The perpetrator hit the ground, writhing on the floor. He plunged the knife into the perpetrator’s chest. They stood either side of Omar and whispered in his ears. The knife urged Omar to hurry up and use him.Ĭousin’s Hostility and Rage appeared on the scene and came to the rescue. The knife screamed at Omar and cursed him for taking so long. Bravery and Foolishness came to Omar’s aid and tried to help him, but they too started to fight with each other. The perpetrator started pushing Omar around. Omar’s heart pumped faster and faster and faster! The knife issued Omar the necessary instructions and told him exactly what to do. Omar liked that, as Conviction had given him a few handy hints on acting bad. Suddenly the knife in Omar’s pocket started to speak to him saying how wonderful things would be now they were going to be working together. The perpetrator spotted Omar, gathered his crew, and headed towards him. Omar started to feel weird, and was met Confusion, who gave Omar a reassuring pat on the back and said hi. His eyes focused on the perpetrator, who had bullied him. Omar reached the school playground and scanned around. In the distance Love watched helplessly, as Death danced, knowing he might meet Omar at any moment. Temper passed on a few brief pieces of valuable information before leaving as quickly as he’d arrived. Stupidity stayed close behind to monitor the situation to ensure Omar would complete his mission.Ī few hundred yards later Omar was joined by Temper a dangerous person eager to help him. In the distance Bravery called out, but Stupidity stepped in and beat him off. Omar turned the corner and was met by Foolishness who gave him some last minute instructions as well as introducing him to three new people Nervousness, Anxiety and Fear who all joked with him, trying hard to put him at ease. Stupidity smiled, when Omar placed a small knife in his pocket and gave Stupidity a hug before sending him on his way. Omar was now poised and ready to go into battle, when Stupidity called him back into the house, and reminded him not to leave without a weapon. It was time to stop the bullying.Īnger stood in the corner of Omar’s bedroom encouraging Omar to get even with the perpetrators and convinced him to act. Omar was alone, depressed and very angry. No one listened! no one helped! no one understood. Till Omar started to believe that he was no good. They said Omar was weak, useless, rubbish. Omar tried to defend himself, but felt powerless. With each day at school came torment, verbal abuse, and physical attacks. They wanted him to be part of the crew, the posse, the gang. They didn’t want Omar to be an individual with his own thoughts, ideas, and feelings. They wanted Omar to be a follower, a clone, the same as everyone else. He never found it a problem, but others did. Listen to the audio here and read the transcript below.

This is an insight into the inner workings of a young person who is impacted by an assault on his pride and masculinity, with the message for us, as adults, that it’s a complex issue that we should not pathologise. The age of criminal responsibility is 10 years of age, yet – as you see within the track – young men like Omar have little emotional ability to cope with extreme feelings brought on by bullying. This j-cast, another in the Lyrix from Lockdown series, explores the emotions that young men like Omar experience when faced with bullying and ongoing masculine challenges and the consequences of knife crime.

A wasted life book