Paul H. Williams, Gleaner Writer

December 2007 - seven years into the new millennium - and many Jamaican men have ceased to be the backbone of the society. They have scattered to every nook and cranny on this 'rock', playing second fiddle to all and sundry.

It would seem that they have lost their way, and are not marginalised as some would explain. But, all is not lost, as there are many positive and progressive male images around. Yet, they are overshadowed by too many shortcomings.

Integral to the decline is that too many Jamaican men no longer see the need to attain not even basic, much less tertiary education. Nonchalance has hurled them towards hustling and get-rich-quick scams and schemes. Some will tell you that the financial plights of university graduates is no motivator, and that they 'affi eat a food'. The recipe for survival in their minds, therefore, is not in a bag of books.

So, the all-girls schools continue to outpace the all-boys; the girls are getting the scholarships; significantly more females are enrolled in our colleges and universities than males and they are leaving with better grades. Then, many men who are turning up at the Ministry of Labour seeking overseas employment are either semi-literate or illiterate.

In many businesses and corporate entities, the women are getting the managerial and supervisory jobs, because lassitude has caused the men to surrender the mantle of leadership. More women are turning up at construction sites, and look at the present female/male ratio of station attendants. And, who will farm the land? "No! No! Not I!" says he, and off to the salon he goes.

Noble professions

"My son, the doctor" and "my son, the lawyer" are phrases you seldom hear nowadays, as the prestige that once went with these noble professions means nothing to some men, whose social standing in their own little corner can be attained without academic proficiency. The male classroom teacher, too, is a rarity, and while men still dominate the leadership roles in churches, there is only a sprinkling of men in the congregations. Where have all the young men gone? To graveyards? Everyone?

Well, they are overrunning the prisons. Some of the free ones are toting guns of every size, model and brand. Their blood is washing the streets of this fair land. A recent Gleaner (Monday, December 10) front-page photo, captioned, "A Montego Bay resident tries to clean up a pool of blood along busy King Street, after Rohan Graham, 25, of 6 Albion Lane, had his neck severed on July 28", is a poignant reminder of the sanguinity in which the young men of some communities are existing. Their fathers have long gone, and now they have sown the seed of enmity between their brothers, whose blood their sisters shall wash away, tomorrow, from the streets.

And talking about fathers. Recently, The Sunday Gleaner featured an article about the increasing number of men who were declared by DNA tests not to be the fathers of children they thought belonged to them. How did this happen? Why are they accepting offspring that are not theirs? Is it that they are not keeping track of their exploits, so as to say outright, "No, no, it's not mine!" when 'jackets' of various colours and race are thrust upon them? They are not effectively managing the distribution of their DNA. Thus, they are increasingly becoming embroiled in paternity predicaments, some of which have caused them great embarrassment and financial loss.

Face bleaching

In this July 2007 photo, a Montego Bay resident tries to clean up a pool of blood along the busy King Street, after Rohan Graham, 25, of 6 Albion Lane, had his neck severed on July 28. The security forces have struggled to cut crime in St. James. - Noel Thompson/Freelance Photographer

But the most disturbing development among the male population is the prevalence of inner-city youth bleaching their faces. Some even go around with their faces daubed with the caustic substances they use. Locked in an identity crisis, they cannot determine whether they want to be black or white. Some of them claim they are forced to dilute because "de girl dem like pretty man". So the symbol of modern-day male beauty is pale, dead-looking skin replete with red blotches. Where has all the black pride gone? Why are our black brothers beset by the cancer of self-hatred? For in their heart, black is no longer beautiful. Marcus Garvey, where are you?

And isn't it that the Jamaican man is naturally unambitious, indolent and worthless. Something has changed our outlook on life and our attitude towards empowerment and love of nation and self. But what is it? What has caused us to all but give up, and how do we challenge it and expunge it from our collective psyche? We need to regain the zeal and zest bequeathed to us by our slave ancestors. They fought the wars of freedom, and left us to keep the flames of advancement alive, but we have dropped the torch, and have surrendered to the trappings and pressures of modern society.

The Jamaican man's story is a long one with many textures, twists and turns, and in the tapestry of history so far, we have woven threads of great achievements. Now, there is a lull in the continuum. We are on the verge of breaking the chain, and we cannot afford to. We owe it to ourselves and our sons, because our story is their story, and when his story is told, the Jamaican man must not be characterised as the vanquished who buckled under the vicissitudes of life. The women have not; so why should we?

paul.williams@gleanerjm.com