We Have to Make it Safer for our Children

They are NOT growing up in a world like the ones we, of the older generation, grew up in. We were far safer then than they are now and it is our fault. Every time a child is shot dead on the street or in his home, or is killed on a speeding motor bike or a speeding car driven by an unlicensed companion, every time a teenager attempts or succeeds at committing suicide, it is our fault. We cannot blame them. "Big people" are to blame.
It is our fault.
 We watch them zoom through traffic on motorbikes without helmets as though there is no sped limit and not wearing helmets is not against the law, and no effort is made to find out where they live and bring them to heel. We just watch them zoom, or pop-wheelie in the city and say, "watch them nuh". It is our fault.
 I don't want to hear about stretched resources. How many resources do we need on an island that is not as large as Nancy Pelosi's ranch?
We are a nation of lazy people whose laid back, lack of passion attitude allows far too many things to slide, and then pretend that we are shocked and deeply hurt when our children murder each other or kill themselves. We don't need any lot of expertise to solve our problems. We just need to pay attention.
 We need more police officers like Carol.
 I watched Carol in the traffic directing vehicles on Fort Street. The school children were trying to cross without her indicating it was safe for them to do so. Carol gently, in motherly tones asked them to wait. I have watcher other officers there too, under the similar circumstances. Their faces became like Hurricane Hugo and their voices became like thunder, because adults have to learn how to demonstrate care for people. Our children do not feel that adults care. We talk to them with the same tone with which we talk to a dung-pan dog that is threatening to overturn our garbage container in front our gate, and in these days, these children are prepared to talk back to us. When they do, we back away and leave them alone.
Our generation did not have the large volume of trained and degreed teachers. We did not have the psychologists, psychiatrists  and multitude of trained guidance counselors these children see and know about today, and yet they are dying and we seem unable to do anything to halt it.No college can teach people how to be sensitive.
 I knew a little girl when I was a teacher in the education system. She had many problems at home.One could never look at her and see that her home problems were depleting her, because, I guess she was too young to know. I, out of concern, knew that she was not getting the guidance at home, asked her if she did Family Life Education at school as I thought that perhaps she would get some type of directive for her thinking in the classroom. The child responded, "Yes I do Family Life Education but the teacher does not come". I reported the matter to the authorities. I should never have had to do any such thing.
 Every time I see a young child on the street when he should be at school, or see a thirteen year old girl at a hotel with a male companion during school hours and the adults at the front desk are answering her questions. When we take up the telephone and call the authorities and they treat us as though the matter is none of our business, and so we are "too fast", and then these same young people come into our homes, shove the barrel of a gun down out esophagus and demand our money or our life, we are the ones to blame.