Reggae and Dancehall legend Buju Banton says that Jamaican men have become weak.
Banton, said as a result of this weakness, modern men have turned to releasing their anger on their compatriots instead of turning it towards their oppressors.
“Our men have become weak. The women are more stronger than our men in this nation,” Buju said in an Onstage interview on the weekend.
Buju’s statement about Jamaican men engaging in violence and wanton killings, particularly in Kingston’s inner-city areas, is well-studied and well-documented.
For example, in a 2009 paper titled Young Boys Learning to Fear, Hate and Harm: A Recipe for Sustaining Tribal Political Violence in Jamaica’s Garrisons, University of the West Indies lecturer Dr. Herbert Gayle had noted that data from life histories of Jamaican inner city boys aged six to eight suggest that “there is a deliberate attempt by politicians and some community members and parents to encourage boys to fear, hate and harm people who support the rival political party”.
Dr. Gayle also noted that Jamaica’s primary social problem is violence, specifically at the community level. Since 2005, when Jamaica recorded homicide rates of 64 per 100,000, the country has been ranked among the most violent places on earth.
Jamaican men are disproportionately affected by crime in Jamaica and most homicides committed on the island are the result of gang feuding involving young men.
