Westender,Originally Posted by Westenders
I have re-read your post, and you did in fact state that MOST of Red Ground people are not paying their way today - this IS what you wrote:
"Let's face it most of red ground is capture land, why didn't they go in there."
MOST OF RED GROUND means more than half - the majority. So you are saying the majority of the people currently living in Red Ground are squatters and do not pay their way. You did not qualify it by saying "back in the day" or any other such statement - just a simple "let's face it" as a fact.
When posters misinform others on this board, presenting their opinion as fact which has no basis in reality, it is wise for others to correct this misinformation so people know the truth.
The vast majority of people in Red Ground are not squatters and own their land. I stopped by Red Dragon last night for few minutes after the webcast at 3 Dives and showed your comment to one of the owner's son (I didnt see Ragabones, the owner) and their night customers who have been born and raised in Negril and are Jamaican friends of mine. Most of these folks live in Red Ground and just happened to be gathered at Red Dragon on a Tuesday night.
After the laughter died down, some of the curious asked, who would say such an bumba#$#% thing? One did state that well, it may have been true before Norman Manley Blvd was built a half century ago, but not now. Overall, the folks gathered were shaking their heads sadly that misinformation about them were being posted on the internet. I told them I would let the poster know their feelings and correct this misinformation being spread about them.
And now I see you had to backtrack to Brihinds and state "You are right many people there are land owners, but plenty captured the land back in the day. FACT. It's so established that many don't realise that this was the history. Ask the owner of Red Dragon about that.."
Why didnt you state that you were talking ancient history in the first place on this tourism based forum instead of misleading tourists into believing that Red Ground currently has mostly squatters living there?
In your "Let's face it" post, were you actively trying to hurt the businesses in Red Ground, wanting tourists to be afraid of going to great places like Red Dragon by claiming mostly squatters live in Red Ground when that is simply not true? Or did you have some other agenda as Flip has pointed out that you think this is some kind of knowledge contest?
Yes, we do have differing opinions on squatting. I do not see it as a good solution to anything and something that creates a whole new set of problems that will have to be dealt with in the future. You see it as a good solution. Would you mind answering a good solution to what problem? If it is housing, maybe you should remember what else you wrote about the government sponsored affordable housing that I mentioned:
"I know of Jamaicans living in the uk, who have bought into those housing programmes, and rent them out from here."
Rather than encouraging squatting, maybe your time could be better spent getting those Jamaicans you know living in the UK to stop exploiting the Jamaican government affordable housing programs and encourage them to sell these "rental" properties to those underprivileged Jamaicans who want to get ahead in this developing country.
But you can rest assured, when any poster tries to use Negril.com to present their misguided opinion as fact, the poster will be challenged on their misleading comments by myself and those who actually do know. We have quite a cross section of posters here on Negril.com, from the first time visitors to posters born, raised and still living in Negril. The truth is what matters, not rumor and/or speculation being presented as fact.
