After the murder of 14 year old Jaden Moodie in East London, debates about knife crime and its causes have kicked off again.
“Half of black children do not live with their father. And we wonder why they’re dying,” declared controversial columnist Rod Liddle in the Sunday Times. Liddle wondered why the 14 year old was out late at night and why he was showing off “gangsta moves” in videos and photos. He maintained that the absence of fathers and strong male figures in their lives is what mainly leads young boys to join gangs and become involved in violent crime.
This position was swiftly refuted by others such as journalist and author Afua Hirsch. In the Guardian, Hirsch insisted that other factors affecting black communities such as poverty, psychological problems and bad experiences in school, do more to drive violent crime than absentee fathers. Hirsch also stated that slavery and its legacy had caused some families to become dysfunctional, although educationalist Tony Sewell added that the past record of slavery cannot be used to excuse what happens today.
Knife crime is a serious problem in London, perhaps especially East London, and everyone should learn about the issue and become involved in the surrounding discussion, even if you are not caught up in it directly. As part of this debate, the question of young boys in black communities and their involvement in gang-related violent crime, must be addressed. Not that this is as easily done as Rod Liddle makes out; on the other hand we should not entirely rule out the idea that children of whatever ethnicity without a father figure in their lives, may look to the gang as a source of authority, even as a kind of masculine community.
In any case everyone is different and children react differently to what life offers them. Sometimes an absent father is replaced by another male figure in the family. Other times the mother can have an important role in the child’s life precisely to fill the void caused by that absence.
To re-iterate Hirsch’s point, knife crime and violent behaviour don’t always derive from absent fathers. There are factors in a young boy’s life that can trigger those actions way more than the lack of a male role model. For example, an investigation by the Times showed 9,000 troubled students were transferred to specialist schools and that boys in these schools were repeatedly recruited by gangs. Also, being chosen at an early age makes it easier for a gang to shape the child and to convince him to participate in acts of violence.
Although my opinion is that absent fathers are not the main reason why young boys commit crimes, I understand why certain people think so. Overall, however, the onus is on us to understand why committing an act of violence becomes the only way for these youths to win respect – in their own eyes and in each other’s.
If we can work out why this is so, surely we will be better qualified to stop the terrible violence that ensues.
