N the wake of yet another eruption of youth violence, it seems that the police and the authorities generally have reluctantly conceded that Bermuda does indeed have a gang problem.

This is something that has been denied in the past. But clearly the divide between "Town" and "Country" youth ? a reality that has been accepted at the grass-roots level for some time ? has finally forced its existence into the collective consciousness of Bermuda's Powers That Be.

Now the authoritities have to decide how to deal not only with the question of maintaining law and order but also must address the underlying social factors at play. Why are these increasingly brutal outbreaks of youth-on-youth violence happening in Bermuda at this time? That is the question on everyone's lips. That is the question that needs to be answered.

Various hypotheses have been put forward as to the root causes of this violence between mostly young black males. They range from bad cultural influences impacting on our youth from abroad to a sense of alienation from broader society among black males to a breakdown of the family unit in the black community.

Where does the truth lie? For clearly if we are to bring an end to this brutality, we are going to have to identify the causes ? and do so quickly.

Unfortunately, we find ourselves as a country at a distinct disadvantage in being able to identify the social dynamics now at play because we have never been able to dispassionately examine ourselves. We have always avoided telling the truth about historical development in the areas of race, political and social development.

In the name of social cohesion we talk about forging unity between the races. But we have never studied the social divides that cleave Bermudian society, preferring instead to push them in the background and ? as a consequence ? not learning the lessons they have to teach us as a community.

To most of us the recent bouts of youth-on-youth violence are both shocking and absurd. Minister of Sports & Cultural Affairs Dale Butler put the situation most aptly when he described it as cousins fighting cousins. But the fact is that this is not a new development on the Bermudian scene: the degree of violence may be more pronounced than has been the case in the past but such outbreaks are not unprecedented.

We have seen this type of social phenomenon before in Bermuda's history. But because we have not studied our social upheavals, let alone documented them, certain events have passed from our national consciousness.

In my father's day if you were not from North Shore, you could not go over there as you liked. I recall stories about the pretty tough fighters living in that area. And if you were not from their turf, you were liable to be subjected to a very bad beating if you ventured into their territory. Likewise, if you were not from Bay (the Bailey's Bay area), you could not court a Bay girl.

Now these are some of the stories I heard when I was growing up. By the time I was riding a bike at 16, this type of thing seemed to have waned if not disappeared altogether.

The only stories I heard about off-limits areas when I was a teenager involved St. David's. It was said that non-St. David's Islanders venturing into that enclave were likely to get themselves ? and their bikes! ? thrown overboard, although I don't recall anything of the sort actually happening.

it seems that Bermuda has, for some time, seen young people pitted against each other based on the communities they come from. If this type of thing had disappeared by the time I was riding a bike, along with the rest of my generation, from one end of the island to the other, then why did the phenomenon of violence between communities occur in the first place?

And, perhaps more importantly, what were the factors behind the long periods when we had peace between the various communities?

I have a theory that may have some bearing on Bermuda's current situation with respect to the origins of Bermuda's youth violence. Is there something unique to the Bermuda psyche, something coming out of our social development, that lends itself to periods of social upheaval such as we are experiencing today?

I am sure older Bermudians remember the times I have referred to, when areas like North Shore were no-go areas for young men who did not live there. What stopped this phenomenon? Could it be that outside forces created a unity of sorts in the black community?

There are countless stories about fights between black Bermudians and British soldiers who were stationed here in the Prospect area until the 1950s. After the British, there were the American servicemen stationed at the Naval Air Station and the Naval Operating Base in Southampton and there were many dust-ups between them and Bermudians.

One particular battle ground was over on North Shore in the Old Seaview Bar. These clashes happened in my father's day. Could it be that by the time my generation came of age, my father's generation had declared a truce of sorts to face a common enemy?

The reason why this theory assumes great credibility in my eyes is because my generation was not aware of any such divides between the communities in Bermuda, except of course of the racial divide.

When I came of age in the 1960s and '70s, there was a common enemy that enforced unity among black youth. This was the time of the Bermuda version of the Black Power revolt. Black youth were united from Somerset to St. George's and our common enemies were the authorities ? the police in particular.

This may be disturbing for some to read but that was the reality of those turbulent times. You want to learn from your history, then you are going to have to digest the truth of that history.

Fast forwarding to today, the black youth have no common enemy. Outside cultural influences have no doubt encouraged them to turn inwards and upon themselves. Gangsta rap glorifies the gang life and drugs, making an already bad situation worse. But the question still remains why it is happening in Bermuda at this particular juncture?

of the major reasons, I believe, is that we have such low self-esteem in terms of a national identity. That's why many of our youth are susceptible to outside cultural influences ? such as the transplanted gang mentality of America's inner cities.

Then, too, Bermuda as a community has become increasingly fragmented in terms of family relations and this does not just mean in terms of parental control. When I was growing up I knew all my cousins. Sadly, today, I do not know all the children of my cousins. So is it really hard to believe that cousin would fight cousin?