Commentary

Another PSOJ publicity stunt

MY FRIEND P asked me my thoughts on the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) lockdown last week and I said seriously ­ same ..., different year.

You know in much the same way that I am thoroughly convinced that it is in the mandate of every University of the West Indies Guild of students unit that they find something to publicly bellyache about each year (preferably in the shape of a demonstration) the same is true of the PSOJ.

Earning their stripes

Every PSOJ administration believes that it is its responsibility to jump up and down about something in a very public way. Maybe this is how the PSOJ head gets his or her stripes. But seriously check it ­ in the most recent years it has all been about crime and the state of the economy (the value of the dollar). The PSOJ demands meetings with the government, because they can, and do make a big production about the meeting, because they can, and then cast blame on everyone else around for the state of the nation's 'health.'

But as P asked in the area of extortion, the official source for the funding for the weapons used to commit major crimes, who is doing the paying?

Of course, not a single member of that august body called the PSOJ could ever be accused of doing something like paying extortionist, right?

And it is my view that the people who pay extortionists who provide finance for the purchase of weapons of destruction are as guilty of the atrocities that are being committed as the people who pull the triggers themselves! And if there are people paying extortionists that means they have the links to take down the bad guys ­ and there does not need to be a public outcry for this action to be done.

Trigger

But what triggered (pun intended) the PSOJ lockdown? Was it triggered by an upsurge in violence ­ really, was there an upsurge? We have been killing pretty much four to five people a day for some time now. Oh, it was because our children are caught in the madness, oops wrong again ­ remember the Kilancholy case, among many others? I know it was the cops that were killed, three in less than a day, but no; been there and done that; there were six killed in less than 10 days, remember?

Then what was it? The killing of Maurice Azan? Or was it that the cups of the PSOJ had just overflowed with the madness that has been taking place in this country? I think that it was a combination of everything.

I am sorry guys, get with the programme ­ I don't know which caves the PSOJ people have been residing in but regular people have had their cups overflowing with this outrage called crime for sometime now. People who have curbed their night life become virtual prisoners in their own homes because of fear. Others who have options have gone away ­ far away to build another country.

I would love to believe that the publicity stunt pulled by the PSOJ would turn out to be something more than just that ­ a publicity stunt. But alas I fear that history will have the edge here. A fantastic 'event' etched in the annals of PSOJ history to be a part of their archives. But when will they actually do something? ­ they don't need to make a song and dance about it when they do, if they are really sincere.

Email comments to myfriendp@hotmail.com