Continued from Page 10, Fri. Oct. 6, 2017 Issue No. 3122 of the Amandala

Graphic photos
Caught in the middle of these types of criminals are the masses who are too scared to become either type of criminal… they do not wish to engage in violence crimes nor the white collar crimes. Yet they are the masses and out-done by either type of criminals and collectively may feel emasculated to act against either group. So they have been lulled into a strange sense of complacency, hopelessness and desensitization. To the breaking news of some ongoing corruption of the white collar crime, they throw their hands up in air and say nothing will come of it, and to the street violence, they see it so much and are so bombarded with the images of the deceased laid out on the streets bloodied and lifeless, that they no longer have the shock effect. They have become de-sensitized and lack empathy and cope with it as any abused person would… by trying to ignoring it, because to acknowledge it, is to make it real.

All the masses say now is “Oh sad!… Oh Mein!… we got to pray!…. poor thing!…”and like reactions. They lack empathy, they lack resolve and have retreated into a cocoon of complacency! As a matter of fact, some can barely wait for the evening news to get their next fix of the roster of violent crimes and scurry emotionless at the names of those declared the victims or the perpetrators. They likewise await to hear the next big corrupt scandal of the government and make all sorts of comments but no actions to demand the accountability and transparency we desire as part of our good governance measures. As a collective group, socially we have been emotionally, mentally and psychologically abused and that abuse has paralyzed us from fighting off our abusers! Only a few of us remain conscious… only a few recognize the abuse… only a few are seeking to end the cycle of abuse! However, that violence we have come to tacitly accept has taken the form of Dean Barrow calling for “civil disobedience”, to GSU terrorising citizens, to the 15-year-old who walks into a barber shot and executes a fellow twice his age, to our young women fighting in the streets like street brawlers, to our elected representative being physically removed from the House!

Belize, we are an abused society, thus we are producing abusers at all levels and those who can, must seek to break the cycle. The PUP or UDP will not break said cycle, because they are beneficiaries of the abuse and are the perpetrators of the abuse! So the next time you share the picture of the corpse mangled at an accident scene or bloodied from the latest fatal shooting, remember how you too are helping to desensitize those we need to become sensitized and conscious to stop this collective abuse. The next time you stand by silently as fuel prices increase, PetroCaribe money is spent on pibil tacos, or our passports are pimped out to the highest bidder to line the pockets of the politicians, remember how you have helped to cover up the white collar crimes and corruption! This is the violence we have come to accept!