Dear Editor,

Like dogs in a vicious standoff, growling with lips repealed to exhibit an unfriendly grin, it was still uncertain if these men were friends or foes.

The crowd gave them space while actively estimating the chance of an escalation. An alltoo- common skill for the average Jamaican, who must know the uncertain difference between rough play and malice, which may be the difference between life and death. A simple competition of who should get the next passenger for their loading bus was the grounds for threats and a brandished machete.

Immediately, one would ascribe to these men — who deflated almost instantly to carry on loading their respective buses — vices akin to grave degeneracy. But where did the violence begin? Was this simply an animalistic demonstration of territorialism or was it a requirement of an equally violent society?

While the notion of nurture may factor well, an examination of the scene revealed plot conflicts that supported interpersonal conflict. In a town centre that only caters for the inadequate State transport services, Coaster buses must line the street and load quickly while contending with traffic police. Depending on the time of day, they must compete for customers and against traffic to earn good revenue. Their customers also do not form lines as they jostle for preferred seats or seemingly full buses that feign readiness to leave. With these ingredients of impatience, disorder, and competition, we have a soup of madness that ultimately bubbled into a confrontation between the two men.

If we view violence in Jamaica strictly as the product of exposure to aggression or social disaffection, whether through parenting or gang membership, for example, we absolve the value of order in our society. What are the chances that they would get into a fight if they had a designated bus park where they did not have to run from the police, agreed to load sequentially, and passengers agreed to form lines?

Whether the egg preceded the chicken or not, the cycle can be disrupted by removing the chicken. In this case, the chicken is the State’s role in creating conditions for violence — the exclusion of legal independent operators from those loading areas designated for State buses or the absence of those areas altogether. From there, a cascade of order can flow and be better managed — orderly scheduling and loading.

When we compare anecdotal evidence of opposite levels of order between Coaster buses loading on Molynes Road and Coaster buses that load in the Half-Way-Tree transportation centre, the findings are that driver behaviour, police relations, and passenger conduct when loading are starkly different.

It is incredibly easy to highlight the individual act of violence of one person upon another — murder, physical abuse, etc. However, if the role of the State in fostering inequality and aggression in its citizens is to be examined, it must hold itself accountable. Therefore, the plan to address violence on a cultural level must begin with the relationship between the State and citizens through its infrastructure, institutions, and agencies.

As the State establishes precedence and policy and encourage alternative behaviour, certain triggers for interpersonal conflict become dormant and eventually extinct. The proclivity towards violence is not monolithic and any attempt to address it in Jamaica is incredibly futile. While much investment has been made in the police force, the society must not be able to justify its deviance by pointing to antagonism from the State.

Dave Richards D1

darichards@gmail.com