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The following is a quote attributable to D. K. Duncan
"What is taking place in Jamaica today reminds me, not all of it, but to a great extent of what took place in 1974. In 1974, two very important citizens of our country were killed within a two-week period, a gentleman by the name of Mr. Leo Henry, and a gentleman by the name of Mr. Paul Fitz-Ritson. Incidents of criminal violence had begun to increase by 1973/74. The government had attempted to put in place an amnesty prior to that. They had put in place a situation where first offenders for having a spliff were let out of jail on parole, in an attempt, as from where I sat, to diminish some of the anger and frustration in the society.
But the thing started rising when two middle-class people got shot - I have every sympathy for every middle class person in the world, we are middle class, you know what I mean, and I'm proud of that and I now want to move up from the middle. I was down in the other and my mother and father said get some education and move out of where you were. My job was not to stay there, it was to move to where I am."
But the government responded, and now I want to make it very clear what I'm speaking about. The State responded, led by the government, with two legislations - The Gun Court Act and the Suppression of Crime Act. Now, it caused great concern within the People's National Party. There are a lot of lawyers in there, and I myself coming from the Civil Rights wing of the nation, through the Human Rights Council at the time, with people like Dennis Daley and those people; coming from the Black Power Movement where yuh mix up with "dutty neyga", forgive me. So you note some of the tribulations, like some Members of Parliament who have to do that because they are their constituents.
So it caused a lot of concern inside there, and we were told don't worry about it - it's unconstitutional, it abrogates every human right that there is, but there's a crisis, so let's go for it. It was very popular. There's a Stone Poll which showed 80 per cent, 70 per cent, 60 per cent across the country, because we who sit here in this room love short-term solutions. 'Lick off dem head!' When I say we, I don't mean everyone of us, I mean we as a group. When you go out there and people sey, "Bwoy, why unno challenging Reneto? The man is doing a good job. We have to just clean it out!"
I'm going over this little part of the history not to denigrate anybody, not the PNP, not Michael Manley, not anybody, but to recall aspects of our history which put us into part of the rut that we are in. It's one thing, for little groups out there - civil society groups, political groups - to be fighting one another, which is not good. But when the State institutionalizes repression and terrorism, it's another thing.
For whatever reason, because I'm willing to say to you now that at that time, and I still believe, at that time that all of us had pure hearts and wanted the best for the country - we would have liked to see the violence stop immediately. We were told things like we would have programmes for the youth and I could relate a number of other things which I won't go into because the time doesn't allow - but that there would be balance. It is not that we did not know that it was not right. That was known.
Let me read from page 137 of Michael Manley's 'Struggle in the Periphery':
"In 1974, we had introduced controversial legislation in which we made the illegal possession of a firearm a crime punishable by mandatory life sentence. We had even stopped bird shooting and asked the sportsmen to hand in their guns for safekeeping in the military armoury. Under the Gun Court Law, as it was called, we had made special arrangements to provide for the quick trial of those charged with offenses involving guns. Acting upon the advice of the team which included a sociologist and a psychiatrist, we had tried shock therapy in the hope that this would buy time for the society - buy time for the society - (Dr. Duncan emphasizes) and give us an opportunity to gain control over the situation through improved methods of detection - substitute 'intelligence' - (Dr. Duncan adds) and police activity generally. But as 1977 proceeded, in its anxious and tense way, crime was on the rise again and public concern increased with it."
I'm quoting it to let you know that these things were not done accidentally. So you knew that there was a risk. The point I'm trying to make here is that, all of those people who are now in the leadership of this country, were there then. So if you can't know by intelligence, by theory, you should know by practice."
I repeat for numskull Karl, try to fit it into your pea sized brain:
"It's one thing, for little groups out there - civil society groups, political groups - to be fighting one another, which is not good. But when the State institutionalizes repression and terrorism, it's another thing."
KARL YOU IMPOSSIBLY SILLY SPECIMEN, your sociopathic hero was DIRECTLY responsible for the greatest injustice ever meted out to the black man in Jamaica since slavery and you continue to posit phantom notions of upward mobility.
I repeat for dimwit Karl:
"THE POINT I AM TRYING TO MAKE IS THAT ALL OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE THERE NOW IN THE LEADERSHIP OF THIS COUNTRY WERE THERE THEN.
SO IF YOU CAN"T KNOW BY INTELLIGENCE, BY THEORY, YOU SHOULD KNOW BY PRACTICE."
KARL EVEN D.K. IS CALLING YOU UNINTELLIGENT.
