I hope y’all had the good fortune to enjoy the beautiful starry sky last night.
Today finds me in a reflective mood.
Yesterday morning my grandfather died.
He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2005 and spent the past 7 years living the kind of life that comes with that diagnosis; an operation, numerous doctors’ visits, prescription medications by the bucketful, tests upon tests, pain, and discomfort. Through it all he maintained lucidity, humour and an inner strength that was representative of his character. I hold him up as one of the most influential male figures in my life, my role model for kindness, compassion, integrity, masculinity and responsibility. The memory of his fine example will play on in my mind’s eye for the rest of my life. He will be missed.
Now my view on death may seem a little different or it may not. However, my spiritual understanding sees death as another beginning, a birth, if you will, in another reality. Without getting too deeply into this, I choose to view this experience similarly to a loved one getting an opportunity to explore a new life, new adventures elsewhere. While I may be deeply touched that they are leaving, and I won’t have the opportunity to share physical experiences with them anymore, I celebrate their opportunity for development..The initial part of closure is accepting the reality and letting go. My belief system allows me almost immediate closure. I have but one hesitation about his life, and that is, I know that he could have had more peace, understanding and acceptance at the end of his life.
This perspective is fitting at this time, this season.
The Awakening
A season that represents growth and change, Christmas being a metaphor for the change of era from darkness to light and New Years, the opportunity for beginning anew. Some say Christmas is for the kids, some say for charity, some say food, some might say parties, others, the change in their daily routine. This is a time where if we are sensitive enough we can feel the change of energy in the air, a feeling of togetherness, of gratitude, of exuberance. Modern consumerism however, has turned this energy into frantic confusion.
This is exactly how we focus the energy of our lives, we have an opportunity to pour our energies into becoming spiritually evolved, emotionally developed, creative, and healthy individuals but instead we focus our precious energy into maintaining the artificial construct of modern society that we call REAL life. A life driven by the many self imposed obligations that restrict our time from advancing our health and seeking peace and solace within our hearts and minds.
Rent and mortgage payments, car payments, utility bills, politics, clothes, TV, doctors, hospitals, medication. We start at kindergarten, then primary school, high school, university, professional life, retirement, driven by fear of inadequacy, we rush around until we can’t anymore, never really realizing until the very end how painfully short it all really is…and how much we are so invested in this fleeting time.
Our schedule of distractions have been set up for us from before birth, a pattern which we follow so blindly even if our life is falling apart. A paradigm that instills anxiety, dissatisfaction, sadness, disconnection, anger, resentment and fear in each of us. Have you ever asked yourself, what’s the purpose of this life? And then struggled to really find the answer. Some call it navel gazing, usually a negative connotation to support apathy but I call it seeking self knowledge, seeking reality, trying to improve…
So why is it so stylish, to live an “unconscious” life, an existence where you go with the flow of a structure that leaves the majority of people on the planet unhappy. A life where you leave OTHERS to be responsible for the answers of YOUR reality. The roadblocks preventing us from achieving true happiness are all around us supporting the negative impressions of our unconscious mind. This yuletide season brings with it the opportunity to reflect, Christmas represents the birth of Christ, the birth of the Sun, the light within us.Our higher self identifies with the spirit of Christ, and will move in the direction if allowed, but cannot if it is continuously stifled by the day to day negative distractions of this relative and short life.
Naturally, there are those who believe that there is nothing after this life, but that too is ok. My view is, always, if it works use it. Your experience of life should call you to your belief system, it should never be copied or imposed, like buying an insurance policy you have no use for, because your friend bought one or because the agent was a good salesperson. But remember if you are lazy, closed minded or reject ideas to remain in your comfort zone, you will always be at the same level.
Be mindful..
The Christ acts as a beacon, his story shows what is inherent in you, what is waiting to be expressed. This light, this potential in us all, needs to be awakened, and as more and more reject the fear and chaos that now drives us, we will be healthier in every way, we will be able to see more clearly, and we will be in harmony with our environment and our neighbors.
The awakening to the power of universal love in our hearts awaits us; you just need to choose it right now and begin to walk in that direction.
Only if we truly do the work of seeking inner harmony can there truly be Peace on Earth and Good Will between all beings.
I have absolutely no faith in America to change its guns laws, every time something like this happens Americans run around saying the things people want to hear, however what they are doing is to wait for time to pass until they can go back to same old, same old, more guns and more money. They may put in place some retarded stop gap measures like the temporary band on assault weapons that expired in 2004 and now they are calling for the same ban again. Americans love their guns it is a part of their popular culture and will not let any one take it away from them. I will be shocked if anything substantial comes from this, I hope to be wrong, I see the pro-gun people just waiting for emotions to drop so they can renew their fight. The fire arm business generates $31 billion in 2011 and no amount of elementary school kid’s life will be allowed to affect the profit margin….
Misery loves company… Fox news have been interviewing the pro-gun-nuts who seems to take pleasure trying to convince people that shootings like the one in Connecticut take place all the time in other countries. Failing to see that no one is denying that mass shootings and murder can take place almost anywhere, none is immune, what we are trying to point out is the big difference between the frequencies of such shootings in the United States compared to other developed countries or even developing countries, in America mass shootings are certain to happen, it is not if but when.
Over the next couple weeks and months the American debate on gun control will shift into high gear but it will only be foreplay which will not result in any meaningful intercourse. If the population of America wants real change then they must do more than sign petitions, they must take to the streets, in cities and towns, they must occupy these places and demonstrate their desire for real change, once and for all.
