i must second this:
that was my first experience of jamaican people, when we went through Gilbert on my very first trip, and that shaped my opinions of the people almost above anything else - because when the chips are down is when you really see peoples' true characters. During the storm, and after it passed, hotels took us in and sheltered us, and anyone else who needed it, for free; chefs and restaurants fed us, and others who were hungry, for free; people got down in the mud with us and helped us find our belongings & wash out the mud; went door to door seeing who needed needed help, and giving it; - swept, mopped, rebuilt, not just 'their own' place, but everything they could reach regardless of local or tourist...... i could go on and on about how the people in the west end all worked together, giving whatever material things they had to others - including tourists - that needed it more than they did, even though they themselves had also been nearly wiped out. and people would NOT take our money even offerred in thanks. in the end we wound up giving away everything we had, not cause anyone asked us for it, but because we were so grateful for the way local people came to our aid, and each other's, and also cause everybody needed just everything, after so much of their stuff had been destroyed.After a hurricane, when current and communications are down and the banks are not open, Jamaicans shine with the strength, resilience, compassion and pride that not all people can claim.
that kind of generosity and caring and pulling together for the good of the community, is what kept me coming back.
and in spite of how the topic of this thread has worsened over the years, and has become disappointingly prevalent and tiresome in the main tourist areas, i know that's not the way the majority of the population rolls. I believe there is no "inherent" sense of "entitlement" - imho that mindset and behavior has has increased in direct proportion to the increase/influx of "wealthy" (perception, not reality) tourists. to me it seems more a kind of societal reaction to the tourism phenomenon.... not something that's a natural part of the society. i'm not saying that's it's 'right', or that it's an appropriate reaction - but i can see how it has come about, and increased proportionally, right alongside the increase in tourism. But because i know better from direct experience, i know it's just a portion of people behaving that way; not necessarily the prevalent, or natural, mindset of the overall population.
