What has happened to the Jamaicans???

[eddiemingus]

The lotto scam is definitely not the main reason of the murders and breakdown of this society. It is a big part in the last ten years but the demise of this country began in the mid 80s. A very large part of the murder rate currently is domestic violence. People who came here in the 80s for the first time don't have the knowledge of what this country was like before the scourage af Cocaine and crack showed up. No burgler bars no guns walk anywhere anytime of day or night. So it's much easier to see just how mashed up this country is from that perspective. This isn't rocket science you dont need all kind of news articles and what not to make any point here, just walk the streets and it's very apparent whats going on here.

[Rob]

The lotto scam is definitely not the main reason of the murders and breakdown of this society. It is a big part in the last ten years but the demise of this country began in the mid 80s. A very large part of the murder rate currently is domestic violence. People who came here in the 80s for the first time don't have the knowledge of what this country was like before the scourage af Cocaine and crack showed up. No burgler bars no guns walk anywhere anytime of day or night. So it's much easier to see just how mashed up this country is from that perspective. This isn't rocket science you dont need all kind of news articles and what not to make any point here, just walk the streets and it's very apparent whats going on here.

Eddie,

As you know, I have been walking the streets of Jamaica everyday and have been doing so for some quarter century. It is very apparent what is going on here which is why I am giving the readers of Negril.com my perspective, and then back it up with facts from the news. A visitor can easily see something and misinterpret it. I cannot count the number of times that visitors have asked me "why are those guys fighting?" and I explain to them they are not fighting, it is just a very animated conversation.

I am sorry that things changed from the idyllic 70's that you so fondly remember. I was not here in the 70's. The year 1975 was over 40 years ago.

Many readers on this board were not even born yet. So other than a nostalgic magical mystery tour which can be fun to read, these 70's references provide no real helpful current information for our visitors.

Nostalgia can be a good thing, bringing back old memories to the present that make us feel good. But they can often be clouded by time. Let us take an actual history trip down memory lane.

The Gun Court Act provided for the establishment of a court in Jamaica to deal particularly with firearms offenses. This was created on April 1st, 1974. The reasons given were because Kingston in March 1974, was a city in the grips of "an upsurge of violence", in the words of then Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Chester Orr, QC. If there were no guns in the 70's, why was the Gun Court set up in 1974?

And take a close look at this picture that Halfwaytree posted and I am stealing for demonstration purposes. I hope Halfwaytree doesnt mind, but it serves as a perfect moment in history. It was taken in the 60's.



Those iron structures on the windows are commonly referred to as "burglar bars". And they were in place in the 60's. That pokes a major hole in the "no burglar bars anywhere" in the 70's theory. Nostalgia is fine, but it can cloud one's perception of the actual facts.

And Eddie, while you dismiss my use of news sources, your domestic violence comment is quite interesting. Just yesterday there was an article in the Observer, "Domestic Violence Responsible for 60% of St. Mary Murders". Coincidence? The article states that of the 26 murders in the parish of St. Mary, 60% (or 14) are due to domestic violence. Unfortunately there have been more murders in certain parts of the parish of St. James that have absolutely nothing to do with domestic violence. In fact, a small part of the current murder rate is domestic violence. I wish the percentage was zero.

It is an unfortunate reality that the majority of murders currently happening are because of the international lotto scam. Why else would the FBI and ATF open offices here on the island at this time? The FBI is most definitely not here to handle Jamaican domestic violence cases. They are here to put an end to the lotto scam.