What, according to Strachan, are the main causes of crime in the Bahamas? Do you agree with him? Why/Why not?

 

ENGL 120 2019-2020 / 56 In 1968, the new PLP government discontinued unification talks with the Turks & Caicos and enacted laws to restrict the entry of Turks Islanders. They also began arresting and deporting those already here, especially from Inagua. At the time, many of these migrants were considered opposition supporters. However, as Tinker notes, "although Turks & Caicos Islanders constitute the second largest West Indian immigrant group in the Bahamas, their assimilation is so complete as to make them virtually indistinguishable from the average Bahamian." Bahamian intolerance towards Haitians "is primarily an expression of fear that overwhelming numbers of Haitian immigrants will eventually supplant Bahamian culture," Tinker says. "Equally threatening to the average Bahamian are the increasing demands that Haitians place on social institutions." He argues that Bahamian leaders - instead of fostering assimilation into a pluralistic society - have produced a society of separate and unequal ethnic groups. This is clearly demonstrated by the social inclusion of Turks Islanders and the social exclusion of Haitians. In his summation, Tinker reiterates the fact that all Bahamians are descendants of immigrants, noting that "The balance of power may eventually, and perhaps irrevocably, shift towards dominance by present-day minorities. Bahamian lawmakers must begin the process of assimilating all West Indian migrants - including Haitians - into all aspects of national development." Questions 1. Discuss some of the benefits of assimilation. 2. The author identifies two reasons Bahamians are tolerant of Haitians. Discuss two other reasons for this intolerance. 3. Define the following: a) pluralistic society; b) reciprocal 4. In paragraph twenty-four, the author asserts that Turks Islanders and Bahamians were "socially identical". Do you agree? Do some research and develop a paragraph or two to support your position. 5. What is the writer's purpose? 6. Identify one point in the article that stands out to you. (It may be a point you either agree or disagree with). Write a letter to Mr. Tinker specifically addressing that point and use research if you wish, to back up your arguments. Onward, Teefin' Together Ian Strachan Dr. lan Strachan is a Bahamian academic and author. At present, he is the Vice President for UB-North. This piece was originally published in the Nassau Guardian in 2007. A recent column in The Nassau Guardian suggested that the increased murder rate can be attributed to illegal immigration-not to the shameless state of the judicial system and the ENGL 120 2018-2019/ 57 dry-eyed professionalism of lawyers who get bail for murderers and rapists. Although this line of thinking is a piece of lazy scapegoating, I mention it here because it underlines a huge problem we face here in BaHAMaland: denial. Now, you're probably saying, "Strachan, be reasonable; the children of unassimilated, poor, despised immigrants are bound to tum to crime." Certainly, that's the case all over the world. But what I take serious exception to is this idea, shared by many people, that violence is a Haitian invention; that Bahamians have not a violent bone in their bodies. And that, without providing any statistics at all, we are supposed to believe that this band of stupid, cold-blooded murderers are mostly Haitian. Ladies, gentlemen and jungless, I submit that we in the Bahamas are VERY intimate with criminality. In fact, the story of The BaHAMas is a 500 year old tale of lawlessness, opportunism, rule-breaking, exploitation and violence. In other words, need Haitians or American TV, Fifty Cent or Bounty Killer, to teach us how to jack each other up! didn't Let's take a little inventory: Aboriginal genocide. African Slavery. Piracy. Wrecking. Blockade Running. Bootlegging. Land Grabbing. Tax dodging and money washing. Mafia-run gambling. Segregation and White Rule. Over 300 years of Female Disenfranchisement. Sex tourism. Drug Trafficking. Arms smuggling. People Smuggling. You get the picture? Which of that long list are the Haitians who come here to maintain lawns and lay bricks responsible for? The front page of the June 19 Guardian showed nine murder suspects wanted by the police and not one had a French name. Let's face it. This is a country where people stage demonstrations to defend drug traffickers; where lawyers in front line politics represent murderers and dope pushers and then make speeches about justice and the rule of law. Ours is a culture where rule-breaking is acceptable, In fact, it's a culture where a lot of rules aren't really rules in the minds of the majority of people. Take numbers, or black market DVDS, or running the red light, or stealing satellite signals, or lying to the people at Customs about how many boxer shorts you bought at Walmart. Our very economic system of capitalism is designed to ensure criminality and violence. Public education is designed to fail-or succeed if you see its objective as protecting the advantages of the privileged. Consumerism and the luxurious lifestyles of the winter visitors create an appetite for baubles among the poor that hard work takes too long to satisfy. The cation rising cost of living, the unrealistic expectations of the majority (who want what they see on MTV Cribs), and the conspicuous living of the new black millionaire lawyers/CPAS/doctors, make the rank and file restless. They sell their bodies or they put people in body bags to get the bling. Meanwhile, the elite, who benefit most from the economy, through banking, law, merchandise, real estate, etc, ensure that their children get the best education money can buy and try to get their shopping done at Kelly's before noon. Privilege perpetuates itself, and poverty and powerlessness perpetuate themselves too, in the absence of elites with a social conscience. Then there's Da Gov'men Dem-those wonderful example setters. We have Bahamianisation to thank for a whole lot of the ineptitude in the civil service. Our civil service is full of people who are only there because of their connections and who treat the people they "serve" with contempt. The lack of transparency and accountability, the degree of political ENGL 120 2019-2020 / 58 interference and the general level of incompetence, have taught the people that slackness and waste are the norm. This poor work ethic has infected the entire nation. Now, people expect a job that is supposed to take 2 days to take 7. And they expect their mechanic, contractor, plumber, carpenter or electrician to give mediocre service while robbing them blind. Add to this the pompous preening of self-seeking elected officials who bribe the population with gifts or demand sexual favors in order to award jobs or promotions, and you get the sense of the situation we're in: the people know that their leaders are frauds and have decided it's every man for himself. Problem is, when it's every man for himself, a lot of people get left behind or walked on. Problem is, when no one stands up, the weak get stomped on. And in a climate such as that, when frustration, despair and stupidity join forces, people get stabbed for a dollar and 80- year-old women get beaten and raped. So what do we do? One thing we can't do is sit back and expect Tommy Turnquest to save us from ourselves. So get up off your duff, put down that duff and Vitamalt, and get in the street, get in your MPs' faces. Demand stiffer penalties; demand swifter justice; demand better courts and more judges; demand that legislators are full- time employees of the state and are not profiting from crime indirectly by representing criminals. And if the state fails to try someone accused of murder or rape in a reasonable time and that person goes out and kills or rapes while on bail, SUE THE STATE! If that's too hard to imagine I guess you can keep doing what you're doing now: watching your back. Questions 1. Comment on the derivation and tone of the title of this article. 2. Explain what is meant by "this line of thinking is a piece of lazy scapegoating" (para. 1). 3. What is the purpose of Strachan's "little inventory" in paragraph 3? 4. Identify the tone of: a) "They sell their bodies or they put people in body bags to get the bling" (para. 6). b) "Public education is designed to fail" (para. 6). c) "Then there's Da Gov'men Dem--those wonderful example setters" (para.7). d) "the pompous preening of self-seeking elected officials who bribe the population with gifts or demand sexual favors in order to award jobs or promotions" (para. 8). 8). 5. Identify an example of a pun from paragraph 11. What is its purpose? 6. What sort of conclusion does Strachan write? Is it effective? 7. Who is Strachan's audience? 8. What rhetorical and persuasive devices does Strachan use? How effective do you think they are? 9. Express in your own words Strachan's thesis in this article. 10. What is Strachan's purpose? 11. Summarise in no more than 80 words the causes of crime in the Bahamas, according to Strachan.