THE EDITOR, Sir:
WHY DOES it seem so easy for black men to kill other black men? Not to say that they would not kill someone else from another race just as easy but I do feel that they might hesitate before they would do that. But without questioning the consequences they would kill another black man at the drop of a dime.
Examples, going to the clubs is a scary thing because just brushing someone in this club which may be crowded and may be messing up this person's shoes may cause you to lose your life. These people who bring guns to a club already have murder on their minds or they wouldn't bring a gun to a club where people are going to have fun. Just looking at someone in which they may feel is the wrong way, can cause you to be killed.
Being in the wrong parts of Kingston, being in what someone may consider the wrong political party or wearing the wrong colour and being in that certain part of Kingston may cause you to lose your life. Being in the wrong place when some of these fools are fighting for the control of a certain area to sell drugs can be your death sentence. We fight and kill other black people for places like Tivoli Gardens, Rema, Jungle which are some of the worst places in the world.
Now these places which I would never say have all bad people are where many of us Jamaicans are quick to kill another Jamaican in the name of politics or turf which makes absolutely no sense. Now in Jamaica there is something I find to be so stupid. If the cops kill someone who was known and he had murdered 20 people before and now he is killed by the cops, some people will block the streets and burn things in protest. But when the murderer was murdering innocent people these same people turned a blind eye and did absolutely nothing. They wouldn't even give the police information because it is better to die knowing what you know than to be an informer.
Now there is a war going on in Toronto, Canada where Jamaican men are killing each other over minor disputes and killing innocent people in the process. I was told by a friend who lives in Toronto that within the past few weeks there has been nine murders. I put some of the blame on these DJs who get on these records and glorify guns, 'shottas,' and murderers. Now these DJs at times will say I speak about it because it is reality and that's what I see growing up, but to me what they say is the reasons for talking about is garbage.
There are so many things in this world that are killing black people, such as high blood pressure, heart attack, cancer and AIDS. We should add "black men" to the list also. We seem to think that the easiest way to solve a dispute is never through reasoning but through murder.
There were times when our worries were the KKK and other racist organisations murdering us but now I feel they are just watching us murdering each other and for no reason at all. I truly feel that the 'gun' is the worst thing man has ever created. This disease of 'black men' murdering other black men needs a cure and fast.
I am, etc.,
GLEN HARRISON
gentleman_newyork@hotmail.com
New York
Via Go-Jamaica
