The Tribune

By IAN BETHEL

Research shows us each day that young males are being lost. They are being lost to car accidents, violence, crime, illness and risk taking. They are also being lost because few people take their loss seriously. While more young boys than girls are diagnosed with autism every year, autism does not apparently discriminate based on social position or ethnicity. Ironically, while the condition does not afflict more black or latino males than it does white males.

Those who are in a socioeconomic position to avail themselves of the services that will assist in limiting the impact of the condition through training and specialised attention are more likely to succeed in life than those whose parents, because of socioeconomic status, find themselves unable to access these services. The last group is less likely to do as well in their lives as those from the former group. So, while socioeconomic position and ethnicity or race do not directly lead to greater loss through autism, they do indirectly make it easier for those who are on the ‘wrong side of the tracks’ not to succeed.

On the other hand, violence, crime and under employment, do discriminate based on a young men’s social position and ethnicity. Working class or poor young black and latino males are overwhelmingly more likely to meet with one of these complications than are middle-class, white males. Perhaps we feel that living in the Bahamas removes us from what we see as a US focused appreciation of males being at risk. The verdict in the Dunn trial that was read on Saturday, 15 February 2014 revealed an unquestionable racial bias in the United States. It almost categorically stated that a young black male could be shot and killed and the perpetrator of the crime get away with it because, obviously, young black males are worth less than young white males. While this was not stated, it begged for this interpretation. This example, however, is only to underscore the problems young black and usually poor males face in the world. It is absolutely essential to underline that this fact can be seen universally.

Legal scholars are also now pointing out that young ‘minority’ (used in the US context) males are far more likely to fail because of their backgrounds. They are more likely to be unemployable or under employed because of lack of access to a good education. These scholars are also highlighting that the assumed view that women are taking over from men and empowering themselves in the place of men is not really so. Many Bahamians shout that women are disempowering young black males. In fact, women are earning less than most men are and they are being pushed into this position of apparent ‘power’ because so many males are failing out, dropping out, or dying.

As the words to the old song argue, he either in heaven or he in jail. Incidentally, despite not being in jail, many young males’ lack of potential means that even if they are not in jail, they live their lives as if they were. They cannot get jobs that pay a decent wage. They are not adequately educated for the work force. They are more easily laid off by their employers; their jobs are more often than not cash-based, which means that they are paid in cash and have no benefits nor do they contribute to insurance of retirement plans. Ultimately, when they are unemployed, they have nothing to fall back on. However, they look very good while they are employed.

The most recent paper in this line was published in 2013 in the Boston University Law Review and discussed how many people in society see black women as being the dominant figures in the family because they want to be. It took great pains to show, though, that they are in fact pushed into this position because of their connection with black males who are being made less employable and who are also more likely to fail out in life because their education and training mean that they fall into the group that loses more jobs every year. The jobs in this group are more likely to disappear because of bad economic conditions. They are also more likely to be paid less than a living wage.

Ironically, in the Bahamas, we think of this as being outside of our culture. Yet, whenever we go to the bank on a Friday afternoon we see a sea of strong, young black males waiting to cash their cheques. They may have a bank account, but that is only to pass the pay cheque through, it does not generally function as a savings account as the money does not stay in it long enough. We are talking about a group of cash-rich but resource-poor individuals who are easily cast adrift by the slightest negative change in the economy.

We, however, do not see these males as being at risk. Instead, we are quick to claim that women are taking over. They are earning more than men and they are taking all the jobs. It may look this way, but in fact, the exact opposite is happening. Women are actually losing ground as well as young black males are. Let’s look at this again: young males are more likely to be diagnosed with autism than are young girls, and if they do not have the means to pay for the required assistance to enable them to live independent lives, they will more likely be unable to participate fully in society. Young men are more likely to become victims to crime and violence or to get caught up in these. They are more likely to drop out of school and ultimately find it harder to make a living.

They are also more likely to be killed than are young women, as the Trayvon Martin and the Dunn case have just shown. How can we turn the tables on young male loss? Often, the women who are being criticised for being too dominant, are only doing what they must to survive. We really need to think about the ways we raise our youth and also the education we provide them with. The facts have shown, where a young male is brought up will overwhelmingly determine the chances he will succeed. While this is the Bahamas and not the US, the facts remain the same: a young, poor, black male is still seen to have different worth than others. We need to start challenging class and its racialised tendencies notwithstanding the perceived colour of the leadership.

• Dr. Ian Bethell-Bennett, Associate Professor in the School of English Studies at the College of the Bahamas, has written extensively on race and migration in the Bahamas, cultural creolisation and gender issues. Direct questions and comments to iabethellbennett@yahoo.co.uk.