Dear Editor,

The protest and counter protests over the supposed mining within the Cockpit Country — which to quote a pastor is a lie from the pit of hell — has thrown up a often overlooked part of Jamaican society, classism.

It played out after the poor workers of Noranda took to the streets to voice their objection to the information the public had received on mining operations. Their early protests took place before the rest of the “goody-two-shoes” entertainers and so-called defenders of the Cockpit Country.

The argument became who wrote those untidy signs for them? And there was comparison to other more ‘well-put-together’ signs. Not only that, but it has reached the point where the intellectual capabilities of the workers came into question.  What this shows is the absolute contempt that certain classes of people have for the rest of the country.

There is a growing movement of people in this country that feels they are entitled to do what they want and nobody must dare stand in their way. It’s an extension of the overseas leftist groups who think everyone should agree with them, no matter the cost. We cannot have an orderly society when one group thinks it is more entitled than everybody else.

The chants and threat of war by some show how far they might go to get their way. Most of who are jumping on the bandwagon of this matter are not really interested in the Cockpit Country; they are interested in furthering their washed-up entertainment careers at the expense of workers who depend on the bauxite company for their livelihood. This group of inconsiderate, overpriviledged nincompoops would rather see thousands of people thrown out of work just to make themselves feel good. They ought to be ashamed of themselves.

Fabian Lewistyronelewis272@gmail.com

It’s the same sort of contempt we see playing out with the Noranda workers. In the eyes of the other side, they are nothing but a bunch of people who can’t think for themselves and who work in dirt, not offices.