The Editor, Sir;

This letter is in response to the article entitled 'Youth for army - mandatory service proposed for 18-year-olds', published on Monday, October 8. Not to say there is no merit to this intriguing position taken by Pastor Glen Samuels, but it does not get to the core problem. In fact, it most likely will increase criminal skills.

Independent Jamaica tried the mandatory national youth service in the 1970s and that failed. The colonial racists tried similar approaches, including closing institutions that taught black males. And that too failed. However, we have institutionalised their plans to marginalise the black man and have succeeded in creating social breakdown. When will we stop trying to fix the symptoms and deal directly with the source of the problem?

The problem is that independent Jamaica has systematically discriminated against males since the 1970s. Not only did the socialists surreptitiously mandate a 60:40 hiring rate in favour of females, they also significantly increased the number of academic seats in public institutions thus creating a vast disproportion in favour of females, despite the fact that there are many more males than females among the youth and adult population.

The result of our racist-sexist policies, is that there is a large proportion of uneducated males struggling and scraping to make a living to maintain their families and themselves. Some of this includes 'little boys' who (1) transport goods via handmade pushcarts in the markets, (2) sell small commodities and clean car windscreens at intersections, and (3) remove and dump our refuse as sidemen on dump trucks. Also, do not forget the enterprising young men, who were bus cashiers, that we terminated.

As an unexpected consequence of our racist-sexist policies, many of these young men have (1) given up, (2) sough sources of income [legal or not], or (3) escaped the island or themselves. Mary Wollstonecraft, an acclaimed suffragette, argued for female equality and showed the benefits of educating and employing the neglected other half of the population. Our reverse Oedipal complex leaders have chosen to marginalise their sons, the majority of our population!

Dismal patterns

When you study the education, employment, and criminal statistics of black America, you will find the same patterns in Jamaica. These dismal patterns do not exist for Asian, Hispanic, or white people in America or any other country for that matter. Why is this?

Jamaica has unwittingly institutionalised racism-sexism under the guise of social equity for females only. Jamaica is already seeing men being dependent on women for not only luxuries, but also sustenance, just like in black America.

While the U.S. can contain an imbalance within a minority group - by building more privately owned prisons - Jamaica does not have that capacity. Therefore, we need to correct these racist-sexist imbalances before more social harm develops. The solution starts with the educational system. We must equalise the opportunity to obtain an education and increase this such that all our children will be educated.

I am, etc.,

RICHARD G. WILLIAMS

rgwilliams007@msn.com