Original Spanky,
Well, this is rather a loaded question, pardon the pun. Since there are more guns on the planet than at anytime in human history, it would be logical that there are more guns everywhere.
As for gun violence in Negril, in my 25 years or so of living here it seems to be no better or worse than it ever has been. Historically 1980 was the worst year for gun issues island wide due to the US-USSR Cold War. Both countries were supplying firearms to Jamaica. Some of those are still in use so there are still repercussions being felt from the long over Cold War. A Gleaner editorial has even suggested that “U.S. gun manufacturers ought to share some of the responsibility for the mayhem being created in Jamaica.”
With the Internet, nothing can be hidden. Cameras on smartphones can produce instant "news". But the darker side of the Internet and more so with the "social media" aspect of the Internet, information, true or false, is transmitted at the speed of light. As do virtually all important events here, the shooting that Marko mentioned happening next door to where he stays has inundated my email. I have received emails where people have read posts with the wrong lane, wrong person, wrong number of people verging on the point of wild speculation.
The "Negril Rumor Mill" is quite active and needs no help. But with the added confusion and misinformation that social media provides it just expands that rumor mill to the point of absurdity. It can take a single event (or even a non-event), change (or invent) the details and make it seem like multiple events in minutes. If it wasnt so serious, it would be funny. But the humor is quickly lost when wrong places are mentioned and wrong people are implied.
When Kubba Pringle had his massive stroke and was in intensive care at the hospital, he was "declared" dead weeks before he actually passed. The social media was so strong that even one Jamaican news company declared him dead days before he died. I truly wished that some people would remember that there are other lives that are influenced when they make irresponsible posts. How would they feel if it happened to them?
That is why we try our best at Negril.com to get the facts and to stick to the facts. Anything can be speculated about, such as why people would post misleading information in the first place. Is it because they are mean and doing it for a twisted kind of fun, ill-informed and just dont know not to post wrong info or is it just a way to make themselves feel important, a "look at me, I posted it first" mentality? We can speculate all day, but in the end there is no point in doing so. It gives no one any helpful, useful information to make their stay in Negril the best possible!
