Back in the early 1990s a friend and I had a discussion about kidnapping, which was even then rife in South America though not yet a problem in Trinidad. How was it, we wondered, that murder was so prevalent in Jamaica and yet abduction for ransom was so rare?

He posited that a kind of social contract had developed between the powers that be and inner city ‘dons’. Let them alone to ‘run’ their areas, and the dons will prevent the unruly elements from fomenting social chaos. The dons realize abducting the well off would disturb the delicate balance, and so discourage it. Which is why the occasional kidnappers here are usually quickly apprehended. It’s a plausible but unproveable theory.

This ‘dons as social control mechanism’ concept came to mind again when I saw Lloyd B. Smith’s recent article “Debacle of the dons” and Victor Wong’s reply “That column about drug dons”.

Mr. Smith’s says that “… the drug dons… have been doing… positive and productive things. The recent and ongoing clamp down on these alleged drug kingpins has been having an adverse effect on the socio-economic landscape… with the disappearance of the drug dons… there will be the need to replace their spheres of influence and contribution with men and women of goodwill. Failure to do so will only lead to an even greater level of social unrest and decay. Those who now feel reasonably safe in their ivory towers had better realise that when the drug dons are no more, then they are likely to become targets not only of resentment but exploitation, harassment and, ultimately, annihilation.””

To this Mr. Wong replies “Drug lords sell drugs. Drugs cause addiction. Addiction causes a massive drain on the health-care system costing millions of dollars. Addicts, in order to support their habit, may also go into prostitution, or steal or commit other crimes. This causes a massive drain on our security system, again costing millions of dollars in terms of policing, the judicial system and ultimately incarceration.”

Now both gentlemen make very salient points. Mr. Smith is right that many drug dons have acted as benevolent "godfathers" to their communities. But Mr. Wong is also right that the source of this largesse is a destructive force. The big question of course is why there should be any need at all for the ‘services’ dons provide.

Last month Omar Davis declared that “There is a whole cohort of persons, roughly between the ages of 18 and 30, who have ostensibly passed through the education system, but who are not equipped to be productive members of the labour force. That cohort has the potential to destroy any progress being made by the rest of society and hence cannot be ignored”.

You can see these unemployable and often functionally illiterate cohorts hanging around any town centre. It’s difficult to say exactly what the root of this problem is. Have they been failed by society, or have they rejected the opportunities of education offered to them? At any rate their problem is everyone’s problem. For these young men who often seem to place little value on their lives or anyone else’s, are the main reason why Jamaica has one of the highest murder rates in the world.

Physically fearless and often having no other job options, they constitute the bulk of the dons’ footsoldiers. Theirs is a world where might is right and the ultimate arbiter is usually the gun.

Suffice it to say that any society which depends on dons to keep order is riding a tiger - and how do you dismount without getting eaten?

While discussing dons Mr. Smith also touches on race - “Apart from a few among them, the Chinese, Indians… have not got overly involved in the development of their respective communities… The degree of selfishness and deliberate shunning of getting meaningfully involved in the lives of the people from whom they garner their wealth will one day backfire on them in the worst way.”

Mr. Wong’s response is “As a Chinese-Jamaican, let me be the first to apologise that I have not contributed to our western football team. You see, as owner of several businesses, I was too busy paying my not inconsiderable business taxes, realty taxes and personal taxes. Those taxes go to the government which distributes the taxes as it sees fit to build roads, schools and other necessities… I [also] do volunteer work and a portion of my profits… goes into AIDS charities.”

Mr. Smith’s charge that “The Chinese commercial sector for instance has contributed very little” may be drawn with too broad a brush. But it is not completely inaccurate. There are many good corporate citizens like Mr. Wong – I try to be one myself - who pay their fair share of taxes and contribute to charities. But there are many successful businessmen, of all races, who do not.

Take for instance the overseas Chinese who have come here over the past decade or so. They usually speak minimal English and have very little non-business interaction with persons outside their background. They generally operate strictly on a cash basis and rarely seem to have any official documentation such as TRN or GCT numbers. Not surprisingly they are widely perceived to be paying little or no taxes at all, and are certainly not noted for charitable generosity.

Now whatever my appearance I am Jamaican born and bred and consider myself fully dedicated to this country. Personally I resent those, no matter what their ethnic background, who seem to have no interest in this country other than making as much money as quickly as they can and then moving on. I am astonished that the government lets such commercial rapists operate at will. Worse, from my self-interested point of view, is that they are giving everyone who looks like them a bad name.

In his book ‘Migrations and Cultures’ Thomas Sewell points out that ‘middleman minorities’ often become scapegoat victims of violence in times of economic hardship. Hence Mr. Smith’s warning

And if such a time comes, the disaffected are not going to distinguish between responsible businessmen like Mr. Wong and the many unscrupulous take-and give-back-nothings who superficially resemble him. changkob@hotmail.com