Jamaica Observer publishes Blake’s commentary on culture and violence in Jamaica

Blake, an associate professor in the Department of Political Science & Policy Studies shares his research and analysis on violence in the Jamaica Observer newspaper. The article is entitled, Gangster's Paradise? Culture and the cost of violence in Jamaica. The article explores how a sub-culture of violence is gripping parts of the island triggering annual increases in gun crimes and homicides.

Blake, an associate professor in the Department of Political Science & Policy Studies, has shared his research and analysis on violence in a column recently published by the Jamaica Observer newspaper.

Damion Blake, associate professor in political science

The article, “Gangster’s Paradise? Culture and the cost of violence in Jamaica,” explores how a sub-culture of violence is gripping parts of the island triggering annual increases in gun crimes and homicides.

“Jamaica has a subculture of violence, one which is feeding destructive behavioural patterns of rampant murders, shootings, gun crimes, and acts of human destruction,” Blake writes in the column. “The mainstream culture is now being overtaken by an insidious set of mores and values that glorify and provides succour to violence. This subculture disfigures the Jamaican society, and if we continue to leave it unchecked, I fear it will rip the country apart.”

The full article can be found in the Jamaica Observer.