Although an estimated 80 people braved last night's wind and rain to attend a public forum on youth violence at the Bermuda College, the youths targeted by the forum were conspicuously absent.

"If a college (in the US, UK or Canada) would have put something on at this level it would've been packed with students," noted one member of the audience speaking at the forum. "Tonight I see very little of that demographic of 18 to 25 year olds ...they've disconnected. Somebody should be on these kids' behinds saying why weren't you there?

"What's blessed us has now come back to haunt us," he said. "We've created a generation of spoilt brats.

"Kids are walking the streets after school ...Young people in Bermuda are not active anymore. The lengths we have to go to get volunteers - it's scary."

Public Safety and Home Affairs Minister and forum panellist Terry Lister agreed with the speaker. "Young people are the beneficiaries of parents' hard work which they don't appreciate," he said.

"They believe they have a right to a cell phone, right to TV with all the cable channels, a right to DVD."

It is this belief that such things are a right - and not a luxury - he said, which will perpetuate some of the problems of violence facing our community today.

Of course, the culture of consumerism was not the only cause of violence discussed at the forum. Drugs and poor family values were also discussed, as well as the lack of mentors and role models, especially for young black men - who, as one Berkeley teacher pointed out, are undeniably the main perpetrators of violence.

However all seemed to agree on one thing, as one audience member stated: "Violence is a reaction." It is the factors which cause violence that need to be examined and corrected.

"The violence problem is an indicator of other problems," said a Bermuda College sociology professor. "This is a consumerism society ...If we have a segment that feel they are being denied the opportunity to consume that will lead to frustration, they will compete in whatever ways possible."

Of all the speakers, only one young person stepped forward to ask questions - a college student who admitted he himself had been involved in violent situations.

"I challenge panellists to come up with ten activities that children are interested in," he said, to a resounding silence. "The positive people out there get bored as well ... after homework, what is there to do?"

Panellist and Champions nightclub owner Delvin Bean responded. "This Island is only so big," he said. "That still didn't make me go out start causing violence.

"It would have been easy for me, but I had a vision, a goal, a dream - something young people don't have now. Don't think we're going to be here to hand things to you - it doesn't work like that.

"It's your choice. You want something to do, come to my restaurant ...I can help you be a restaurant owner, a nightclub manager, a fisherman - but the choice is up to you."

"We don't hear that kind of thing enough," the youth told him.

"Ask," was the reply. "They will tell you."

The panellists included Commissioner of Corrections John Prescod, Commissioner of Police Jonathon Smith, Minister Terry Lister, Chamber of Commerce president Charles Gosling, Chief Justice Norma Wade Miller and Delvin Bean.

Each panellist first spent some time explaining their role in the community regarding violence before fielding questions from the audience.

Many suggestions were made to help combat violence by setting up community and family-based programmes, with some panel members taking notes on all that was said.