Are Jamaicans Dodging Bullets getting Bread, Milk and coffee at Cafe Blue?


A friend of mine in Brooklyn, NY installed an application on his phone called a "Citizen App". This application sends out notifications about what is happening in his zip code. He said after installing it, he now has a better understand of how constant bombardment of  negative news can affect ones perception.

The application was installed at 9:00 am and by 12:00 noon, there were 2 car crashes, 6 murders, a bank robbery and 2 women fighting on 8th Ave. Reports of shot fired. A report of a person with a gun and one person struck by jeep, more shots fired, Man shot on E 18th and Church Ave and building on fire, Man and woman shot. 

Ignorance is Bliss, because he was very comfortable and felt secure in his zip code before he got the Citizen App but now he was not so sure.  

In Jamaica, we prioritize reporting bad negative news, we are addicted to it and love to circulate it. In Jamaica bad news comes fast, furious, and gruesome then goes viral on social media. If anything Good is happening in Jamaica then the world would never know about it, because Jamaicans do not report good news. 

My friend said most of these incidents would never make the nightly news in the USA. In fact 99% of the information coming over the Citizen App will never make it to the nightly news or printed press. So, people living in his zip code will continue to have the perception that they are safe and sound.  

But NOT SO IN Jamaica... Jamaica turbo blast negative news globally... It gives the impression that everyone in Jamaica is dodging bullets daily, going out for bread, milk and coffee at Cafe Blue.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The British Cornish Pasty vs. The Jamaican Beef Patty

Image
I love my Jamaican Beef Patty and I do love the English Cornish Pasty. I am not sure which one came first or if they are even related but the concepts are the same. Take a delicious baked crust and fill it with tasty meaty goodness. In the case of a Cornish Pasty that tasty goodness is chunks of Genuine beef cooked with potatoes and swedes (turnips) and for an Authentic Jamaican Beef Patty,  the finest Genuine Jamaican beef. Maybe the English Cornish Pasty is related more to the Jamaican Meat Loaf than the Jamaican Beef Patty. What does a Cornish Pasty and a Jamaican Beef Patty Have in common? The British Government decided to impose a 20% VAT (Value Added Tax) on hot Cornish pasties. This resulted in a nation wide protest lead by the people of Cornwall against the proposed tax. Even people living in Calumet, Michigan, USA gathered a petition of 500 signatures to show their support. In the end the government was forced to reverse its plans to impose VAT on Cornish pasti
Read more

Holness Fortress!

Image
By Torsdag ©  ©  inmyownwords A friend recently sent me pictures of Andrew Holness’ house being built in Beverly Hills. Looking at the pictures brought several things to mind; some good, some indifferent, some bad. What it did remind me of, from an architectural standpoint, is an article I read that addresses the trickle-down theory of architecture written by Professor Witold Rybcyzynski. My thoughts prompted me to muse upon this said trickle-down theory of architecture as it pertains to the Jamaican house and what passes nowadays for Jamaican architecture. The fascination with the architecture of wealth and privilege still reigns supreme in our psyche. Though this is nothing new or specific to Jamaica, the way in which we classify and embody this notion, is. It is developed mainly through voyeurism: what we see on TV, the internet, social media, word of mouth and of course, what we – see. The big house on the hill was always, at least in my brief lifetime, something to as
Read more

Heroes and Nation Builders of Jamaica

Image
"He bared his chest and declared…If you are going to shoot, shoot me, but leave these defenceless, hungry people alone." ….Alexander Bustamante I once saw a play in the 80's at the little theater where the above was said by one of the actors and another actor shouted in response…..”A should a now!!” …to the laughter of the audience… His implication was that today's police would have obliged Alexander Bustamante and open fire killing him and everyone dead. I however think that if it was now there would be no one to play the role of Bustamante because that is not how our current so called leaders roll, we would simply be on our own. Market Woman early 1900 For me, the best part of Jamaican history is the period from 1900 to 1962. I call this period the Golden Age of the Nation Building. The fight against hard life and suffering experienced at the hands of British Colonialism. A time when the working class, Educated Class, middle and upper middle class came to
Read more