examines the "plight of black males''. While arguments about the cause and effects of problems afflicting black males abound, John Burchall questions whether the stereotype itself is part of "the problem''.

They are petulant, preoccupied and obsessed with profiling.

But their existence elicits a plain and simple fear in some corners of Bermudian society that is so overwhelming and elemental as to border on paranoia.

Walk along any street in the West or East Ends of these Islands and you are almost guaranteed to find individuals who go out of their way not to cross the path or meet the gaze of groups of young black males who congregate on street corners or populate walls and fences.

There is a palpable feeling of tension in many neighbourhoods as residents endure the constant sound of roaring motorcycle engines, loud music and abrasive chatter that can go on well into the night every night.

Teenage cockiness? Maybe. However there is a burgeoning dis-ease among many in the population that Bermuda's young black males -- a subset of the 16,945 black males in the entire population -- present the biggest threat to Bermuda's commercially driven way of life.

And in some ways those who hold these sentiments are right. Open a copy of The Royal Gazette and turn to the Bermuda Shorts section and you are guaranteed to find a story cataloguing the felonious actions of some young black man.

In Magistrates' Court, one is certain to find these young defendants sporting oversized baggy jeans and a North American affected pimp roll that substitutes for the normal gait most are used to seeing.

They stand before the bench with smooth jaw lines and clean arteries ready to defend themselves against "the system''.

Day after day they predictably wind their way through the judicial system, most of the time without a hiccup.

Depending on who one talks to, the reasons for the plight of the young black male is simple or complex. It is blamed on social circumstances, exterior pressures or individual failings such as poor choices, selfishness and greed.

Some go further and proffer a mixture of both schools of thought.

Regardless of who provides the diagnosis, the same litany of reasons is sure to surface. Complaints range from the lack of parental supervision and care in the home to a defective educational system. Others point to the dearth of positive black role models and programmes that build self-esteem and self-confidence.

While politicians argue and sociologists collect data, Bermuda's young black men continue to be misunderstood and maligned.

The rhetoric of blame rages on in our political culture of finger pointing, blame-shifting and ducking which churns on with the inevitability of night turning into day.

But is the reputation that Bermuda's young black men have garnered always justified? It is easy enough to point to the growing numbers of black men with college educations, white collar jobs and good incomes and draw the conclusion that the picture so far painted is one that is unnecessarily bleak.

However a little probing reveals that for those who lack the trappings of their college educated middle class peers, negative perceptions are harder to shake.

As an example, a front page Mid Ocean News article published on December 8, 1995 gave a particularly disturbing account of a group of youths who call themselves the "White Wall Crew''.

The article was based on a confidential memo that the Police have previously denied existed. At the top of the one-paged circular is a copy of a White Wall Crew ghetto pass.

Near the bottom of the memo a Police detective writes that the pass is carried by White Wall Gang members who range in age between 13 and 18 years of age. He claims that they number about 70 or more strong and are "apparently well organised and do robberies as an initiation and also for promotion within the ranks''.

The circular also claims that White Wall Gang members also deal in narcotics and carry passes whose colours are determined by the seriousness of the crime they have committed.

"The colours we have so far are gold, blue and green,'' the memo reads and officers are told to confiscate the pass if they find them on anyone they arrest.

Information the memo said is to be forwarded to the Criminal Investigations Department where a file has been started on the "gang''.

All seemingly routine Police work but the message is frightening if it is in fact true.

As a result of the Police investigation, several youths from the Curving Avenue, Smith Hill and Fenton's Drive areas of Pembroke had their passes taken earlier this year and were subjected to a barrage of questions about the colour scheme on the card.

They were asked what criminal acts they had committed to earn the card and what the system of promotion was in the gang.

But on what basis were these questions posed? A Royal Gazette investigation revealed a different picture.

The White Wall ghetto passes, it turns out, have a far more innocuous function than the Police allege.

In the summer of 1994 Sandra (not her real name) was watching a music video on Black Entertainment Television that featured well-known American rapper Ice Cube.

He was singing a song with MC Hammer called "Be true to your game''. In the song, Ice Cube warns listeners to be true to their communities and help to build them up, especially after they themselves attain material success.