And So…
Dear Americans…
It is very clear that you have a deep love affair with your guns and no amount of tragedy will come between you and your need to produce and own massive amount of these weapons of death and that is OK with me, as far as I am concern, that is your business not mine, If you feel the solution to crime is to arm everyone with multiple high powered firearms then knock yourself out.
However I would like to ask you please, I beg of you, to try and get your Government to do more to prevent the illegal export of your guns, your precious weapons of death to lesser developed, poorer countries. I cannot understand why it is so easy for illegal shipments of guns to leave your Technological Advance Ports and end up in the ports of lesser developed countries, barrels upon barrels of your guns seems to turn up on our wharves and some find its way into our ghettos causing hundreds of thousands of deaths, unless you are really not trying to prevent the illegal export of Guns but are instead enjoying the profits from them, living high off the death and destructions of others. America makes so many weapons, that they are practically giving them away, I remember seeing a news report where a bank in the south of the United States was offering a free gun to anyone who opens a bank account, a car dealer in Michigan offering a rifle to anyone who buys a car.
Britain and Europe may not have the same rate of gun violence in their territory as the Americans but they are also the world’s leading weapons producers, they also produce so much of the stuff that they are practically giving it away for free in every war torn country and ghettos. Britain and Europe may not have constant running gun battles in their streets but they have just as much blood on their hands like the Americans because their guns are also flooding the streets of the third world and causing more death and destruction but sooner or later your weapons of death will go back to source and wreak havoc on your streets and your population.
It is Amazing that if one stick of weed ever leave my country and end up in America, Britain or Europe then it’s hell to pay, deals are called off, planes impounded and we are dragged through the mud, we are blamed for exporting our weed to your country and endangering your people however you blame us for importing your cheap guns into our country, as you tell us more and more that we must do something about it and you tell us that your guns only get into our countries because we are a corrupt third world. So you blame us for exporting drugs, you blame us for importing your guns but you Mr. Gun producers and exporters of death are free from any blame, how you actually sleep at night is beyond me.
April 1999 - two teenage schoolboys shot and killed 12 schoolmates and a teacher at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, before killing themselves.
July 1999 - a stock exchange trader in Atlanta, Georgia, killed 12 people including his wife and two children before taking his own life.
September 1999 - a gunman opened fire at a prayer service in Fort Worth, Texas, killing six people before committing suicide.
October 2002 - a series of sniper-style shootings occurred in Washington DC, leaving 10 dead.
August 2003 - in Chicago, a laid-off worker shot and killed six of his former workmates.
November 2004 - in Birchwood, Wisconsin, a hunter killed six other hunters and wounded two others after an argument with them.
March 2005 - a man opened fire at a church service in Brookfield, Wisconsin, killing seven people.
October 2006 - a truck driver killed five schoolgirls and seriously wounded six others in a school in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania before taking his own life.
April 2007 - student Seung-Hui Cho shot and killed 32 people and wounded 15 others at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, before shooting himself, making it the deadliest mass shooting in the United States after 2000.
August 2007 - Three Delaware State University students were shot and killed in “execution style” by a 28-year-old and two 15-year-old boys. A fourth student was shot and stabbed.
September 2007 - A freshman student at Delaware State University shot and wounded two other students at a campus dining hall.
December 2007 - a 20-year-old man killed nine people and injured five others in a shopping center in Omaha, Nebraska.
December 2007 - a woman and her boyfriend shot dead six members of her family on Christmas Eve in Carnation, Washington.
February 2008 - a shooter who is still at large tied up and shot six women at a suburban clothing store in Chicago, leaving five of them dead and the remaining one injured.
February 2008 - a man opened fire in a lecture hall at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois, killing five students and wounding 16 others before laying down his weapon and surrendering.
July 2008 – A former student shot three people in a computer lab at South Mountain Community College, Phoenix, Arizona.
September 2008 - a mentally ill man who was released from jail one month earlier shot eight people in Alger, Washington, leaving six of them dead and the rest two wounded.
October 2008 - Several men in a car drove up to a dormitory at the University of Central Arkansas and opened fire, killing two students and injuring a third person.
December 2008 - a man dressed in a Santa Claus suit opened fire at a family Christmas party in Covina, California, then set fire on the house and killed himself. Police later found nine people dead in the debris of the house.
March 2009 - a 28-year-old laid-off worker opened fire while driving a car through several towns in Alabama, killing 10 people.
March 2009 - a heavily-armed gunman shot dead eight people, many of them elderly and sick people, in a private-owned nursing home in North Carolina.
March 2009 - six people were shot dead in a high-grade apartment building in Santa Clara, California.
April 2009 – An 18-year-old former student followed a pizza deliveryman into his old dormitory, and shot the deliveryman, a dorm monitor, and himself at Hampton University, Virginia.
April 2009 - a man shot dead 13 people at a civic center in Binghamton, New York.
July 2009 - Six people, including one student, were shot in a drive-by shooting at a community rally on the campus of Texas Southern University, Houston.
November 2009 - U.S. army psychologist Major Nidal Hasan opened fire at a military base in Fort Hood, Texas, leaving 13 dead and 42 others wounded.
February 2010 – A professor opened fire 50 minutes into at a Biological Sciences Department faculty meeting at the University of Alabama, killing three colleagues and wounding three others
January 2011 - a gunman opened fire at a public gathering outside a grocery in Tuscon, Arizona, killing six people including a nine-year-old girl and wounding at least 12 others. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was severely injured with a gunshot to the head.
