We recently had four reported suicides in Barbados, but were told that identifying the cause was complicated. That is an excuse typically used to dissuade persons from investigating an inconvenient link. So, it is time for a difficult conversation.
The most important indicator for predicting suicidal thoughts appears to be low self-esteem. Suicide was “especially common in nations with relatively low levels of self-esteem” regardless of sex, age, or economic affluence [1]. Youth who had negative stress and low self-esteem were found to have more suicidal thoughts [2]. Support from the families and the community was found to help if that support improved self-esteem [3].
SELF-ESTEEM, STRESS AND GUILT.
Self-esteem may be broadly defined as how you view yourself. It may be positively influenced by: family, friends, teachers and others who encourage your responsible behaviour. It may also be negatively influenced by those who dislike you.
Bad stress may be defined as a consequence of guilt. Your conscience normally convicts you when you do wrong, and if you persist you may feel tormented from within. Therefore, people who do not like themselves and persist in doing wrong are more likely to have suicidal thoughts.
Every week, churches across Barbados reinforce two messages. The first is that we are children of our Heavenly Father, the Almighty God, which can only result in high self-esteem. The second is that Jesus, the Messiah of all humankind, has paid the penalty for our sins, and if we repent, the emotionally stressful guilt may be removed.
LOW SELF-ESTEEM.
By 2018, the DLP’s management of the economy was so disastrous that it lowered Barbadians’ self-esteem to perhaps the lowest it had ever been. Every DLP politician was voted out of office in the 2018 General Election and there was a refreshing feeling of hope. Defaulting on our debts and surrendering Barbados to the IMF only worsened our self-esteem, so the BLP needed a plan.
Their agents started a smear-campaign to link Barbadians’ self-esteem, not to the mismanagement of our economy where it belonged, but to the 200-year old statue of Horatio Nelson. We were told that it was the cause of our low self-esteem and were promised that we would feel better about ourselves if it were removed.
THE SCAPEGOAT.
The main charges made by our eminent historians was that Nelson was a: racist, white supremacist enslaver and mass-murderer of our African fore-parents.
Everyone seemed to be caught up in the fervour – myself included. Some wanted to relocate it to the docks, some wanted it sent back to England, some wanted to sell it, while others wanted it thrown into the wharf. I wrote recommending that if the accusations were true, then it should be destroyed, for why should anyone want to admire someone so abhorrent.
RESEARCHING THE TRUTH.
I then investigated the truth and found that every accusation made was false. In an age where almost all white persons were: racists, white supremacists, and/or enslavers, Horatio Nelson was the rare exception. He went against the racist cultural norms of his time and employed, promoted and paid black persons the same as whites on his ships.
Nelson passionately hated slavery and likely freed more slaves outside of North America than any other person during his lifetime. He also hated corruption and after finding approximately BD$80M of corrupt activities in Barbados, he became a hated enemy of the racist white-supremacist slave-owning politicians, planters and merchants.
Following his death, several statues of him, of varying quality, were erected. The statue of perhaps the finest quality was erected in Barbados over 200 years ago. In November 2020, the statue was removed with the promise that our self-esteem would improve. To secure that promise, we are forbidden from viewing it to this day.
DIVIDE AND RULE.
COVID-19 provided an opportunity to raise the self-esteem of all Barbadians. Instead, it was used to divide us into the essentials who were allowed to earn a living, and the non-essentials who were not allowed to work and risked losing their homes and businesses. Churches were also closed and restricted, which prevented our most vulnerable from receiving that emotional support.
COVID-19 was further used to divide us into the privileged vaxxed, and the sanctioned unvaxxed. A national policy of guilt was used to pressure people to get vaccinated, accusing unvaccinated persons of not caring about their elderly relatives. The guilt was realised when many of our elderly started dying.
IN THE TOILET.
When the promised self-esteem miracle did not happen after removing Nelson, we were guaranteed that if we became a republic, our self-esteem would surely improve. When the Queen and international journalists commented on the legality of the plan, we pretended that we voted for republicanism in 2018 – when we all knew that we did not. There is no right way to do wrong things.
With our self-esteem now in the proverbial toilet, we added the national guilt from: (i) joining the dead racist white-supremacist slave-owning politicians, planters and merchants in condemning Nelson for doing what was right and good, and (ii) embracing the lie that we voted for republicanism in 2018 – which deceived the whole world and corrupted the historical record of knowledge.
As if that were not enough, we also added the national guilt from (iii) supporting the sanctions that harmed our unvaccinated neighbours, (iv) convincing our youth that their actions may have caused the death of their grandparents during COVID, and (v) our teaching methods that are designed to benefit only 20% of our students, leaving the vast majority with low self-esteem.
WHO TO BLAME?
We have carelessly put these unnecessary dark national clouds of low self-esteem and guilt over Barbados because of our selfishness and stupidity. We have left those without responsible support systems vulnerable to suicidal thoughts, where their personal failings may provide the tormenting emotional stress that may push them over the edge.
We should never play with peoples’ emotions by falsely promising to raise their self-esteem. We risk extinguishing the last remaining hope on which vulnerable persons were relying – which may convince them that there is no light at the end of the dark tunnel.
Will those who made and promoted those reckless promises of self-esteem improvement now repent and do what is right? Will we remove the dark clouds that we have set over the lives of most Barbadians? Our choice is simple, either we repent – or we tell the next generation: “go hang yourselves”. The result is foreseen – our pride will get the better of us.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Grenville Phillips II is a Doctor of Engineering and a Chartered Structural Engineer. He can be reached at NextParty246@gmail.com
[1] Chatard, A., Selimbegović, L. and Konan, P.N. (2009), Self-esteem and suicide rates in 55 Nations. European Journal of Personality, 23: 19-32.
[2] Wilbum, V., Smith, D. (2005), Stress, self-esteem, and suicidal ideation in late adolescents. Adolescence, Vol 40, No. 157.
[3] Evan M. Kleiman, E., Riskind, J. (2013), Utilized Social Support and Self-Esteem Mediate the Relationship Between Perceived Social Support and Suicide Ideation. Crisis, 34:1, 42-49.
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.