JG - EDITORIAL Defending that which is wrong

From my archive of press clippings:

Jamaica Gleaner

EDITORIAL Defending that which is wrong

Published: Saturday May 1, 2010

Hardly a day goes by without citizens of Jamaica taking to the streets to express outrage over one issue or the other. This week, two such demonstrations caught our attention: one was staged by persons involved in the scrap-metal trade and the other was by citizens who sided with a businessman whose poorly constructed house tumbled down, killing a worker. We feel that these two incidents bring into question the overall moral condition of our society.

Read the whole editorial here.

Snippet(s):

"Scrap-metal thieves have created a major headache for utility companies, farmers and householders. They have removed protective rails, dismantled irrigation equipment, stolen traffic signs and, despite various warnings from the authorities, they have continued these activities with impunity. The demonstration was in reaction to a decision to staunch metal theft by closing down the industry. Anyone expecting to hear condemnation of the indiscriminate theft of metal would have been disappointed. The demonstrators seemed only concerned with making a livelihood."

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"The sobering truth is that these groups are attempting to convey, without shame, the idea that life is hard, and that cheating, theft, thuggery and flagrant flouting of the law are acceptable in the name of survival.

Some months back, there was another demonstration staged in west Kingston in support of Christopher Coke, whose extradition is being sought by the American government. The largely female group spoke of how he had assisted them financially in getting their children to school and putting food in their bellies. They were railing against the requests for his extradition.

Here is a society enmeshed in bloody violence and hair-raising crime that gets more bizarre by the day, yet we find persons willing to take an a priori defensive position when allegations of criminality arise. We can understand why the beneficiaries of Mr Coke's largesse are standing by his side; however, we find it more difficult to countenance the Government, particularly Prime Minister Golding, rising in such stout defence of Mr Coke to the extent of rigging the extradition argument with specious claims about the method used to gather evidence."

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The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.