April 2 - A gunman kills seven people and wounds three in a shooting rampage at a Christian college in Oakland.
July 2012 - Masked gunman opens fire at midnight cinema screen of new Batman film The Dark Knight Rises, killing 12 and injuring 58. Suspect James Holmes is arrested by oplice and awaiting trial.
August 2012 - Gunman kills six people at SIkh temple in Wisconsin before being shot dead by police. Suspect is named as white supremacists Wade Michael Page.
Aug. 5 - A gunman kills six people during Sunday services at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, before he is shot dead by a police officer.
Aug. 24 - Two people are killed and eight wounded in a shooting outside the landmark Empire State Building in New York City at the height of the tourist season.
Aug. 21 Ex-Marine With AK-47 Kills Two and Self in New Jersey Supermarket been fired.
Sept. 27 - A disgruntled former employee kills five people and takes his own life in a shooting rampage at a Minneapolis sign company from which he had been fired.
Oct. 21 - Three people are killed in a Milwaukee area spa including the estranged wife of the suspected gunman, who then killed himself.
Dec. 14 - A shooter opens fire at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, killing several people including children.
The Children Charlotte Bacon, age 6. Daniel Barden, 7. Olivia Engel, 6. Josephine Gay, 7. Dylan Hockley, 6. Madeline F. Hsu, 6. Catherine Hubbard, 6. Chase Kowalski, 7. Jesse Lewis, 6. Ana Marquez-Green, 6. James Mattioli, 5. Grace McDonnell, 6. Emilie Parker, 6. Jack Pinto, 6. Noah Pozner, 5. Caroline Previdi, 6. Jessica Rekos, 6. Avielle Richman, 6. Benjamin Wheeler, 6. Allison Wyatt, 6.
Teachers and Staff Rachel Davino, 29, teacher. Dawn Hochspring, 47, the principal who died trying to fight the shooter. Anne Marie Murphy, 52, teacher. Lauren Rousseau, 30, teacher. Mary Sherlach, 56, the school psychologist who died trying to fight the shooter. Victoria Soto, 27, the teacher who died shielding her students from bullets as she locked them safely in a closet.
I hate most holidays, since as far as I am concern there only purpose is a day from work where you still get paid. I do love the leisure concept of a Holiday but as far as I am concern we should rename them all to something like Holiday-1 through Holiday-n, instead of adding significances to them.
The British came very close to this when they invented Bank Holidays. People just walk around saying they have a bank holiday with most people not knowing why they have a bank holiday, no one really cares about the reason for the holiday, so long as they are getting paid not to work. One of the main problems I find with these named Holidays is that they are repetitive, mundane and ritualistic, it is the grand performance that everyone goes through that annoys me and the expectation that I should also partake in this grand ritualistic performance and jump through hoops simply because it is that time of the year.
Well after the first 10 years of my life I have had enough of the lame tired songs, same tired tree, same bun and cheese, same Easter eggs, same decorations and even the same foods only eaten at that time of the year.
I really dislike Easter, ever since I was little I hated it, here we have a holiday where every day of that holiday feels like a boring Sunday and growing up in Jamaica a Sunday had a completely different feel to it. A typical Jamaican Sunday when I was growing up started out with you waking up knowing that the next day was a Monday and you will have to go to school, so you got out of bed with an instant depression and a deep dislike for Sundays, ...heck it was just Friday, how in heavens name did we get to Sunday already?. The next thing I dislike about Sundays is that a Jamaican Sunday is a very quiet boring day, the radio plays back to back church services, Christian and classical music. There is nothing on the television but back to back church services, after which various Philharmonic Orchestra and symphonies with some big chested women bellowing out Opera, followed by various ballet performances from some of the world’s finest ballet companies, the nutcracker was a special favorite of theirs. My father loved them all and played them very loud, he also played his church music for the entire neighborhood to hear while he sings along.
We were never allowed to play on a Sunday, any attempt to run around and make noise was met with shouts of “today is Sunday, it’s the Lord’s Day, come inside and sit yu butt down, find a book to read or something” and so we were forced to sit and watch people go lazily to and from church dressed in their special Sunday cloths, women in their Church Frock, and hat, clutching their handbags and bibles with men in their suits and hat while the kids dressed as miniature versions of the grownups. We were also forced to wear this Sunday uniform even though we were not going anywhere, Sunday was dress up day. To me Sunday was the longest most boring day as it dragged on and on with nothing to follow it but Monday. This now takes me back to Easter where every day between and including Good Friday to Easter Monday was a Boring Sunday, so now you understand why I hate Easter because it was multiple Sundays in a row.
I was also not a fan of some Easter bun, especially the ones with the red and green things embedded in them. I hated those things and spent lots of time picking them out of the bun and by the time I was finished there was hardly any bun left. Not to mention I found that some years I could not finish a single slice of bun because they became cloying after a while and so I preferred hard dough bread and cheese. Before you start saying things like Easter nice because of carnival, let me make it clear that I hate with all my heart, really dislike calypso, soca, bacchanal music, in my days we played that rubbish when we wanted to end the party and get the people out of the house.
I remember I was about 5 or so, crying My eyes out as my father carried me towards the scary jonkonnu
I cannot begin to tell you just how much I really hate Christmas, after so many years of Christmas I am now sick and tired of it and refused from the age of around 10 to jump around like a circus clown when it comes around… “Merry Christmas … oh please! bite me!”. My family love Christmas which adds to my yearly torture, I think the more I grew to hate Christmas, is the more they grow to love it, so it is safe to say that their love for Christmas is, Inversely Proportional to my hate for Christmas.
