by Dr Neals J Chitan
On Thursday, 9 May 2024 I joined the St Mark’s Secondary School, the Victoria Police Station and community members in an anti-violence march on the streets of Victoria!
With drums rolling, placards waving and slogans shouting, we were led by the energetic Principal Caris Degannes and RGPF Inspector Nicholas as we made a public statement against the upsurge in gun violence facing our nation and challenging our loving peaceful reputation.
As the featured speaker, I passionately joined the voices of concerned citizens appealing to the feuding elements in our communities to put down the guns and stop the killing of each other. However, my target audience were the young men who had joined us along the way and was now standing listening to me as I painted the solemn picture of pain, grief, trauma, loss and revenge that accompany these episodes of violence.
My presentation afterwards became the catalyst of very animated curbside discussion, and a gentleman decided to offer his opinion as to how best control the shootings. His suggestion was “let’s arm the whole nation with guns, ‘cause when you know I am armed and ready, you would think twice before pulling at me.”
I must confess, as a Crime Reduction Consultant, this so-called crime reduction solution of arming the masses as a deterrent has never crossed my mind, but I must say I was definitely intrigued by the thought of mass arming, only with a change of weaponry though. You see, being the owner and designer of “Project STOP ‘n’ THINK” — a social skill arsenal engineered to equip people (with emphasis on males) with social concepts and tools to live more law-abiding, respectful and successful lives. I thought to myself, it would indeed be great to arm the whole nation with these instead.
Because of my strong conviction in this kind of mass arming, I have recently proposed to the Ministry of Social and Community Development, Housing and Gender Affairs, a powerful plan to roll out “Project STOP ‘n’ THINK” (PSAT) within 7 communities across Grenada simultaneously. Our PSAT team is ready and looking forward to launching soon as we equip our people with tools for better nation building.
So yes sir! I join you in recommending mass arming of our nation! However, instead of arming with guns and weapons to create fear, let’s arm them with respect, empathy and love to combat, anger, disrespect, aggression, revenge and the trauma and pain of emotional hurt.
Dr Neals Chitan is an International Social Skill Consultant and Crime Reduction Specialist who holds a PhD in Social and Behavioural Sciences and currently works in Grenada. He is the President/Founder of Motiv-8 For Change International a Toronto-based Social Skill Agency and can be reached from North America at 647-692-6330 and locally 473-416-8377 or at [email protected]
Desperate measures are urgently needed to stem this upsurge in Gun violence I support a national effort.