I want to thank Packrat for starting this thread, as well as ALL the members of our extended Negril online family, posters and readers (lurkers) alike. Our "Boardie Community" has existed since 1997 and as with any "community" it has had its ups and downs. Thanks to all of you, there has been much more ups (positive) than downs (negativity). This thread is proof of that fact.
When I heard about President Obama coming to Jamaica, I felt the same as most Jamaicans that this is an incredible symbolic gesture for our small island nation. And to be honest, I was following some of the fun talk around the island about where Obama should visit (although it seems his visit will be rather short).
When I first saw the post here, I thought this was a great thing for our visitors to read and that the topic would focus on this great gesture and possibly follow the lines Jamaica was discussing, humourously trying to pick places for him to visit. Heck, Rick's was even mentioned! Because of that I was too lax in my job of keeping the thread on topic and stop the political rhetoric, especially since that rhetoric was based on US politics and had nothing to do with Jamaica. For that I am negligent and sorry. I should have nipped it in the bud. (Ganja reference unintentional)
We are all different people with different views, and we should celebrate that fact. That is where new ideas originate. That can be a good thing. Although it seems to contradict human nature, we should try not to think "bad mind" thoughts about those who have different views. Just because we may have varying views doesnt mean that we have to act on all of them and make posts attacking others, be it the President, our Prime Minister, business owners or other members of our Negril.com Boardie family. This is the only world we have and life is hard enough without actively adding strife to it.
Actress Ashley Judd is going to press charges against Twitter users over sexual harassment posts on her Twitter page. Just because these people have their views does not mean they have to post them. Discretion is the better part of valour. Even the CEO of Twitter agrees. "In a recent internal memo to staff triggered by a Guardian comment piece by Lindy West describing her abuse on Twitter, the company’s CEO Dick Costolo wrote: “We suck at dealing with abuse and trolls on the platform and we’ve sucked at it for years... I’m frankly ashamed of how poorly we’ve dealt with this issue during my tenure as CEO. It’s absurd. There’s no excuse for it.”
The world news since Wednesday has proven what can happen when people with certain views and beliefs are intolerant of others. The needless tragedies in Tunisia and Yemen shows what can happen when this intolerance is taken to its ultimate extreme. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of the victims. It is a sad world we live in at times.
Lets all understand that not everyone shares our views and that is okay. And it is also okay to allow them to live their life without the fear of being attacked on the internet. We try to do our best here, and I personally apologize for not appropriately handling the thread.