My father loved his Christmas carols and he played them very loud and often, he especially loved Nat King Cole Christmas Song, … Chestnuts Roasting on an open fire… he not only played it loud but sing along with it very loud, it is a good thing my father have a golden voice… trust me when I say that man can sing. However the song would make more sense to me if Nat had sing about Breadfruit Roasting on an open fire. As such singers like Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding and many more played all day and all night on the TV, Radio and on my home stereo, it was like a CIA noise torture, kind of what they did to Panama strong man and USA puppet-muppet Manuel Noriega who took refuge in the Vatican embassy while the CIA played deafening music and used other psychological warfare trying to convince him to exit and surrender himself.
I never liked pine Christmas trees, they smell terrible and mess up my sinuses, we had a willow tree in the front yard that I preferred as it did not smell that bad and was outside. My father and sisters took pleasure decorating the trees and the various edges, plus the grill work around the windows. I hate stupid blinking Christmas lights, there only purpose was to disorientate and drive me crazy… blink… blink… blinky… blink… blink… blinky… blink… blink… Who plug out di light?!!!!!!!
The Politics, Preparation and Presentation of the famous Grand Christmas Feast, The Christmas Dinner. The selection of which family members will host this Grand Christmas Feast was sometimes done after the previous year’s Christmas dinner. It could be as simple as calling first dibs or having one family member nominate the other. Most times the selection process is a lot more complex when multiple members want the honour of hosting the next feast at their house at which point the entire family now finds themselves caught up in a Hatfield and McCoy type family feud, which if not solved quickly would find the family split into warring factions and as a result will see some going to one house and not the other house and some having to go to both houses, which means saving room to eat more and driving like a bat out of hell to get there on time.
It has gotten to the point where my family now has 3 Grand Christmas Feast on Christmas day with equal importance now giving to the Christmas Breakfast and Christmas Lunch and these events are kept at three different location. You wake up get dress jump in the car and head to the Grand Breakfast, eat your belly full and before you know it… it is time to jump back in the car and head to the next family for the Grand Christmas Lunch where you must stuff yourself once again. After the lunch you have to go home and purge for the main event that night and it is a good thing my family do not know how to tell time because while other people are having their Christmas dinner at 3pm, my sisters would give a 5 o’clock start time which translates to 9 PM normal time and because most other normal people finish eating early, they end up at our place, it has become a tradition for the Christmas dinner to turn into a Christmas party, music fired up and furniture move out of the way…. And where am I through all this, for the most part locked away in my room, just opening my door wide enough to take my plate of dinner or chilling with my friends drinking beer and having a chat during the party phase. My sisters started soaking the fruits for the Christmas fruitcake in rum just after the previous years Christmas and I must say their potato salad is to die for.
This Child would not be crying if his parents did not lie to him
I take great pleasure telling the young kids of my family that Santa Claus does not exist, that he is not real and all those presents they got, came from their parents and family members who love them and through hard work and sacrifice were able to buy them presents, some respond by crying their eyes out, others look at me like I was a mad man and some of the parents would get upset, asking me why do I have to tell their child that Santa Claus does not exist and I would ask them, why do they continue to lie to their kids.
Everyone I know gave up on me when it comes to gift giving, I cannot understand the need to run around like a crazy person trying to find presents for people at that particular time of the year. On a normal basis I hate shopping, I totally dislike it. When I am going to buy something, I know before I leave my house what I want, what size and colour it should be and where in the store it is located, so I am in and out without even trying it on, if it is a piece of clothing. I made a mistake once going shopping with my sisters and cousins, one bunch a woman and me alone, for some crazy reason I jumped in the car with them. Listen people I have never been so bored and frustrated in my entire life, what should have been an hour of shopping turned into several hours for them, because after 3 hours I left the store/plazas and walked all the way home, into my room and into bed…. swearing never ever again.
These people don't know about the Internet yet
The very idea of walking around looking for items for someone else is not in my nature, at Christmas and Birthdays my sisters would walk into my room and say... sign this and this and this…. Families and girlfriends would get gifts and cards on my behalf, even though I have a massive dislike for Greetings cards, ...what a waste, spending money to buy a piece of paper knowing that after the event it will find its way into the trash bin. The same for Christmas trees… if you decorate a rooted tree that is alive and growing then OK but to chop up a tree moving a piece of dead branch into your house… decorating it and watching it slowly wither and die, dry out, turn brown and mess up the living room floor… what a waste.
It is the ritualistic nature of some holidays I do not like and it is the ritualistic nature of events like weddings I hate. The last time I was invited to a wedding I sat in the church watching the grand performance, people dressing a certain, way, acting a certain way and walking a certain way, the wedding march belongs in the hall of Funny walks as it is very amusing to watch, the entire wedding party looked like a bunch of umpa lumpas marching up the aisle.
There are some holidays I liked as a child, the Jamaican Labour Day was a favorite of mine and use to be a pleasure. I remember heading down to the Primary school with my father, we had paint, brush and brooms, meeting up with other members of our community and planning the day’s work. We swept the school yard, planted trees and flowers, paint the class rooms and when we were finish we stand up and look at what we had done and I was pleased with myself and proud of my father and members of my community, it was a day when all of Jamaica worked together and give freely to their society and community, in the interest of humanity…
Eloquence, Inc. is a regular reader of “Jamaican Till I Die” and makes some of the best comments on various issues. I especially love her comment on the blog "You Ungrateful Wretch! " and think it should be a separate blog post for all to see and I would like to thank "Eloquence, Inc." for all the comments since I started this:
In response to: "You Ungrateful Wretch!"