Failure to do so, he warned, would cause community members to revoke their "ghetto pass'', meaning the individual would be shunned by his peers.

Sandra said she got the idea for the pass from this video and she made one up just for herself on a computer.

Later that year she got a request from a friend who lives on Fenton's Drive for passes so that holders could get into a birthday party she was hosting.

Anyone with a White Wall or Ghetto Diamonds pass would be admitted for free.

Throughout the entire Christmas period (1994) Sandra said the passes were used by people from Fenton's Drive, Curving Avenue and Middletown to gain entry to parties held at Captain's Lounge, house parties and baby christenings.

Sandra said that if someone misbehaved at one of these parties then their "ghetto pass was revoked'' and they were asked to leave.

"It was just a fun thing,'' she explained. "Something different. Guys are not the only ones who carry White Wall or Ghetto Diamond passes. Girls have them too.

"It was just a clique thing. If you lived in the neighbourhood you had one.

"Kids as young as one and two years old carry the passes as well.'' Soon Sandra said the word got out and she received requests for passes from other groups of guys such was the Frontline crew (Court Street), Top of the Hill (Roberts Avenue) and Happy Valley and Deep Dale areas.

However, starting in February, Police stopped one man from Fenton's Drive and took his pass. Soon several other young men from the Smith Hill and Fenton's Drive area were being stopped by Police and their passes were taken.

At the Police Station they were interrogated about the significance of the passes' colour scheme and how promotions were earned in the White Wall Gang.

One White Wall member who did not want to be identified said the negative media spotlight on the Fenton's Drive area was to blame for the Police's focus on the area.

"All of the bad things that were happening were committed by people who claimed to be members of White Wall when they did not even live in the area.

"They just wanted to be a part of the hype and wanted to feel self important.'' Sandra said the Police's decision to seize passes was uncalled for because there was no malevolent intent behind them.

"They are looking for a scapegoat. They can't control the crime problems that they have. Instead of looking within themselves they want to pin it on us.'' Sandra said the passes were of different colours because those were the materials she chose. When she ran out of one colour she would buy a different colour and use it instead.

In all she said the passes were made using gold, green, blue, red, silver and purple because those were what she had to work with.

When contacted by The Royal Gazette the official Police response was a decidedly terse "no comment.'' Black males But the issue raises important and fundamental questions. If the passes were really harmless how did the Police conclude that youth from Fenton's Drive engaged in criminal activity to earn promotions in the White Wall Gang? Was this information the result of thorough detective work or a case of stereotyping the young people from an entire neighbourhood because of the actions of a few within and without that neighbourhood? What effect will the arresting and questioning of young black men from this Pembroke neighbourhood have on their attitude to Police in the future? Whatever the real reasons for the seizure of the passes turns out to be, it appears the Police have been quick to prejudge the issue based on preconceived notions about back-of-town youth.

Would the same approach have been used if the youth were white and resided in Paget or Smith's? It appears that the Police view is in keeping with the broader society that expects negativity from young black men from back-of-town.

Consequently that Mid Ocean News article was probably read by many without a second glance because it confirms widely held views about that part of town.

And it is here that institutionalised racism does the greatest damage and supports the continued growth of an ever widening gap between the Police, so called polite society and some young black males.

In affluent Bermuda with the ease of access to American television, it is easy to read into the behaviours of local young blacks assumptions more appropriate to their overseas peers.

Add to that the colourful hip-hop inspired fashions and mannerisms that many young blacks copy from television and trips overseas and the stereotyping formula is complete.

But we would do well to look beyond the surface and resist the temptation to label all our young black men as "trouble'' simply because their nocturnal rituals, gestures and deeds are not understood.

Ultimately, Bermuda's salvation depends on achieving a high degree of consent among a wide range of groups within Bermuda's population if the problems of crime and drugs are to be effectively countered.

That's a hard enough task in itself without the confusion that stereotyping brings.

GHETTO PASS -- Police worried that the so-called White Wall ghetto pass was granted to members of the "gang'' based on the severity of the crimes they had committed, but the creator of the passes claims they were made up for fun.