Melville CookeThe ghetto youths them homeless
Who is to be blamed
Question mark
That is their surname
Sizzla, Homeless
THERE SEEMS to be this undefined, unidentified and rather unfriendly force operating in the Jamaican society, something or somebody (or 'somebodies') called the 'dem'. Based on my interaction with other Jamaicans, as well as general discussions which I have been involved in, I know that it is also a very familiar entity (if such a vague but apparently powerful force can be so termed).
I cannot count the number of times I have heard someone complain that 'dem a gi mi a fight'. Just who is the 'dem', I would enquire in my more inexperienced days. And I would get an incredulous look and an explanation. 'De whole a dem!' Furthermore, when I think of the times when individuals have given me reports of violence, there has always been a 'dem'. 'Dem kill such and such'; 'dem rape off de girl'; 'dem tief de man cyar'.
Just who is the 'dem' is another matter entirely. Even in instances where a case goes to court and someone is convicted of a particular crime, it is still a matter of talking about 'de bwoy dem'. It has struck me that the existence of this indefinable, yet menacing, 'dem' indicates two things about society. One is that we have a deep-rooted persecution complex weighing us down, as well as this is not a very helpful society.
Taking the last point first, in the (few) cases where I have heard of where people have been assisted, it is invariably specific. They can identify who has given them help. In addition, good fortune is not ascribed to 'dem', but another force Him. As in God. Therefore, it would seem to me that there is a perception that a general 'fight down' mentality exists.
CULTURE OF SUSPICION
Which leads on to the persecution complex. I have found in too many people especially people older then my 32 years this suspicion that someone is out to get them. It is a suspicion which translates into specific enmities, but seeing that these often go back to when I was a child, there is no way of knowing what is really the root cause. What is disturbing, though, is that these older persons are often hell-bent on poisoning the next generation.
I contend that attitudes and practices are attributable to specific persons and institutions. Ascribing all the negatives to a 'dem' renders the problem insoluble. Sure, one may not know exactly who committed a particular act, but ascribing it to a 'dem' rather than a 'somebody' makes probing the matter almost redundant. After all, who can hold a 'dem' responsible for anything?
There is a curious state, though, where those who say the 'dem' are trying to 'hold me down' especially financially sometimes get to be successful. In this case, the general thing is to flip the script, now saying that those they perceive to be below are seen as 'dem waan me fall'. Hence, the persecution complex does not go with success, and that is very, very sad. It is my firm belief, though, that there is not a general effort to keep people from achieving their goals. Sure, there may be malice and envy, but not an overwhelming sense of enmity. After all, how many people know any one individual, even in this small society of ours?
When we think of others trying to block our progress, we create impediments to our own success, seeing obstacles where there are none and draining ourselves physically and emotionally fighting figments of our imagination. More than that, too; we may just create the very 'dem' we speak of by assuming enmity in everyday life and reacting where there was no provocation. In addition, without any tangible effort at impeding an individual, even dislike and rumours have no effect except the power that the target gives them by allowing the negatives to weigh them down. Many times, 'dem' is in one's mind and can thus be exorcised.
They don't want to see us unite
All they want to do is
See us killing one another
Top Ranking, Marley and The Wailers
Melville Cooke is a freelance writer.
