashes and another young man’s remains were returned to the earth.
The same kind of thing happened for Jermaine Mackey’s family when they had to bury what was left of him in the aftermath of his death by police gun-fire on St. James Road in the Eastern District of this infernal island.
And then, there was that now-notorious case of a young man who was known as Sharky, but whose real name was Deron Bethel – this case being the one where –as he sat in his car and as he tried to get away from what was clearly a bad scene unfolding – he was shot through the heart.
He bled to death.
And even now, his mother grieves for the man-child who emerged – head-first- from her womb. Today this woman is grandchild to her dead son’s child – my God-son –Deron Bethel, Jr.
And still, blessed are the peacemakers.
November 25th, 2010
The Bahama Journal
Chickens Coming Home to Roost
The Bahama Journal Editorial
Something is dreadfully wrong in this small nation of ours.
Sadly, much of that new information has to do with one bloody report after another concerning this or that person who has been victimized.
We who remain standing tally the number of our neighbors, family and friends who make up that number that is to be given those who have been left terrified, injured, maimed or dead.
This is no way to live.
We have begged and we have prayed in order to find out what – if anything – is to be done.
To date, no one has come up with adequate answers to any of our persistent queries; and here our leaders seemed to have lost their way in a miasma of lies, half-truths and placeboes.
And for sure, we look askance at the argument that, this kind of feral excess can and should be expected as part of the so-called modern way of living in an urban center.
We also say no to that infernal strategy that calls on those who lead to blame those who follow when all hell breaks out.
Here take note that, one of the more interesting facets of what it means to be human has to do with the fact that people will – for the sake of their own sanity – routinely concoct stories that purportedly explain the presence of evil in their midst.
Hardly ever do they blame themselves.
Indeed, there is always around some ready scapegoat on which we just as often dump much that troubles us.
And so, it currently arises that some of people –particularly the police- believe that they can somehow or the other pacify angry citizens by way of this or that pleasant walk-about.
Interestingly, when word first got out concerning this Saturday past’s street-level melee; there was apparently a concerted effort to paint a picture that would depict Bain Town people in a most positive light; inclusive of the life story of the dead youth, Sharmoco Newbold.
Here some who spoke out would have the public believe that this youth-man’s persona was somewhere to be located between that of an officer and a gentleman.
While this person might have indeed been such; this fact in and of itself must take second place to whatever is found to be the case once all the facts are in.
Idle speculation whether it takes the guise of lies told in order to cover up this or that; narratives and other species of conjured up stories aimed at ‘explaining’ how things might have happened; or sweet talk designed to make people feel good.
However you take it, none of this can help in a situation where what is needed is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God.
Indeed, nothing really matters.
By way of timely reminder, some three years ago, information came our way to the effect that, a 47-year-old woman was shot in the face during a daring daytime robbery.
As we recall, she was put on life support.
But surely, what matters today as it surely mattered then, was still the need for the public to know that while crime hurts; denial might hurt just as much.
“…This horrible incident indicated that no one is safe in the country and the quality of life is in decline. "Someone unknown left the victim where she had been hit. A bullet remains lodged in her neck.
“Police said Ms. Lori Francis had just exited the Royal Bank of Canada on John F. Kennedy Drive and entered a truck when the incident occurred…”
And for sure as we vividly recall, “According to Andrea Francis, her sister was conscious and had undergone surgery, but was on life support because she was having trouble breathing on her own.
“Today we grieve with these victimized people…”
Paradoxically, we also grieve for those who allegedly did the deed that left this woman washed and drenched in her own blood.
We do so because these two men are of this land and are striving in these times. That they may also be lunatics who are armed and dangerous attests to the fact that they too are enmeshed in a feral culture that glorifies greed and violence.
These men were not born criminal.
They were made such.
It is this fact of life that explains so how we are where we are as a people. Equally so, it suggests a way out of the mess; that way being the one that begs us to put more money into social services like health and education.
Because we have not done near enough; the proverbial chickens are coming home to roost.
November 25th, 2010
The Bahama Journal Editorial
Something is dreadfully wrong in this small nation of ours.
Sadly, much of that new information has to do with one bloody report after another concerning this or that person who has been victimized.
We who remain standing tally the number of our neighbors, family and friends who make up that number that is to be given those who have been left terrified, injured, maimed or dead.
This is no way to live.
We have begged and we have prayed in order to find out what – if anything – is to be done.
To date, no one has come up with adequate answers to any of our persistent queries; and here our leaders seemed to have lost their way in a miasma of lies, half-truths and placeboes.
And for sure, we look askance at the argument that, this kind of feral excess can and should be expected as part of the so-called modern way of living in an urban center.
We also say no to that infernal strategy that calls on those who lead to blame those who follow when all hell breaks out.
Here take note that, one of the more interesting facets of what it means to be human has to do with the fact that people will – for the sake of their own sanity – routinely concoct stories that purportedly explain the presence of evil in their midst.
Hardly ever do they blame themselves.
Indeed, there is always around some ready scapegoat on which we just as often dump much that troubles us.
And so, it currently arises that some of people –particularly the police- believe that they can somehow or the other pacify angry citizens by way of this or that pleasant walk-about.
Interestingly, when word first got out concerning this Saturday past’s street-level melee; there was apparently a concerted effort to paint a picture that would depict Bain Town people in a most positive light; inclusive of the life story of the dead youth, Sharmoco Newbold.
Here some who spoke out would have the public believe that this youth-man’s persona was somewhere to be located between that of an officer and a gentleman.
While this person might have indeed been such; this fact in and of itself must take second place to whatever is found to be the case once all the facts are in.
Idle speculation whether it takes the guise of lies told in order to cover up this or that; narratives and other species of conjured up stories aimed at ‘explaining’ how things might have happened; or sweet talk designed to make people feel good.
However you take it, none of this can help in a situation where what is needed is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God.
Indeed, nothing really matters.
By way of timely reminder, some three years ago, information came our way to the effect that, a 47-year-old woman was shot in the face during a daring daytime robbery.
As we recall, she was put on life support.
But surely, what matters today as it surely mattered then, was still the need for the public to know that while crime hurts; denial might hurt just as much.
“…This horrible incident indicated that no one is safe in the country and the quality of life is in decline. "Someone unknown left the victim where she had been hit. A bullet remains lodged in her neck.
“Police said Ms. Lori Francis had just exited the Royal Bank of Canada on John F. Kennedy Drive and entered a truck when the incident occurred…”
And for sure as we vividly recall, “According to Andrea Francis, her sister was conscious and had undergone surgery, but was on life support because she was having trouble breathing on her own.
“Today we grieve with these victimized people…”
Paradoxically, we also grieve for those who allegedly did the deed that left this woman washed and drenched in her own blood.
We do so because these two men are of this land and are striving in these times. That they may also be lunatics who are armed and dangerous attests to the fact that they too are enmeshed in a feral culture that glorifies greed and violence.
These men were not born criminal.
They were made such.
It is this fact of life that explains so how we are where we are as a people. Equally so, it suggests a way out of the mess; that way being the one that begs us to put more money into social services like health and education.
Because we have not done near enough; the proverbial chickens are coming home to roost.
November 25th, 2010
The Bahama Journal Editorial
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