Born here, raised here, work here.

I have been following this forum for some time. Thought it was time i added my ten cents.

Hey Mike,


Honestly, I believe that it is both. I have personally been at the brunt of gang violence and have had knives pointed at me on more than one occasion. growing up as a white kid in Bermuda can, at times, be quite dangerous. I recall one party that I attended when I was about 16. The party was at a house near the waterlot inn in southhampton. All of a sudden the party was descended upon by around 20 or so young men in white t-shirts. They blocked the entrances and parking areas with their bikes and proceeded to storm the party. Snatching chains left and right, breaking bottles and making threats, the group basically hijacked the get-together. I witnessed one of the thugs approach a friend of mine with a knife in his hand. he demanded my mate's gold chain, when he refused to hand it over the man with the knife got physical and after a prolonged struggle attempted to stab my friend in his pelvic region. Luckliy my friend had a very gaudy belt buckle which deflected the initial stab and left him with only a small cut bellow his belly button. At this point he handed the chain over and the thug moved on. Several people recieved black eyes including a female friend of mine. Then, with their booty, the group retreated, heading west towards somerset.

This is just one of many events that i have been witness to or heard about over my years growing up in "Bermy." When I was younger the gangs did not seem so brazen. They were certainly something that my peers and I were aware of but I always assumed it was because I was young and I tended to associate with some not so wholesome characters myself. (Bear in mind that this was 7 or 8 years ago.)

These days it seems that you do not have to be young or in the wrong place to be affected by these gangs. Gang Brawls at mid-day on reid street, machete attacks at football games and organized, west-side story-esque "rumbles" can pop up anywhere it seems.

At the same time, the media coverage has definatley increased. How can it not? With more and more public displays of violence and crime, it is at the forefront of our daily lives. We cant ignore it anymore or just put it down to a few individuals. The media cant help but report on what the whole island is talking about.

For some reason the gang culture has exploded on our island. And why not? As Asfield Devent said in the paper today, the money is too good. A gram of marijuana in bermuda is over $50 no matter what the quality. In the United States and Canada a gram of good pot is usually no more than $10. And Bermudians love their weed. In other places marijuana is not the problem, people dont kill eachother over weed, the market is too flooded with it. Gangs abroad tend to fight over harder, more dangerous drugs like herion and cocaine. In bermuda, because it is all imported and the turnover is so astoundingly good, this basically harmless plant has caused huge problems. On that note, i dont see anything changing in this area until marijauna laws are changed. If the plant was decriminalized, people would have no need to fight over it. I am not an advocate for drug legalization, i am just being practical. I believe we should impose laws similiar to that of Massachusetts where if you are caught with up to an ounce of marijuana you get nothing more than a $100 ticket.

ALthough i see it as a major force in the gang problem, drugs are not the only reason. These guys are bored, ignorant, listen to too much dancehall and watch too many gangster movies. In a place as priviliged as Bda there is no excuse to behave like this. Most of these guys could get government jobs or something of the like and live perfectly normal, productive lives. Instead, for some reason they take the low road. Not to be a pessimist but i dont think that there is a real solution to this situation.
Until it is not cool to be a "shotta" a "badman" or a "gangsta" this cycle will only continue.
 

hi Fingaz

I am interested in the fact that while you don't support lealisation of marajuana, you do think it practical. For me Bermuda will NEVER solve this gang  problem while weed remains illiegal. The prisons are full of people doing time for drug dealing/importing/possesion etc and most of the crime here is drug related. I say legalise , tax and control. I admit that with our close ties to the US this will not be easy to implemenent, but hey, maybe there's the opportunity for a new industry for local consumption. grow our own pot.

Thanks for the warm welcome people. I am sure that you will be hearing from me again periodically in the near furture.

Hey wiaruz,

I completely understand your point of view but I think you misunderstand what I was saying or the difference between legalizing and decriminalizing.

I don't think that legalization is, at all, practical in Bermuda. At that point we would end up being an exporter and a smuggler of the drug. We would have an influx of other drugs and, although i am sure tourism would increase, we would have tourists and visitors of a lower caliber than the wifebeater wearing, fanny pack toting cruise ships tourists that we have today. There is no country in the world that has legalized marijuana. Before you tell me that holland has legalized the drug I implore you to look it up and you will find that the plant is merely "tolerated" in that country.

I advocate decriminalization. I dont think that anybody, ever, should go to jail for smoking weed. But at the same time, as with alcohol, i dont want people walking around the streets, working or driving while burning "canons" as they are often called locally. I think that the laws should emulate canada or better yet massachusetts in the U.S. where anything under an ounce is not punishable by anything more than a maximum $100 ticket. I think the penalty should be similiar to that of a parking ticket. this woudl generate funds for the country while saving money by not incarcerating people. Decrimilization would also remove the clandestine culture of marijuana importation, cultivation and sale in bermuda. The market would be flooded and that would hopefully minimize the motivation for these people to kill, steal and fight over it.

Now I have to get on with work. I wish it was friday.

http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13237193

Apologies for big gap in response. I have been away.
 Take a look at the article from a recent Economist. i had posted it over at BIAW in a similar thread too.

We just can't keep trying the same thing and expecting a different out come for another 50 years.