EXCELLENT POST and PERFECT timing as we come to the end of Jamaica's 50th anniversary!
Add the Issa's and the Simonitsch's (founder of Half Moon and the all inclusive resort concept) to that list of big names!
No matter how long I have been away, I know if I could sort out a decent career opportunity down there, I would love to move back home. I am not one of the ones that ever thought anything as a child but that the sun rises and sets on Jamaica... Didn't even want to leave, parents made me. But I realize as I run into Jamaicans from other walks of life, that most think "likkle Jamaica caan do nutten fi mi" and in some cases it's true, because of the social standing they were born into and the lack of the right connections (mostly from not going to the right schools), they are achieving things in America that were not happening for them back home. BUT in some cases they apply themselves to their books and to their job opportunities in America in a way they were not doing when in Jamaica!
I met a great woman in Jamaica who yeah she mixed and red with long hair and lives in big house on Jacks Hill now, but she told her story of how she came from country bush where she use to walk with river water in bucket on her head when young, to now an entrepreneur that moved up in life!
And is not just the light and white doing it anymore. It does take links to get around the red tape but as a minority you have a better chance of respect and making the links in the first place in a place like Jamaica than somewhere like America where as you said, the same things that make you special in Jamaica make you exactly nobody here compared to the 300 million other people that might fit your racial or economic description.
My ability to get put 2 years ahead in US schools is directly due to the Jamaican education system that produced me. I thank Jamaica's culture and education all the time for making me the person that can adapt and survive and have admirable qualities as a person and make me distinctive to folks here, not just another black face. Without being Jamaican that would not be possible. And people don't realize down there that there is a GREAT power and influence on having your child grow up seeing black people in successful positions of every corner of society, in your bank, in your schools...not just out on the streets. America might be the land of opportunity but as a professional most of the black faces you see are at the bottom of the totem pole or out on the streets loafting, especially the men. In Jamaica positive black achievement is everywhere, in the classroom, bankroom, sports field... we don't grow up feeling less than everybody else or with the minority complex.
The culture and education and focus on relationships/links and not just paper contracts and money and the love of children in the society (read how many professional Americans complain of the terrible fight to live up to corporate demands which do not care about family obligations even when they say they do)...these all help people to have opportunities in Jamaica or at least a mentality that allows them to get ahead elsewhere. But I don't think even the poorest among us realize the pride and values and strength instilled in us AS JAMAICANS is what helps them no matter where they are when they get their opportunities.
Some of course are exceptions but for the most part the overall Jamaican culture produces very smart people who value relationships (part of why links end up so important to get anything done!) and family (even if the downside is people might have too many kids at times, but most of the people having them whether rich or poor genuinely love kids and having that family life!).
Some time ago I watched a program where various American millionaires and billionaires were being interviewed about how they came to be so rich and during the program I noticed a certain trend. They all at some point, made the point of asking God to Bless America, while declaring that only in America could they have achieved so much and if it was not for America, they would not be who they are today. I am sure loads of Americans watched the program and felt good about being from the Land of Opportunity… Real or Imaginary.....
6 of the Richest Men in America
Things like this ripples through a society and contributes to the feel good factor, as young people can grow up with something to believe in, they may not achieve all their goals in life but their minds are imprinted with that "Only in America Concept", spouted from role models in business and industry who made it in life. One guy declared that anyone can make it in America if they just apply themselves.
Highlighting the good things in life is even more important than highlighting the bad things. I believe that by promoting what is good about your society, will create a chain reaction of good vibes, causing good things to happen, as it leaves a positive impression on people’s outlook on life and making them more productive. I remember my economics teacher coming to the conclusion that Optimism and Pessimism are two of the most important things in an Economy, here we have a science that means nothing without people’s feelings. I also believe that promoting negative things will cause a negative chain reaction, causing people to seek out all the negative things around them.
The speed of Bad, Negative, disgusting things happening in a society like Jamaica travels 500 times faster than the speed of Good, Positives things and as such people are more likely to tell you about the bad things that happened, not the good. In Jamaica’s case this negative, Pessimism transcends space and time as our people take it with them even after migrating and disseminate this misery the first chance they get.
Jamaica has its fair share of rich families, who have been and still are movers and shakers of our society, whose fore parents came to Jamaica with nothing but their lighter complexion. Europeans, Chinese, Arabs, Jews, Indians all descended on Jamaica, some with only their two long hands and because they were not black, the doors of opportunity automatically opened for them, they did not have to kick it open because colonial Jamaica was perfect for them, the ideal climate and attitude from a population that equates anyone not black to be of up standing character and welcome them with open arms while declaring "Anything too black, No too Good". They were more likely to be giving the benefit of the doubt and they took advantage of that. Jamaica also have many rich colonial and post-colonial families who are black, some had to kick open doors and demand that they be given equal access to our resources, it was an uphill struggle but they made it against the odds. Others aligned themselves with various political factions in order to gain political favours, wealth and power.
Some will say that Jamaica is a “Out of Many One People” country I have heard various stories about these wealthy families going to great lengths to import their significant others when local options are limited, one not only must ensure the family wealth remains intact but also the family colour and heritage.
God Bless Jamaica?
