A crumbling values system in Bahamian society is contributing to the breeding of criminals, said community relations expert and police spokesman Hulan Hanna.
After serving for more than 20 years with the Royal Bahamas Police Force and counselling families as an associate pastor of his church, Supt. hanna said he has witnessed a degeneration of the values system, specifiaclly in Bahamian males.
“Creating or breeding young boys who are prone to violence does not happen in isolation,” said Mr. Hanna, “young boys are influenced by persons who they live with and mimic those behaviours because they see no positive alternative presented before them.”
Mr. Hanna said that the most positive influence a young male could have is a father, or father figure, who has a strong sense of morals and values.
The problem, he said, is there are not enough of those males to go around, or they are hiding behind “incredibly strong Bahamian female personalities”.
He explained that the idea of a family has changed drastically in the Bahamas over the years and it is not uncommon to find that single women lead many of the households.
Ensuring that his comments are not misinterpreted, Mr. Hanna added: “I do not want to offend the women, who I love and respect. But if the man is not willing to command respect, not coerce, but to command a form of respect by the way he behaves himself, conducts his affairs – if he doesn’t do that – the strong female personality emerges, and in a dominant form.”
“You can show things to young people but if they are holow on the inside and you lack the values to help develop their character, make them feel good about themselves, and respect themselves or the female down the road, why would they respect the laws of the country in which they reside.”
Kilah Rolle, The Tribune