"What is taking place in Jamaica today reminds me, not all of it, but to a great extent of what took place in 1974. In 1974, two very important citizens of our country were killed within a two-week period, a gentleman by the name of Mr. Leo Henry, and a gentleman by the name of Mr. Paul Fitz-Ritson. Incidents of criminal violence had begun to increase by 1973/74. The government had attempted to put in place an amnesty prior to that. They had put in place a situation where first offenders for having a spliff were let out of jail on parole, in an attempt, as from where I sat, to diminish some of the anger and frustration in the society.
But the thing started rising when two middle-class people got shot - I have every sympathy for every middle class person in the world, we are middle class, you know what I mean, and I'm proud of that and I now want to move up from the middle. I was down in the other and my mother and father said get some education and move out of where you were. My job was not to stay there, it was to move to where I am."
But the government responded, and now I want to make it very clear what I'm speaking about. The State responded, led by the government, with two legislations - The Gun Court Act and the Suppression of Crime Act. Now, it caused great concern within the People's National Party. There are a lot of lawyers in there, and I myself coming from the Civil Rights wing of the nation, through the Human Rights Council at the time, with people like Dennis Daley and those people; coming from the Black Power Movement where yuh mix up with "dutty neyga", forgive me. So you note some of the tribulations, like some Members of Parliament who have to do that because they are their constituents.
So it caused a lot of concern inside there, and we were told don't worry about it - it's unconstitutional, it abrogates every human right that there is, but there's a crisis, so let's go for it. It was very popular. There's a Stone Poll which showed 80 per cent, 70 per cent, 60 per cent across the country, because we who sit here in this room love short-term solutions. 'Lick off dem head!' When I say we, I don't mean everyone of us, I mean we as a group. When you go out there and people sey, "Bwoy, why unno challenging Reneto? The man is doing a good job. We have to just clean it out!"
I'm going over this little part of the history not to denigrate anybody, not the PNP, not Michael Manley, not anybody, but to recall aspects of our history which put us into part of the rut that we are in. It's one thing, for little groups out there - civil society groups, political groups - to be fighting one another, which is not good. But when the State institutionalizes repression and terrorism, it's another thing.
For whatever reason, because I'm willing to say to you now that at that time, and I still believe, at that time that all of us had pure hearts and wanted the best for the country - we would have liked to see the violence stop immediately. We were told things like we would have programmes for the youth and I could relate a number of other things which I won't go into because the time doesn't allow - but that there would be balance. It is not that we did not know that it was not right. That was known.
Let me read from page 137 of Michael Manley's 'Struggle in the Periphery':
"In 1974, we had introduced controversial legislation in which we made the illegal possession of a firearm a crime punishable by mandatory life sentence. We had even stopped bird shooting and asked the sportsmen to hand in their guns for safekeeping in the military armoury. Under the Gun Court Law, as it was called, we had made special arrangements to provide for the quick trial of those charged with offenses involving guns. Acting upon the advice of the team which included a sociologist and a psychiatrist, we had tried shock therapy in the hope that this would buy time for the society - buy time for the society - (Dr. Duncan emphasizes) and give us an opportunity to gain control over the situation through improved methods of detection - substitute 'intelligence' - (Dr. Duncan adds) and police activity generally. But as 1977 proceeded, in its anxious and tense way, crime was on the rise again and public concern increased with it."
I'm quoting it to let you know that these things were not done accidentally. So you knew that there was a risk. The point I'm trying to make here is that, all of those people who are now in the leadership of this country, were there then. So if you can't know by intelligence, by theory, you should know by practice."
I repeat for numskull Karl, try to fit it into your pea sized brain:
"It's one thing, for little groups out there - civil society groups, political groups - to be fighting one another, which is not good. But when the State institutionalizes repression and terrorism, it's another thing."
KARL YOU IMPOSSIBLY SILLY SPECIMEN, your sociopathic hero was DIRECTLY responsible for the greatest injustice ever meted out to the black man in Jamaica since slavery and you continue to posit phantom notions of upward mobility.
I repeat for dimwit Karl:
"THE POINT I AM TRYING TO MAKE IS THAT ALL OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE THERE NOW IN THE LEADERSHIP OF THIS COUNTRY WERE THERE THEN.
SO IF YOU CAN"T KNOW BY INTELLIGENCE, BY THEORY, YOU SHOULD KNOW BY PRACTICE."
KARL EVEN D.K. IS CALLING YOU UNINTELLIGENT.