Regardless of who these wealthy/rich people are and how they came by their money, one thing is common… I have never heard the rich and well to do in Jamaica asking God to "Bless Jamaica" in a thankful way or declare that if it was not for Jamaica they would not have achieved such wealth and comfort. Jamaica’s rich, it seems, believe that Jamaica is not in any way shape or form responsible for their good fortunes. It is as if these people believe that, ...it is they who made Jamaica and not the other way around. They do not see their relationship with Jamaica as symbiotic and if they did, they will never say so.
Where would Butch Stewart be without Jamaica, who would he be? In a country like America or in Europe, he would be just another white face in the crowd, nothing special, he would be seen as equal to the people around him and as such his rise to power, wealth and glory might have been much harder. However in Jamaica he was special, a member of a unique small group of people and who he is today, is because of the unique set of circumstances that existed in Pre and Post colonial Jamaica.
I am not saying that these men and women do not have the spirit of entrepreneurship, what I am saying is that Jamaica was the right place, at the right time for them and if they were in any other place or time they might not have been so fortunate, so where is the big ..."Thank You Jamaica"! In all my years going up in Jamaica I have never heard it. Some of these people driving around Jamaica like their shit was used to make Tastee Patties would still be in the middle east throwing rocks during Arab Spring, trying to fight oppression.
These now rich Middle Eastern colonial immigrants should wake up every morning, go out onto the Balconies of their mansions, breath Jamaica's fresh air and shout to all of Jamaica, Thank You Jamaica, for accepting us and making us who we are today and God Bless Jamaica…
As I said in a previous blog, by the time a Jamaican child reaches the age of 10 he is well versed in all that is negative and disgusting about Jamaica and Jamaicans. This child is already thinking that there is no hope for him in Jamaica and like a caged animal he is already looking to escape, why waste education and innovation on a country one believes is not going anywhere and there is no hope. This is what we tell our children, the future generation of Jamaica, we brainwashed them into believing that they will never amount to anything, that they will never be all they can be in Jamaica.
Most of our well-to-do Jamaicans live in Jamaica but not in Jamaica, they exist in a bubble, taking great care not to share themselves or promote good values to the less fortunate, things like giving back, offering a helping hand, paying respect to their country and its people are a lost concepts… Philanthropy what’s that?
Most of the Philanthropy organization that exist, exist to pay lip service to helping people, the real reason for their existence is not to better other people’s lives but to make their members feel better about themselves, feeling like they are important, these are ego stroking groups, the place to be and to be seen, networking clubs, many associate themselves with these so called charitable organization because of the prestige it gives them.
Our Rich, Wealthy families would never stand up and declare that they owe everything to Jamaica, there power, their wealth and if it was not for Jamaica and all Jamaicans they would never be the successful mover and shakers that they are today, living a life of luxury, in style and comfort for generations. The last statistic I saw on income distribution showed that 51.61 % of total income is earned by the richest 20% of the population and the richest 10% earned 35.90 % of total income. I think the rich in Jamaica thinks that they did not become rich because of Jamaica but in spite of Jamaica and as such they owe Jamaica nothing but I wonder where they would be if their ancestors did not find this goldmine of an island that made them possible.
I can understand a person being outrage out of principle but I dislike when people have selective outrage based purely on political bias. The outrage that manifest itself because one party did something wrong should be the same outrage expressed when the party you support is also guilty of the same crime. You cannot defend almshouse when it is being done by your party but is outrage over the same almshouse when the other party does it, which is just pure hypocrisy and almshouse.
One thing I pride myself on is the fact that I am governed by a certain set of core principles that are guided by a well establish ideology. I do not adjusted my principles or ideology to match the views of any political party, I am not blinded by some form of partisan “diehardism”... I have been on this earth long enough to know when the political class is trying to take me for a fool. This is a game played by the Political class, a game which I simply refuse to play.
A couple weeks ago it was highlighted that the current PNP Government spent $60 million of our hard earn tax dollars on 16 High End Luxury Vehicles for our elected officials. When questioned about it, the Prime Minister’s excuse was that the last Government had bought 18 High End Luxury Vehicles during their term in office but took most of these vehicles with them when they were voted out of office and as a result the fleet was depleted, which left the Government no choice but to buy more. What was most shocking to me was that neither the Prime Minister nor any of her over educated party members picked up on the fact that this policy of High End Luxury Vehicles procurement and disposal was in fact a bad policy and needed to be changed. That to buy a new fleet of High End Luxury Vehicles each time a new administration comes to power only to have them take it home with them when they leave office, was a massive waste of tax payers’ money.
I am shocked that these over educated, elected technocrats could not come up with a more cost effective permanent solution, such as a policy to manage the procurement, allocation, reallocation and disposal of a static fleet of moderately priced, environmentally friendly Government Vehicles, controlled by a publicly audited permanent entity that is outside the control of the elected officials. The disposal of tax payer owned, Government vehicles after an agreed upon time should be done via a public auction that our elected officials are prevented from taking part, since it creates a conflict of interest. The last time I checked, our elected officials were being paid handsomely while they represents us and do not have to drive their personal cars, so they have no excuse when leaving office not to be able to afford to buy their own vehicles.
I do not think our political class understand why they were elected/hired, you were not elected to look cool driving big expensive cars, wearing expensive suits and jet setting around the world. You were not elected because we care about your already over inflated egos, we could not care less how you feel. You were not elected to play the part of Big Man, the Don, Mr. Big Shot, the Big Cheese, hell no, that is not why we elected you and you were not elected because you look good, ...because you looking good... does not help any of us ...it does nothing for us and future generation of this country.
