Something is dreadfully wrong in our country... The Bahamas

Blood, Alcohol & Rage
The Bahama Journal Editorial



Regrettably, this land of ours has become a place where debauchery is being routinely equated with fun; a place where guns, alcohol drugs and nastiness routinely cavort.

There is also no doubting the fact that, some of our youth are living in a world where the human person is no longer treated with reverence or respect; thus that myriad of nasty offences some people inflict on others.

Indeed, some of these god-awful offences begin once you take to the streets; where some Bahamians see absolutely nothing wrong with cussing each other out; heaping abuse on people who should be either their fellow Bahamians, their brothers and sisters in Christ, or both.

But such is life in this brutalized place, that money is among the few things that is reverenced; there is also evidence galore to support the conclusion that, some of those who do not have what they consider their fair share of the loot, simply take what they want.

This spirit of spite and corruption now pervades practically every aspect of life in this place; whether reference is made to some of our troubled churches; troubled homes or deeply troubled homes.

Indeed, this spirit of confusion sometimes finds itself in those places where some Bahamians go in order – so they say – to have some fun.

Regrettably, some of this fun can and does end up with someone or the other being turned into just another blood-drenched statistic in this country where a bloody-count has become a kind of sport for some.

In this regard, we are told – and quite reliably so- that the Accident and Emergency Unit at the Princess Margaret Hospital is busiest on the weekends; that is to say, once the work-week comes to an end, some of those who have labored and toiled find themselves cut up, shot up or otherwise ripped to pieces.

Those who perpetrate these dastardly offences are just as often, other working men and women who say that they are intent on ‘having fun’.

On occasion, some of the same kind of mayhem is visited upon some of our younger women and men; with some of them –as it were- still dripping with the mother’s milk from their mouths.

But – as in some things dreadfully human – these youth are in a hurry to be seen as all grown-up; and so, they drink alcohol like their elders; use ganja as they always have – and for sure, they sometimes lace these with cocaine or some other drug of choice.

Thereafter, add a dash of sex and rage and you have a recipe for violence unleashed. This is precisely the mix that precipitates some of the nasty violence that routinely leads either in the direction of someone or the other being left hideously wounded, or which treks its way to the morgue.

Evidently, something is dreadfully wrong in this place. And as clearly, that matter that happens to be wrong has little to do with the downturn in the world economy, joblessness or social distress.

Here take note that while it is somewhat trendy [but also quite facile] to recite the devastation wrought by the Great Recession; we are not so sure that this economic fact of life is today driving the rage that routinely erupts when this or that group of Bahamians get together –as they say and tell themselves -to have some fun.

Pray, tell, what does fun have to do with blood-shed, alcohol and rage unleashed? Evidently, the echoing answer shouts back; practically nothing.

By way of illustration, take note that a few days ago, there was new information coming in to the effect that, a 20-year-old youth-man was stabbed in an altercation with a group.

We are told that, “… What started out as a night of fun turned deadly several hours later for a 20-year-old male, who was stabbed to death outside an East Bay Street night club early Sunday morning, last week-end…”

Yet again, take note [according to the police] that, “… the incident unfolded sometime around 4:30 a.m. when an argument erupted between the victim and a group of men while standing outside Club Illusion…”

One thing led to another; as a consequence of this unfolding that brought action and result together, the youth-man was stabbed to the upper right arm; taken to hospital via private vehicle, where he succumbed to his injuries a short time later.

This death pushed the nation’s macabre death count to 75.

At this juncture, the question arises as to how high this count will go before Bahamians tell themselves that they are doing the best they can as they make the way clear for Advent.

Sadly, only God knows.

November 8th. 2010

The Bahama Journal Editorial

Bahamas Blog International