Just this weekend over a dozen young people Spring Breaking in Florida had to be rushed to emergency room suffering from overdose from fentanyl laced cocaine. At least six of the victims were members of a college football and at least three who overdosed did not consume any of the cocaine, but became overdosed on fentanyl when they tried to revive their friends. That’s how powerful the drugs were. The person that sold the students the drugs was 21 years old. Now can face the possibility of murder. So yes drugs is a dangerous trade. Fortunately the cocaine problem is not as big here because it brings fentanyl with it. And fentanyl his the reputation of being a very deadly drug.

You must go further back than the 1980’s to find the origins of gangs and uprisings. For example the Wats riots started in 1965 to protest the mistreatment of a young , black man, supposedly for driving while intoxicated. Of course the situation had reached a boiling point with mistreatment of blacks by police and discrimination in jobs and housing. And Whilst street gangs were around before the 1980’s they never armed themselves with firearms. But it was in the 2980’s when residents started f housing projects in New York and Chicago and California started waking up and finding train cars in their backyards loaded with high powered weapons and ammunition. It was determined by civil rights leaders that the CIA had infiltrated gangs and incited them not only to fight against each other but to arm themselves with deadly weapons conveniently found in their back yards and neighborhoods. Likewise gangs were seeded and baited in The Bahamas and Caribbean islands. There are documentaries that claim the DEA was actually responsible for putting drugs in the streets in some Caribbean islands then they , with local police would go in and kill notorious’ drug dealers. The first time high powered weapons ever showed up on the streets of New Providence and streets of other Caribbean islands was when hundreds of these weapons went ‘missing’ fir one of the US agencies operation fast and furious. Despite leaders of some of the countries to check the weapons to serial numbers to determine if they were the ones missing from this operation, they got no definite answers. A big misconception is that drugs create gangs and gang violence. Fact is gangsters create gangs, especially gangsters who are being manipulated. Drugs are used to finance gangs. Gangs creat turf wars because their intention is to week havoc on societies and to kill. Many who sell drugs try to avoid the spotlight and avoid getting into violence and murder especially.

This statement is very prejudice, if not racially so. There are people in the US of all races who are are making five figures but quit jobs and refusing to go to work. Normal jobs paying normal salaries are no longer attractive to many people. And no, crime is not the solution because crime usually means you taking from someone who has less than you do or has more obligations and responsibilities than you do

Most of the white gangsters in this country are politically oriented. They have access to government or politicians so they don’t have to be involved in street killings. But some murders do occur at the political level. Say it ain’t so. And sometimes politicians get cut down so politically, socially or financially, they never recover. But it’s all gang warfare. Wasn’t there a recent attempt to politically assassinate Hubert Minnis and efforts still under way to keep his m out of power.

And yes, gangs in US prisons were structured around race. Blacks, Hispanics and Whites. Outside of prison white gangs are less visible but in some parts of the US at least 60 percent of gang members are white. And yes, many of them may be klan members or on the police force or members of other underground groups. And the recent attack on the US capitol and the actions in recent demonstrations across the US demonstrate how they operate.

Gangs originated in the US prison system and while they were originally formed to protect inmates who could not defend themselves, they became more violent and deadly under the Clinton administration, where experiments with different drugs were used on inmates. One such experiment was intended to turn individuals into predators. Or as Hillary Clinton called them ‘super predators.” The intent was to have these individuals charged like ‘hunting dogs’ and once they were set on a prey, they would not give up chase until they track down that individual and kill them. Gangs now operate on the same premise that if you are a member of a opposing gang, you must be hunted down and exterminated. And that is why police can often say after a shooting, they have no motive for the killing. Even know they would go even further and say ‘ the victim had no known history with the police. And now after almost four decades of these type killings, police and civil society must now find a way to dismantle the strongholds gangs have on young males. And one means may be to intervene and prevent young men from joining gangs at a school age.

No I am not Robin. I’m a keen observer. I can agree somewhat with some of what you are saying. Firstly though, you must realize that gang warfare is not natural or native to The Bahamas. Yet it represents a great portion of what is known as crime today. When most young men join gangs they do not realize they are taking out a death sentence on themselves and probably the people they hang with. Bahamians are not in the habit of living in fear for their lives and so many are caught off guard and murdered without the opportunity to defend themselves. Many young men join gangs as minor or school boys and a many are not active as gang members when they are gunned down.

Coming from you that at is a great compliment. Especially since you acknowledge there is a heaven.

So what is more risky.. a carnival or concert outdoors with all in attendance wearing masks or hundreds of strangers from all parts to f the world wandering the lobby and hallways of a hotel or gathered in a casino without masks?

Do you know that having an outdoor carnival is less risky than the rules the minister just implemented allowing persons to come from all corners and f the world and congregate in hotel lobbies and casinos without masks?