You were elected to find solutions to our problems, you were elected to improve our standards of living, you were elected to create the conditions that will grow our economy, improve our lot in life and keep us gainfully employed, you were elected to create the conditions that would improve our health, education and infrastructure. You were elected to bring down the level of crime and make us feel safe, You were elected to keep the cost of Government down in relation to income. Your glory does not come from your ability to talk the talk, to make grand over the top promises and drive High End Luxury Vehicles... No Mr. Politician, your Glory ONLY comes from you Implementing Solutions to our Problems, that is the only reason we elected you and the only reason we pay you... and Nothing Else Matters!!..
The Solution
The PNP or the JLP Government would have been respected by the Jamaican people if they had walked into Parliament and declared that there was a clear loophole in the way Government Vehicles were being bought and disposed of. That this loophole was costing the Jamaican people millions and that their Government came up with a permanent solution to change the bad policy thus plugging the loophole and saving the country millions of dollars to improve our lives… All Hail the Chief!... For he is a Jolly Good Fellow!!!
The revelation of the $60 million on High End Luxury Vehicles was an instant turn on and hard on for members of the opposition and their sheep like diehard supporters as this was their big “Got You Moment”, it seems our political class is only being paid by the tax payers to jump on “Got You Moments”. Failing to realize that when they formed the Government they did not introduce a new policy to manage the procurement, allocation, reallocation and disposal of Government vehicles but instead, while they were in power bought 18 of these High End Luxury Vehicles for themselves and they took most of them when they left office…“you cannot make this stuff up”.
Diehards only have a one dimensional view of life, if my party does it then it’s OK, look the other way and whistle Dixie or defend it to the hills but if the other party does it then outrage, hell on earth, look how dem wicked. This ladies and gentleman is the selective outrage of which I speak, not based on any principle but on partisan, political “diehardism”. They were not outrage when the Jamaica Observer reported that the outgoing JLP Government took most of the High End Luxury Vehicles, so why the big hoopla now? Please spare me your phony pretend, “scoring cheap political points, got you moment” outrage which proves you care more about your party then this country.
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Jamaica Gleaner: 2008 - $30m spent on SUVs for Cabinet ministers Prime Minister Bruce Golding's government has not changed course from the previous administration's apparent affinity for high-maintenance, gas-guzzling SUVs. Documents gleaned under the Access to Information Act have shown that, since taking up the reins of the country some eight months ago, the Golding-led government has spent close to $30 million on SUVs alone for at least 10 of its Cabinet and junior ministers.
Former JLP Ministers Snap up gov't Rides 2009 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado was sold to former Minister of Sport Olivia 'Babsy' Grange for $1,830,276 no mention was made of the value/purchase price.
The fact of the matter is, it was dead wrong when the JLP Government took tax payers money and buy 18 High End Luxury Vehicles only to park some in them front yards on leaving office and it equally dead wrong when this PNP Government took tax payers hard earn money and buy themselves 16 High End Luxury Vehicles and you cannot be outrage now but was not outrage then. A total of 34 High End Luxury Vehicles was bought with hard earned tax payer’s money, at a time when this country can least afford it and even if we could afford it, we still should not squander money like that and because the people are not governed by principle then we should not expect this policy to change anytime soon, principle would force people to turn around to the party they support and condemn this wicked and heartless act and demand change.
This clearly gives us an idea of the mindset of our elected officials, they are part and parcel of the Jamaican society, materialistic in every way and they are not afraid to rob us blind to ensure their materialistic ways.
Another Pig at the Trough, even though he was practical about the short Sleeve Suit
Donovan Stanberry, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, has once again raised many eyebrows and set tongues wagging since the arrival of his spanking new 2012 C-Class Mercedes-Benz with an elegance package and a current price tag of $6.3 million.
Idi Amin like complex...Mr. Big and Large Big Shot
Not even Sir Humphrey Appleby, GCB, KBE, MVO, MA (Oxon) Permanent Secretary for the Department of Administrative Affairs from the British television series "Yes Minister" and "Yes, Prime Minister" would have acted in such a low and disgusting manner, although there were a couple episodes where he came pretty close.
One of the best things I have done on Facebook is to unlike the Jamaican news reporting page OG.NR or as I like to call it “On the Ground Bad News Report”, as a result my phone inbox and Facebook wall is now free from constant 100% bombardment of Bad disgusting negative news about Jamaica and Jamaicans, I now only get my news, when I want my news and on my terms.
On examination of OG.NR’s Facebook history/timeline, I found the following:
In May of 2010 OG.NR was founded
In that year there was 1428 murders but OG.NR did not report on any
In 2011 there was 1124 murders but OG.NR still did not report on any
In 2012 after the General Election OG.NR became a murder by murder reporting dynamo
On The Ground Partisan News Reporting shaping Hearts and Minds for the Next General Election, I really do hate when hypocrisy tries to pass itself off as something else. Honest and Open Journalism to me is about bringing the truth to light, informing the public, it is a vital part of any society and the Nation Building process. The worst thing we could have in any society is corrupt journalism, people who take it up on themselves to pick and choose the information they will disseminate base on Partisan Political “Diehardism” which is like a doctor refusing to do Blood transfusion, or set broken bones because it goes against his religion or some twisted belief system, preferring instead to let the patient die. Journalist should be forced to take the Hippocratic Oath, swearing to practice Journalism ethically and honestly, upholding a number of professional ethical standards that goes against the concept of Partisan Political “Diehardism”. Why is it so hard for people to separate their personal life from their professional life?
