Onthecorner,
I have been here for the last 5 general elections, I did not leave - and there has been no violence to speak of. The Jamaican voting public LEARNED the lesson from the election 35 years ago, which is why I posted the link to the Observer story "The bloody general election that changed Jamaica" - that is because it DID change Jamaica. The Lesson was learned.
No one here is disputing the fact it happened or dismissing it as worthless - I make no claims that they are, but what happened 35 years ago has "evaporated" as the Observer writer wrote. It simply does not exist anymore, just as Jamaica is no longer being used as a pawn in USA/Soviet Union Cold War as it was in 1980. History is only useful when you include all the facts and not conveniently leave out crucial details.
That is why I am saying that yes, it is history, but do not see how important it is to get acquainted with it to any visitor. it is history, but it will have absolutely no bearing on their visit.
And to be honest the last 5 general elections have been great to witness. There was even a change in government, and no violence occurred. Years ago, the "colors" of the party signified your political allegiance. This past election many voters just for fun wore both colors. I have a video from one of "motorcades" and in the back you can see people wearing both colors.
This is Jamaica's past, which they are not repeating the same mistakes over again. The lesson was learned. As the article states " the conclusion drawn by political analysts is that Jamaica has matured."
With all the evidence in the article (as well as other sources) that what happened 35 years no longer exists, what is very important to the current conditions for Jamaicans and why is it very important that visitors know that now, something that happened 35 years ago and has never been repeated?
