The UBP's worst mistake has been its handling of the young. It has virtually ceded the store to those who can't spell mortgage and don't know the meaning of responsibility. As we should have expected, the youngsters have asked for, and now demand, still greater latitude. Of course, I should not be generalizing because the clear majority of our young are as sensible, literate and law-abiding as ever.
Trouble is, the percentage on the other side is increasing.
Bad apples are spoiling more and more of the rest in the barrel. It's the two dozen or so, deeply involved in the drug culture, who are now promoting gangsterism amongst their idle and impressionable peers. Right now, the community and its economy are being steadily undermined by vicious assaults with offensive weapons and an increasing incidence of youthful murders. I believe in discipline for the young, applied fairly and evenly. Funnily enough, that's what children want too.