What is the cause?

[sheppy]

*first of all this is not in Politics..so please if yuh have someting political to say...keep it to yuhself or post it on d politics board*

Rapes seem to be at an all time high....its not good enough to just rob your house anymore or steal your car.
Crimes of passion and suicides are not far behind, but these to me show lack of coping mechanisms I focusing on the rape here...

There is something ill about this country...as the numerous (gut wrenching) stories come to light of little girls as young as 4 and teenagers and adults sexually abused, raped and some murdered afterward. I can't help but think the perpertrators must be acting out in some sort of frustration? Granted some may be depraved and mentally ill; we are all told these acts are usually not about sex, but an attempt to wield power. Why would someone need this power? It seems symptomatic to me of a frustration that knows no bounds. Where the divide continues to widen between have and have nots, the have nots are resorting to desperate measures to 'regain' control or equalize where there was none before. OR maybe its jealousy / envy afterall being a 'have not' by definition must at some point flip a switch.
Being ill equipped to deal with these emotions, or perhaps poorly influenced, these criminals are created; self-justified by their own discontent and intent on shifting the balance of power by whatever means necessary.
Have we created these people? driving around high up in our SUVs into our high rises living in a bubble of false security of electronic gates and rent-a-cops?
Sending our children to private schools, turning our noses up at the unfortunate and destitute? or maybe just giving enough to absolve ourselves from guilt for living in a world of such inequality.

[lexbarker]

Some people just don't give a damn. They do it because they get away with it. They are only sorry when they are caught.

[sheppy]

i cyah believe is jus dat people doh give a damn.....

[Scorpio]

The people who comit these crime are disconnected from reality, they don't think like you and I do. This may be for various reasons including some of those mentioned above.
I don't think we are wrong to shut out such persons from our lives by living in high secuity communities and driving hugh SUV's. Afterall, how do you relate to people who just don't/can't/won't see the world as you do ?
Today's criminals belong to a social sub-culture that has long desensitized its members to the deravity of crimes like murder and rape. Even the nicknames they give each other "Killa" "Rapist" shows that they don't see the seriousness of these crimes.The same gangsta music that you and I may listen to and enjoy dismissively, is internalised and turned into fuel for their depravity in this sub culture. Same for violent movies and TV shows.
There are two worlds out there, ours and theirs and whenever these two world collide, there is bloodshed, crime & even death. The trick is becoming how do you keep your world from colliding with theirs.

[serenity]

I believe its a need for respect. To be acknowleged. To be seen.
In a society which places a lot of emphasis on wealth and who has what and who wears what and who has been where, its hard to gain respect or acknowlegment. Money talks. And I've been on both sides of the fence:

I've seen sales clerks drop what they're doing to attend to me, even ignoring persons who've been waiting before me for assistance. And I get the looks of envy and hate for it.

I've been looked at with shock bordering on contempt bec I havent yet eaten at the latest restaurant or havent been to the Jazz Festival...ever.

But bec there has always been balance in my life and I have the luxury of a solid family background ans I've known wealth and poverty equally, very little of that phases me. But for someone who has spent their whole life in poverty and viewed with contempt, who is always pushed to the back of the line and whose faux pas are many and mocked by those deemed more sophisticated, it cannot be an easy life. Why would they accept that status when power and respect is just a gun away? When all the fancy brands and bling could be theirs too? When the same girls who refused to even smile in acknowlegment of their 'good morning famalee' could be taken by force..bec all dey does run dong is money anyway.

I think thats the cause. Its not just about taking what u have ie robbing u. But making u pay in the worst way for all the snobbery. For turning up your nose bec I smelling after a long day working in the hot sun. U didnt see me then, but I'll make sure u never forget me now.

There seems to be a seething hate, for all the barriers that have been put up to divide the society. There is the VIP section at every concert. There are some parties that u could only get invites bec of who u know. Its in the cars, the gated communities, the prohibitive prices of carnival costumes, or cinema tickets. Its a clear message that u are not good enough. U are not welcomed here. And so they retaliate. And the power struggle continues...bec u can have all the wealth, but they still have the power to make u cower behind your burglar-proofed door. U can hate them all u want but they have the power to take away from u what u love most.

