We need a Bermudacorps

September 15, 2003

Dear Sir,

I refer to today's front page headline "Teen brawl closes bar" drawing our attention to a clash between teen girls in a local nightclub which was evidently so violent as to cause the closure of an establishment, and another headline immediately below "Islanders urged to hang ribbons of support" encouraging everyone to show their appreciation for the many acts of service by those who are selflessly helping to put Bermuda back on track after the equivalent of a natural yet thankfully far less frequently occurring violent brawl in the form of Hurricane Fabian. What dreadful damage is done by both events, yet how pathetically inadequate will be our response to the former totally preventable yet now all too frequently occurring social disturbance which we will no doubt simply continue to wring our hands and mouth platitudes about while otherwise doing absolutely nothing to prevent recurring.

Total indiscipline led to the former event. Total lack of self control, lack of self respect and consequential lack of respect for others is that which we now blindly accept as the norm today for far too many of our youngsters who we should instead be acknowledging the achievements of in the same way as that encouraged in the second headline in today's paper. Indeed, we even have respected leaders in our community saying that nothing can be done to prevent youngsters from taking drugs, or speeding, or promiscuity or cycle theft etc., so we should therefore do the obvious thing and, for example, decriminalise the very cause for the great majority of our social malaises, drug abuse, so we don't have to give little Jimmy or Jane a complex for deliberately poisoning each other or pursuing any of the many other mindless preoccupations on their hell bent path to self destruction.

Totally preposterous! Conditional discharges are now the order of the day for anyone found lacking in upholding their own responsibilities to automatically afford common courtesy for the rights of others to simply go about their daily lives without fear of assault of one form or another. As a consequence, we have respected mentors like the Bermuda Regiment's Colonel Lamb barely able to contain himself while being forced to accept total cop outs by society via such conditional discharges afforded those under his care who only he presently has a chance to make something of. Quite clearly we have to much more effectively get the attention of those who would regularly revisit us socially with the equivalent of a Hurricane Fabian, but we have to use a lot more than ribbons to do so. In my opinion the answer is obvious. We have to instead simply establish a youth corps type organisation where the likes of Colonel Lamb, (and many others like him, and both men and women), have absolute authority over at least the likes of all those youngsters, (and both girls and boys), who so frequently cry out for attention in every form imaginable.

There is no doubt in my mind that the very great majority of those youngsters can even yet be saved if only we have the guts to require automatic observance of positively oriented programmes for at least those of our youngsters so obviously at risk which we already know are very effective in encouraging the development of good character. However, for those who don't want their Jimmy or Jane participating with others who may not be of their same social standing, then perhaps those of them who are already clearly going in the right direction would not have to also participate in such a positive and constructively oriented "Bermudacorps". However, in my opinion this would regrettably be to both their - as well as our - significant loss, because Bermuda would then tragically continue to be very much the poorer without there then being an automatic requirement for all of our youngsters to constructively interrelate - and therefore integrate - in the only organisation ever to remotely have a chance to clearly demonstrate the critically important interdependence of us all.

A.E. (TED) GAUNTLETT

Somerset