Scapegoating A Yardie
BlackMan
A native or inhabitant of "Yard" as the caribbean island of Jamaica is known
locally.
However, if you look in any English dictionary for the word Yardie and the
definition you will see is this:
member of an international gang of Jamaican criminals who sell drugs and
violence. check it yourself at
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=Yardie
When the British Metropolitan Police launched Operation Trident a couple
years ago, it was billed as targetting "Yardie" gangsters. Their perception
of a Yardie is of string-vest-wearing, gold-toothed, dancehall-loving
criminals,
supposedly gun-running on the streets of Britain. That is a myth. But fired
by a high profile campaign Operation Trident captured mainstream media's
attention and brought the issue of street crime to national prominence.
The reality which has now been accepted by even The Met is that most of the
criminals they were chasing were, in fact, born British and many of them not
black at all, never mind Jamaican.
The gathered evidence just did not support the Met's theory of there being a
Yardie culture. What happened next was that Operation Trident had to be
refocused, if not just to save face but also to target some other urban
social enemy. That soldier was identified as Black-on-Black crime "and once
again the campaign against inner-city gun crime has gone sadly awry," writes
author Vanessa Walters. "Instead of spending government money on
motivational workshops and career guidance, or even on a campaign teaching
teenagers about the practical dangers of such a lifestyle, the precious
airtime and poster space has been filled by entertainers of dubious
character."
Another reality is that British people are uncomfortable with discussing the
real reasons why gun crime is rising within the black community. One of
these reasons is
education, or rather lack of it. "A decent education helps young people form
positive self-perceptions and aspirations," says Walters. "It also makes
them feel part of society."
Latest government statistics show that young Afro-Caribbean men in this
country are more likely to be excluded from school and get poorer grades
than any other ethnic group. Is it any wonder they emerge from the school
system feeling disenfranchised, on the outside looking in? Voice columnist
Tony Sewell blames a gangster rap culture; others blame the parents, but
what about the teachers? Teachers too often give up on black kids, resigned
to them leaving school with nothing."
For those interested in the rest you can pick it up at
http://www.blackmag.co.uk/content/comments.php?id=P91_0_1_0_C.
Alternatively you can read Vanessa Walters' article in The Guardian at
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1026112,00.html
Anyone care to share their view on the subject?
Blackman
Founder of Black taking life and saying it loud and proud at
http://www.blackmag.co.uk
Bertel Lund Hansen
>Anyone care to share their view on the subject?
Yes. I'm grateful that I have learned a new word today. Thanks.
--
Bertel
http://bertel.lundhansen.dk/ FIDUSO: http://fiduso.dk/
Bent Jensen
> BlackMan skrev:
>
> >Anyone care to share their view on the subject?
> Yes. I'm grateful that I have learned a new word today. Thanks.
Du *er* vist ved at blive gammel. Du lærte ordet "Yardie" for
halvanden måned siden, den 14 juni 2003, fra en post af samme dato.
Bent