NO, NO, NO – CHILDREN ARE NOT ADULTS

BU’s inbox has been inundated in the last 24 hours with requests to sign a petition calling for justice in the matter involving Demarco Gibbs who was beaten by for minors. Unfortunately the injuries sustained by Demarco left him brain dead.

The following words contained in the change.org petition reported to have secured 10,000 signatures at recent count caught the eye of the blogmaster.

The laws of Barbados need to be amended to charge children as adults when they commit heinous crimes. Their parents must also be held accountable. The time for change is now!

Increasingly our small society once characterized by personable citizens has morphed into something opposite- defined in this instant as Barbadians prepared to swing the sledge hammer to crush the symptom  and mostly ignore the causal factor(s) that created the outcome. What does it say about thousands of adults; elders in a society willing to relinquish causal responsibility?

The behaviour – good and bad – manifested by minors in our society; in our charge, in the homes, schools and everywhere reflects on us ADULTS. What moral authority do we have to propose to treat children as adults within the boundary of our laws designed to protect?  By all means let us how to treat with debate parental delinquency but charging children as adult does NOT Rh compute in the mind of this blogmaster.

Recently the blogmaster traversed the Bow Road heading North and his line of sight was assaulted by the dilapidated state of the National Stadium. The state of the stadium did not deteriorate to its current state in recent years, it has suffered steady decline even ‘in times of plenty’. In the mind of the blogmaster a national stadium is integral to a vibrant national youth program.

There is the oft repeated phrase a healthy nation is a wealthy nation.  The blogmaster is prepared to extend the adage that an engaged youth represent future leaders. What does a cursory assessment of the appearance of the National Stadium point to where youth affairs register on government’s list of priorities?

Screenshot 2020-07-04 at 18.44.58

National Stadium

The blogmaster is tired, tired, tired of connecting dots for some of you.

 

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