I feel sad whenever I see the traffic police stopping a group of young men for questioning. Looking confused and terrified, these young people are usually stopped not because they have committed a crime but because, in the eyes of the police, being young is enough cause for suspicion.
Youth is a curse that could land you trouble wherever you go. I do not question the role of the police in making our streets safe but it is too bad to see these young men being subjected to what is so often baseless charges and thoughtless treatment.
Our young men find themselves on the defensive, viewed as irresponsible and disrespectful of local customs and traditions. Wherever they go, they are met with “For Families Only” signs.
This in effect tells them they are unwanted, that their presence is not welcome because it will bring disrepute on the place and that they cannot be trusted because they are evil and show no respect for others. Such negative messages influence our young men, and the way they view society. The hostile looks they receive from society lead them to behave in a hostile fashion.
Why not open public places for young men in order to integrate them more fully into society? This would allow the promotion of virtue and instill values that many may lack. They would learn to respect others, to treat the old and the young with consideration and to carefully select their words when addressing others and when talking to each other.
They are our children and the children of our neighbors and friends. Treating them with respect and kindness will make them feel that society cares about them. I have never seen or heard of a society that shuns, and even ostracizes, its young men the way that we do. They need some space to move about in and experience others encouraging them and making them feel they are of use to society. Instead of asking what these young men have done to society, we should ask ourselves what society has done to them.
16 October 2002
