Letter of the Day | Has Jamaica turned into a Wild West?

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Two years ago, my house was burgled while I slept. Ali Baba and his thieves made off with my laptop, phone and all the money I had in my bags. Thankfully, I was unhurt, but I moved. Fast-forward to a few days shy of the second anniversary of the burglary, I was on my way to work. I had just exited my house, heading towards the bus stop. Just a few steps from my gate, a man (wearing a helmet, a buttoned down long-sleeve shirt) on a motorcycle was coming towards me, I don’t know how, but I knew he was up to no good.

I watched him ride past me and go a little up the road, where he turned the motorcycle. A neighbour was across the road and saw what was happening and he called me over to him. The motorcyclist sped past. We waited a little and my neighbour decided to accompany me to the end of the road. As we walked down the road, the motorcyclist reappeared. This time he stopped, pulled his gun from his waist, pointed it at my neighbour and asked, “Yuh a iron? Yuh a hero? Yuh can save di day?” All I could think was that he was going to shoot the man who was trying to help me. My neighbour managed to talk him down and he placed his gun back in his waist and said, “Yuh good, man,” and then he rode off. We were not hurt, and he did not take anything.

There is a police-military checkpoint about five minutes down the road and my neighbour told me to inform the officers about what happened. I went and I relayed the incident but, alas, the policeman said that if I had time, he could call a unit and they would take me to the police station to make a report. I never had the time. I had to get to work. But my question is, if there is a checkpoint with officers close by, why couldn’t I have given a statement right then and there?

I am one of the blessed ones. Either of my experiences could have ended differently. The nightly newscasts are replete with horror stories which beg the questions, what must we, who try to stay on the right side of the law, do? Must we arm ourselves? Must we show up with two guns holstered on either side, stand in the streets at high noon and say, “Draw”?

There is no value for life and our fellow men any more in our country. You don’t have to do anything to warrant an attack. Our lives are at stake and the sad reality is that we, the law-abiding citizens, have no defence against the marauding, callous and gun-toting criminals without arming ourselves. Nothing can stem the funnel cloud of crime that is poised to destroy this country. It is us against them.

LAW-ABIDING CITIZEN