Facebook has been full of news of shootings and gang activity again this week.
The latest shootings left a 16- and 20-year-old in Hanover Park and Lotus River dead.
Young lives barely lived.
But words are no longer enough and there’s a sense of determination and action in the air. We must just make sure that it is the right action.
This prompted me to ask this question to parents of young boys: “What are you doing today, to ensure your precious little angel doesn’t grow up to become a gun-toting gangster tomorrow?”
The idea wasn’t necessarily to get responses and shares, but rather to give pause for thought and reflection.
Gangsterism on the Cape Flats is a generational thing.
I’m no social psychologist, but I am pretty sure kids who are raised in homes of skollies, are more at risk of themselves becoming gangsters one day, than kids who are not.
It makes sense.
But I reckon children who are not raised responsibly, with absent parents and no positive role models, face the same risk.
While gangsterism has always been glamourised, now it is being normalised, which makes it even more accessible to our youth.
And without the right guidance, the temptation of being armed and feared, and having coveted material belongings, are irresistible.
But now I think other children, even the ones from relatively good households are also at risk.
The global economy is in a terrible state; our youth unemployment is the highest it’s yet been and decent opportunities are few and far between.
And that means all youngsters on the Cape Flats are at risk of being recruited, or willingly joining gangs, or at least becoming involved in the underworld.
It can be very disheartening when you’re a hard-working kid who did well at school and managed to go to varsity, only to find there’s no place for you in the economy.
These are all real and harsh realities we cannot disregard.
And that is why I asked the question.
Teaching our kids resilience and persistence has become even more key in the current economy.
But also, understanding what new challenges they are facing in an ever-changing and fast-paced world will allow us to guide them more accurately.
I have previously encouraged all the good men of the Cape Flats to stand up and to take responsibility for those youngsters whose fathers are absent, or who are hungry for the right sort of attention.
And I think that sort of thinking is even more relevant now.
It’s not an easy thing to do and will require more than just a little effort.
But I don’t think we are going to solve our socio-economic problems right now or through protests.
It’s going to be a long journey and hard work, the fruits of which may only be reaped by the next generation.
But I think it’s worth it.
Taking a teenage boy under your wing and showing him all the options that’s open to him, could just save his life and save society from an adult him.