Stop garrison politics now

[Karl]

Stop garrison politics now
published: Saturday | August 25, 2007


The Editor, Sir:
As an 18-year-old student, I consider myself as being very young, in terms of my experiences in Jamaican politics. Recently, however, I was finally able to read the dramatic novel, Born Fi Dead, by Lauren Gunst, who studied Jamaican posses and their link to politics back in the 1970s and 1980s.

And honestly, I was shocked! It opened my eyes to the decades of garrison politics between the Jamaica Labour Party and the People's National Party.

This begs the question, can Jamaica ever be rid of such a situation? There is no doubt that a majority of Jamaicans, especially in the inner-city communities, still thrive on the existence of 'dons' or 'area leaders', who supposedly protect the people from enemies, such as their opposing political colleagues, and oftentimes even protect the Members of Parliament whenever they're in the areas.

Have Jamaicans stopped to look and realise that many of these 'dons' are nothing more than cold-blooded, hard-core criminals who are being backed by many of our politicians? That is why I was more than elated to see that Mrs. Simpson Miller mentioned in her party's manifesto freeing vulnerable communities from the rule of the 'dons' as a route of action to be undertaken by the justice system.

It is time that Jamaicans put a stop to this garrison, blood-shedding politics!
I am, etc.,
TAMARA McKAYLE
tnstarz24@yahoo.com
Ocho Rios P.O., St. Ann Via Go-Jamaica

[Westman]

Karl. I can undertand how naive this student is, but I know you are not as naive. This student wishes well, as do I. But obviously the student was only 13 at he time of the last election, and 8 at the time of the previous election. This studen obviously dont know the full story.
You are a sophisticated person. How can you dial into this scam? Let me point out some key facts. Siter P, Mama, Prime Minister, or whatever moniker you use today, has represented a garrison community for decades now. Why is it that now when she is up for this significant election that she is saying she will do something that she has failed to do for decades? As was raised in the debates, the most eggregious case of over voting in the most recent national election occurred in her constituency and was in her favor. That kind of stuff if notorious in garrison constituencies. What has she done about it?
Until we see otherwise, we are right treat this as mere rhetoric, especially since it comes from someone who has benefitted from leading a garrison constituency and has neither said nor done anything significant, before this current campaign, to change it.

[Willi]

Karl should know better than to post it without commentary.

[Mosiah]

True. Not easy to weasel oneself out of that, and she certainly looked uneasy when the topic was raised in the debate.

But, her opponent didn't look comfortable either. However, he has been in opposition for most of that time, or in the NDM. Let's see what he does come Sept. 4.