WHAT I AM ABOUT to write may seem contradictory, but it really isn’t. Just follow my reasoning.
A few weeks ago some idiot posted a message on Facebook suggesting there would be bloodshed during Foreday Morning celebrations. Almost immediately there was near panic in some circles, with reports that some revellers had changed their minds about buying costumes and taking part in the masquerade.
Then a number of officials, including Minister of Culture Stephen Lashley, responded by making it clear that no group of lawless individuals would be allowed to disrupt the national festival.
While I understood the need to reassure the public, I felt it was all much ado about nothing and we were allowing some fool to dictate our agenda. I was inclined from the very beginning to dismiss it all with a long steupse.
But now I am taking a different perspective. I was at Bushy Park on Sunday for Soca Royale and realised that I did not witness a single incident of bad behaviour. Even the youngsters who would throw caution to the wind, get drunk and then make a nuisance of themselves appeared to be absent.
Then it occurred to me – this is going to be one of the safest Crop Over Festivals ever, all because of the idiot on Facebook. Commissioner of Police Tyrone Griffith is no “moojin”. It is clear that he and his high command have determined that there will be no disruption of Crop Over under their watch.
All those meetings with the various commanders and public statements to the press assuring Barbadians and visitors that they should feel free to go out and party have not been lost on the lawless. The fellows appear to have smelt the rat, and whispered to each other that because of the Facebook post if you miss and spit in the wrong place police will down hand on you.
Ps and Qs
Bajans ain’t foolish. This Crop Over safe, safe, safe, thanks to the Facebook idiot. I bet you everyone will be on their “Ps and Qs” on Foreday Morning and Grand Kadooment Day, because lawmen won’t be tolerating one misstep.
And this brings me to the apparent contradiction. I’ve said it before, but given where we now stand, perhaps it is time to emphasise the point. There have been ten murders so far for the year. I can’t see into the mind of any killer, but I know that many of the world’s brightest minds have written on the subject from countless angles for centuries.
People kill for all kinds of reasons, but when we look at the local scene in the recent past, recklessness and greed, in my opinion, seem to predominate.
So here’s the thing that bothers me. If you are going to rob and kill, common sense would suggest that a major part of the plan would have to include getting away with it.
In other words, if a person knows that police just took $2 million worth of marijuana into the Oistins Police Station after a raid and concludes that there would be great profit in stealing it from the cops, his first thought would have to be: how can I do it without being caught?
Reasonable, right?
Now think about it. We have had ten murders for the year and according to my checks eight of them have been “solved”. This is a resolution rate that even Scotland Yard and the Federal Bureau of Investigations would envy. So if you’re planning to kill someone, or engage in some activity that has a high probability of ending up in a killing, would it not bother you that there is at present an 80 per cent chance you will be caught – and quickly too.
So therefore, why would you acquire a gun and travel to someone’s place of business or home, with the intent of engaging in robbery, knowing that if you ever pull that trigger someone could be killed and you will hardly be free long enough to enjoy the fruits of your “labour”?
Doesn’t that seem plain stupid?
So here’s my suggestion to readers. You may never be able to convince that wayward son, daughter, nephew, grandson or whomever that the company he keeps and the petty crimes he engages in are unnecessary, but you know he understands quite clearly the concept of freedom.
He wants freedom to come as he pleases, go as he pleases, eat what and when he likes, and dress up and party without a care. So just maybe, a serious conversation about the almost immediate and long-term loss of these freedoms will have greater utility and success. Perhaps with this approach when we hit December we will still have recorded ten murders for the year.
I’m no smarter than anyone else, but I know that if there is an 80 per cent chance that I am going to be caught I am not going to do the crime.
PS: I will be on holiday for the next four weeks – and so too will my column. As my grandmother used to say, I will see you in about one month, if God spares life.
