Racism in the highest form

And so this ‘white’ psychopath’s callous attitude is being blamed on ‘domestic problems’. Pssh, imagine if he was black! Domestic issues would be the final thing to come to their mind (if any at all). Want to know the first? “He’s JAMAICAN!!!!” Remember Lee Boyd Malvo? Now he had domestic issues.

Adam Laza a 20 year old gunman, callously shot up 20 children aged 6-7, and 6 adults at the Sandy Hook Elementary school. Before doing so, he shot his mother in her sleep. His girlfriend and her friend are yet to be found.

Malvo, on the on the other hand, killed only 10 people over a period of time. Yet all you could hear of was that he is black and hails from Jamaica. Let us not miss the point here by the way. Ten people is a lot of precious lives to be lost, but in comparison to Lanza’s 27, it is less severe.

Racism in this world has become clichéd, and it continues to be more visible day after day. I am in no way saying that Malvo’s actions were correct. The issue on hand is that the way in which the situations were handled is out right racism.

Several articles have been published, trying to decipher out the different problems Lanza faced at home. “He was a brilliant child”, “He was quiet”, “His mother was secretive and so did not share the problems she had with her sons”. Guys guys, come on, this youngster shot up 27 meaningful lives yet you squabble on about domestic problems?

Funny but true, I must add that if this kid was black, possibly many Jamaicans would be declined visas for the festive season. And no doubt, tourist attendance would surely fall to the ground.

Does it even make sense for me to add that racism should end?

The ironic beating

“We treat each of our clients with genuine care, concern and respect… we are passionate about providing a safer, productive climate for our country”, a few lines from the website of the Guardsman Group of Companies. Let’s not get this wrong here, I am not bashing the company, but the point that should be taken from this quotation is that security guards are put in place to protect the people. However, the two security guards who were callously beating a male student who was allegedly caught in a compromising position with another male at the University of Technology, seemed to be doing the complete opposite of what is required.

“Beat di fish! Dem fi dead!” were the cries of several individuals who were a part of administering the jungle justice. The security guards seemed to have been boosted by the cries of these people, and so human rights were quickly swept under the carpet. Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. In my opinion, the act of the UTech student who was allegedly caught in the compromising position is morally wrong, however he has the right of freedom and security of person as stipulated in the constitution of Jamaica.

It also leads me to add, that there is not a law in Jamaica which denotes that homosexuality is illegal. The only law which speaks to this is the buggery law and one can only be charged for buggery if one was buggered, or has directly caught someone engaging in the act. And so the question then arises, were the male students seen having sexual intercourse? Absolutely not!

Imagine rushing to the police station for help from a chasing mob and then being shot by a police officer upon reaching the door. Ridiculous and ironic isn’t it? The actions of the security guards can be likened to the above scenario. Seeing that the student rushed to the guard house for ‘help’, the guards should have just kept him there, control their seemingly unbearable rage and call the police. I haven’t heard of a job description of a security guard that requires them to beat someone if they are going against their beliefs. I have heard of though, handling the victim in a measurable manner until the police arrive if the victim is posing a threat to anybody in their environment. Was this student posing a threat to the wider populace? I think not! He was just doing something that he deems as ‘ok’ in a ‘private’ place.

The security guards should not have handled the student in the way they did. After all, everyone is free to do what they want. If ignorance of the law should be the cry the guards, they would still be found in trouble with the law, as chapter 3 of Jamaica’s constitution points out “any person deprived of his liberty shall  be treated humanely and with respect for the inherent dignity of the person”; the guards did everything except offering humane treatment.

Reference

Jamaica Gleaner (N.D.), AN ACT to Amend the Constitution of Jamaica to provide for a

Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms and for connected matters, retrieved from: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/pages/bill-of rights/339_The%20Charter%20of%20Fundamental%20Rights%20and%20Freedoms%20(Constitutional%20Amendment)%20Act,%202011.pdf