I find this post to be a little confusing and troubling. Let me see if I understand it.Originally Posted by halfwaytree
Just what measures can the government take right away to deal with the harassment? Knock people over the head? Put them in prison? I would be interested in hearing what you would do if you had the power to try to fix it.
Jamaica is just one big market place. All over the island people sell openly in the streets, on sidewalks in front of stores, and that is not just from locals to locals but to tourists as well. We should not conflate "political will" with "economic necessity". People have to survive and have been struggling to do so as long as anyone can remember. Wherever you find a potential customer in Jamaica, you find one or more people who are more than willing to sell to them. This biggest issue for me is that what they are selling is usually cheap junk that either I don't want or need anyways. Of course, it is more of a problem or concern where money congregates like Kingston, MoBay, Ochi and Negril. Respect has to be earned and can't be legislated or coerced.
In Kingston, you see how Jamaicans handle it when dealing with other Jamaicans and they mostly pretend the seller just doesn't even exist and walk on by. Sometimes they stop and listen say "No Thank you" and walk off. I think the more you try to reason, discuss or get angry with them, the more of a problem you have. After all, this is their country and it is their problem to solve but like everything else it just goes on and on because they really don't see it as that big of a problem.
Political corruption is rampant. Who knows who is getting paid to keep the status quo.
Yes, there is political corruption but I don't think it could be called "rampant". Rampant is what it was but it has been getting better in my opinion.
This is what I find the most troubling. Who knows who is getting paid to keep the status quo. Just who gains by keeping the status quo? I believe that everyone would benefit if the harassment were to magically stop. For the life of me, I just can't imagine who would pay and who would get paid to keep the status quo. Any ideas on that halfwaytree?
Peace and Guidance
