The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.\

Some people say that pride does not feel any pain. Others say that having too much pride will kill you. Maybe these sayings are true, maybe they are not. But what has happened to the once prideful young Bahamian?

Growing up in the 1980’s, I remember in many instances being in need and wanting particular things.

Sometimes, my parents were able to fulfil these needs and wants and sometimes they were not. For the most part, growing up not having all you wanted or needed, taught you a lesson that life sometimes throws you curve balls.

There will be ups and downs. It is how you respond to these challenges that makes the difference.

Many Bahamian families taught that if you don’t have it, then you ought to do without it. My family was one who held firm to this rule. This lesson has far reaching implications.

Persons who did not learn these lessons can find themselves in peculiar situations.

The negatives are that either they steal and connive to get what they want or they become beggars.

There is a growing trend amongst young people, especially young men where begging seems to be the order of the day. They will beg you for a dollar, 50 cents and even a quarter. In my experiences, it is either for the purchase of a Bede, an alcoholic drink and in rare instances to buy something to eat.

The begging goes on unabated and some of the young men have secured particular business spots where they hang out all day and you guessed it, “beg”.

They beg the young, the old, the lame, toddlers and anyone they come in contact with. There is no discrimination. It is so bad now that many Bahamians try to prepare in their minds lines of dismissals before being begged and harassed.

I remember coming from the library one day last week and in less than two minutes, three young men spewed their both proud and shameful rhetoric. One said, “Father, you can’t bless me with something hey?” Another said, “Big guy, can you spare a dollar, I want catch the bus?” A third said, “Drex, do something small for me, man”.

It is this kind of talk that has pulverised the thought processes of many of our young men. Some of them even want to get “aggressive” when they can’t have their way. They are creating a dangerous mind-set for themselves that will have lingering side effects, one of them being at a high risk of engaging in criminal activity. What ever happened to young men who would say “good morning, sir” or “good morning, ma‘m” as opposed to “you ain get no spare change hey?”

I know that unemployment is shockingly high among young people. I know that these are tough economic times, in fact I can truly attest to this fact as well as thousands of hard working Bahamians. But why has a growing number of young men adopted this appalling attitude of harassing citizens all day for a buck?

Where have our values gone when we used to live with what we had until we could have done better?

I tell young men all the time that being low on cash is not the end of the world, in fact many of the people that they are begging may be in similar or worst positions. It is just that some people handle themselves better than others and exercise restraint in the midst of a storm.

And if there is anyone out there who will go out of his way and flag someone down on a busy thoroughfare or catch someone off guard as they exit a convenience store to beg for a buck, I admonish you to cease and desist forthwith.  

Where has our pride gone Bahamas?

DEHAVILLAND MOSS

Nassau,

February 11, 2015.