When I am in the mood for news and by news I mean well rounded current affairs news, I would visit the various news sites including ON.GR and select a rich realistic picture of news items that reflects real life in Jamaica, they are not allowed to bombard me 24/7s, since what they do is a form of brainwashing, design to eliminate all hopes and dreams from the minds of the Jamaican people. Most of the people who frequent sites like ON.GR usually end up thinking the worst about who they are, where they are from and their fellow Jamaicans, it is not uncommon for Jamaicans to describe other Jamaicans as disgusting animals and Jamaica as a failed state, to declare that there is no hope, we are all doomed, damned to hell and destined for eternal damnation.
It gets even worst because this is what we communicate to the world, we constantly as we hang our dirty laundry for all to see. This is how we portray ourselves and should not be shocked when people around the world class us a certain way, treat us a certain way and look at us differently. But I know we are much more than this, I know we are better than the way we portray ourselves, I know that Jamaica is filled with lots of good honest, hard working people, intellect and innovators, trying to carve out a better life for themselves, trying to make a future for their families but we do not do enough to push this side of Jamaica and by the time a child reaches the age of 10 he is well versed in all that is negative about his country and his people. This child is already thinking that there is no hope for him in Jamaica and like a caged animal he is already looking to escape, why waste innovation and thinking on a country one believes is not going anywhere and there is no hope. Like a farmer in Islington, St. Mary told me... "well we not all animals Yu Nuh!"
These days it seems that most modern news outlet operates with some sort of underling motives, a hidden agenda which is almost always political in nature as they align themselves with various political factions, trying to set the stage and the mood of the people for the next big general election. For some people, cutting off your nose to spite your face or shooting yourself in the foot is a valid and worthwhile strategy for political gains, since to them the end justifies the means. The problem is these people have no idea when they have gone too far, self inflicting so much damage that it becomes impossible for the patient to survive. It is not that the news they are reporting is incorrect, it is just that the news they are reporting is only of a particular type, death and destruction giving the impression to all Jamaicans and the world that Jamaica is a bad disgusting no go place, that Jamaicans are horrible people never to be trusted and there is nothing good, positive or uplifting taking place in Jamaica, this line of thinking is counter productive.
My recent examination of crime reporting in London, England showed that there is a big difference between the crime listed on the Metropolitan Police blotter and items being reported on the evening news.... Less than 1% of the crime on the police blotter was actually being reported. The total number of crimes in London was 461,401 as of October 2012 which includes 60 murders, 8 in October alone, 5,762 raciest hate crime, 733 in October alone, 1,105 gun crime, 115 in October down from 185 the previous year and 640 Homophobic crime down from 850 the previous year and 91,847 violence against a person with 12,679 happening in October alone, there was 66,664 incidents of crime in London, in October. However when you watch the BBC Nightly local London news, one would think that only a small fraction of the 461,401 criminal event happened in London because the entire hour or half hour is not used to list one criminal activity after another, current affairs news reporting is a lot more diverse and gives the viewer a sense of normality, some good things happen today and some bad things also happened and I see this type of reporting in most other countries.
COPS are accused of exaggerating the drop in crime figures out today - with 400,000 crimes not even recorded. Crimes in England and Wales fell by 33 per cent according to police despite the Office for National Statistics (ONS) recording a fall of ONLY 17 per cent.The ONS said the "rate of reduction" in recorded crime "may over-state" the decrease.ONS statistician John Flatley said bigger falls in the cops’ figures could be down to pressures to meet crime targets.
Police in Trinidad and Tobago have been ordered to stop releasing murder statistics as the National Security Minister declared that reports of violence encouraged people to commit more crime, he does not believe it is good for members of society to be bombarded about each and every criminal activity.
The Mayor of New York it seems also share the same belief since it is not conducive to attracting business investments. The NYPD seems to practice a policy of keeping certain crimes off the books.
I am not saying not to report crime but if you only have an hour to report the Current Affairs News then news must include both the positive and negative, if only to give young minds a sense of self-worth, a feeling that Jamaicans are also capable of doing good and living a normal life, that all is not lost, that they too can contribute to the positives because they live in a country that encourages positive healthy lifestyles. We are preconditioning the minds of our young people to not expect anything from Jamaica and themselves, removing all hopes and dreams, killing all imagination and innovation when we provide a one dimensional view that Jamaica is a horrible place, no wonder so much Jamaicans line up in front of the various foreign embassies and consulate hoping for a chance to escape this media created hell hole. This gets even worst when every news items regarding Jamaica is bad and every news events happening in mainly white foreign countries is positive, upbeat and normal then it really gives the impression that Jamaicans are abnormal people.
The method of trying to shock people into doing the right thing must be used with great care, I understand the concept of tough love but one must measure that with positive reinforcements. If you constantly tell a child they are bad, worthless and will amount to no good then eventuality the child will accept the fact that they are bad, worthless and will amount to no good, I think Jamaica is at that stage.
I am forced to cull certain people from my Facebook friend list since it gets really hard to take on lives challenges and start ones day with a positive, innovative outlook, especially when those friends has nothing contribute but moan, groan, whine and whinge, about death, despair and lost hope. I am not burying my head in the sand but instead putting life into perspective, every cloud have a silver lining, the glass is half full, the world is filled with positive and negative forces, good and evil but I will not let bad, negative, evil things define me and I continue to believe that Arsenal FC will once again be the Champions of England and Europe and the world.