[KFCSpicy]

Scorps,

Years ago in school during one of our sessions with the a visitng psychologist (this was in convent not secondary) we were given an anecdotal story which was true.

It was about a girl being sexually molested almost on a daily basis, and family members knowing but not wanting to stir up trouble or get involved in it all. The end result of the story was that the family was not poor people (so the points of exclusion as a result of living in exclusive high rent homes and driving in suvs and basically being wealthy and having access to a better life does not apply here) and they were not black or even indian. They were of another race altogether living in sweet lala land trinidad. They were wealthy and well known by their last names it seemed and they knew that no one would dare intervene or bother to get involved because of the power of the last name.

Sounds familiar? If I living in Glenco and own a business meh name eh go get mentioned and I cud shoot people at will and get off.

Rape or any type of sexual abuse is not class exclusive. It's not gender exclusive; it's is surely not age or race exclusive. so none of these things really matter or should bear on the whys and why nots.

Rich does rape and so do middle income and poor. The educated and healthy of mind does rape too. So I gues I will agree with lex here and say that people are mostly generally doing what they want and realising that they can and may get away. At the point in time no one knows what is going thru the predators mind so we can only but imply and assume. When the bible says thou shalt not covet thy neighbours wife he doh only mean lust after she eh! He also infers here that to start down that road cud lead to soooo many problems.

Meh point is...when some men see things they want they does get a craving to have and own, even if it is for a short time, that thing that they so coveted. Rape is a power issue, it's a lust issue, it's a tool to punish and degrade also. Rape is a weapon used and weilded by men and women it is surely not one that can be stopped with inane questions or government elections. It is a matter of how you train the young minds and what you show them from birth what they should hold precious in life. That is other people's rights to space, speech, freedoms and most things that we take for granted daily.

I remember the rapes in the Hollows in the early 80's, I remember Mano Benjamin locking up his wife in some tank in de forest where dey lived and putting pepper in her vagina and beating she like a drum every other minute. I remember the Red Hat raperman who raped a friend of my family. So crime eh escalating on a level of type...it is doing so in numbers. We choose to recall what we want to to make life bearable.

[sheppy]

Ahhh...exactly what I'm trying to say....Right on the button Serenity...

but the dilemna is....can we really do anything at this point to bridge that gap? Are we responsible?
Have we abandoned our fellow man in our own pursuit of fortune and fame...in the name of ambition?

I'm sure some will argue that should we try to bridge the gap we come off as condecending...giving a handout
(the proverbial fish instead of teaching the man to fish)and what do we owe to 'them' anyway? Arn't they pre-disposed to bite the hand that feeds 'them' anyway?

One of them or One of us...that is what it comes down to, and as we loose touch with 'them' we can't buy shoes in payless...you have to wear Aldo, or Jimmy Choo....u cyah drink a beer in brookyln bar, daybreak, or Smokey an bunty anymore...is Mor Vino, and Bat and Ball...we goin Prime and Jaffa..not Boss burger... Sometimes i feel if it wasn't for Movietowne and the like...i would never even see certain disapora in this country...


Ever seen how a person uses their clothing and attitude to 'make a statement' attempt to intimidate others with violent suggestive gesticulations or even verbal...that is their personna, it is all they have to give them that feeling of power and importance...

[serenity]

I guess it boils down to how u see ppl and what u value in them, therefore how u treat them. My mother taught us that even a vagrant have blessings to give. I guess we as a society have to make a conscientious effort to bring back the old time values that transcend materialism. Its not about who had the biggest car but who helped the most ppl. Somehow though, I dont see that changing anytime soon. Its easy to get addicted to the looks of envy and admiration that come your way when you're wearing the lastest or driving the best. U start to identify yourself with what u own. Your image takes precedence to the value u offer others. You start to notice what others are wearing/driving/owning and how u compare. It becomes the yardstick by which u judge others. U start to forget, ever so easily your purpose for being here and it becomes all about u.