Conscription and the young black male
Date Posted: Friday, March 07, 2008Author: Pastor Maria Seaman
Faith
Latest Articles:
- Raising the standard of childcare
- The changes needed in our education system
- God’s word is a mirror
- Saving energy, saving the environment
- The importance of training our children
- Bermuda’s bike laws - don’t punish responsible riders
- Conscription and the young black male
- Parenting: why court isn’t the answer
- Bermuda 2008: Tourism and Hospitality
- The possibilities and pitfalls of growing up in Bermuda
Search In Depth:
I am baffled and a bit befuddled by the cry against conscription. Why is it that the more trouble we have with our young black males, the more we try to make things easier for them to be in a worse state in years to come?
Am I missing something? Is it really against human rights to have males, who are built to fight (more than females), who are physically stronger and more brutish, to be a part of the Bermuda Regiment? Are there some who are saying that we need to equally conscript females and males? Are males now completely equal in every way to females, so that they must both be equally recruited to the army?
Women conscripted to the army. This has got to be one of the scariest images I have imagined for quite a while. First of all, let us be clear in understanding that we do need a regiment. Amazing. On the one hand we want independence and yet we are just about to make it illegal to recruit males and train them to protect our borders. What will we do in times of national emergency! Let’s face it, if it becomes a matter of choice, how many males do you believe would volunteer for the regiment?
Remember, we are living in a time when the youth do not want to work, be disciplined or be told what they must do. As I drive daily, I see the faces of many black males who have no regular job. You know what? I am always open to hear what the next person is thinking, and so please share your thoughts on the following scenarios:
- Single father gets called to the regiment. (Usually no problem, because he does not have physical custody of the child.)
- Single mother gets called to the regiment. (Who will look after the child?)
- Female enters the army, unaware that she is only 3 weeks pregnant. Will the regiment have pre-birth maternity leave? Will she be excused from the army until she has the child?
- Males cannot get physically pregnant themselves, and are not hindered by being an expectant father.
- We all know that with males and females in one institution, there will be mingling. Whose financial responsibility will it be for those regiment babies, resulting from intimate contact? Can the expectant parents obtain special leave?
- Can you imagine the hormones that will be permeating the atmosphere of the regiment? Testosterone mixed with an equal portion of estrogen. This will not be a pretty picture.
- Speaking of hormones, can you imagine the hormonal activity (daily) as different females menstruate at different times? Male testosterone only adds to their “maleness” (we hope and pray).
- Not all females can handle the physical labour, which is required of a soldier. Will the restrictions be relaxed so that females can “make the grade”?
- Will the females have to cut off their extensions, do away with their weaves and remove all other forms of additives, for the two to three years of army life? Males just have their hair cut off.
- What if the number of females increases, as they become competitive and professional soldiers? Once again, our males will be left behind (as they are in the workplace - especially white-collar jobs like in the exempt companies).
You know what, Bermuda? I was thinking that with all of the delinquent sons out there, there should be a group of mothers who are praying that their sons are called up to the army. Perhaps the army for many can become the last resort; the final opportunity for them to gain the needed discipline to make something out of their lives.
Finally, for all of the complaining, I have never seen the girlfriends and relatives of the troops anything but proud of their guys, when they see them during the exhibition of their learned skills. Yes, they were trained, they learned and then they demonstrated what they had learned.
Let the males be the man that they can be, and let’s not legalize another way to teach them how to avoid structure, just so that we can say that they have a legal right not to be in the army. Bermuda, the greatest challenge we have, is the freedom we have been given. We must be sure that our freedom does not cause us to be so free that we choose to be enslaved once again.