An interesting development. This article reveals that Kalvin Small, the 28yr-old brother of gunned-down Jordan MANNERS who was a Grade 9 student at C. W. Jefferies High School in Toronto and was only 15-yrs old when murdered in May 2007 - was arrested and charged following a shooting Sunday night in the Jane-Finch district in the city's north end.
This was the case that sparked a desperate soul-searching report on Racial Discrimination in Toronto Schools by the McGinty Government last year. I was less than impressed by the coverage and conclusions as it provides little of substance and followed a threadbare "Poverty" is the crime script.
However, as far as I know (and appropriately) no mention of Jordan MANNERS was ever made in that report yet this news item raises some interesting questions about 1) the family situation that he was in - i.e multiple marital partnerships of his mother and perhaps an "absent father" or father figure. We know that such circumstances pre-dispose children to poor outcomes across a wide spectrum of social disorders; 2) Older brother perhaps involved in crime, may have connections to Jordan's eventual demise. Was he mistaken for his brother? Was he involved in drug crime in some minor way? 3) His mother, cousin and sister were also parties to some violent incidents themselves - which may be pure coincidence - or may provide a more sinister motive to this families dysfunctions.
These were not issues explored in the McGinty report - maybe they should have been.
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