‘Dog Paw’ failed Jamaica, not the other way around

Environmentalist Diana McCaulay’s utterances on Nationwide Radio last Tuesday, suggesting that Jamaica failed now-deceased gangster Christoper “Dog Paw” Linton, would have been, for her own sake, better served while seated before a confidante over crackers and cheese on a Sunday morning.

For to have addressed such a matter in the public space and expect Jamaicans to embrace her statement was like appealing to an innocent and naive bunch of Russian cub scouts strolling the forests in search of polar bears to have as pets.

One of the problems with people like McCaulay, is that they expect to be taken seriously, always. But we know this country. We know it well, and we know the men, and women too, who cannot be tamed.

Dr Omar Davies, the former minister of finance, and Member of Parliament, was spot on when he said that some people are irredeemable. So was Mr Linton.

The stories that have been told about his exploits on the crime front are not things approved for scenes in a movie. They are real. In short, he polluted the environment with his brand of thuggery.

Sure, we know that people need opportunities. And it seemed that for a boy to have got into one of the most prestigious secondary schools in the Western Hemisphere, Jamaica College, and blew it spending a year in its rooms of history and achievement, outlines the first chapter in the unwritten book about the man. He left for Kingsway High, a Seventhday Adventist institution, and flopped there too, having to be, like at JC, expelled. I was told he also attended another high school but perhaps got kicked out there as well.

Now, according to McCaulay, who said she sponsored his tuition at St Hugh’s Preparatory, itself a highly-respected institution, things changed when his brother was arrested by the police, and later sent to prison where he met his demise. This seems to be a live-bythe- sword, die-by-the-sword situation.

So what more could have been done for Mr Dog Paw? Did he want more support to move up to Tiger Paw status?

I remember in my years at Kingston College, there were several boys whose conduct was not what the teachers and administrators expected. But they worked with them, and gradually, they were moulded into fine young men who graduated and did their part to build the Jamaica society and those overseas.

The first time I saw a boy with a gun was at KC. He lived in a popular inner-city community, and had taken it to school to show off among a handful of us. Many thought that he would have adopted the gun as his way of life. But we all reasoned, and before you knew it, he was a changed man. He is now a minister of religion operating in one of earth’s continents.

My early years as a country boy from St Mary come to town saw me living at Norman Gardens, below the famed Wareika Hills. The sound of explosions was regular. I always thought how those clappers (fire crackers) were so loud, until I found out that they were gunshots. Many guns were in my area, yet, I was never interested in firing any or getting close to anyone who did.

The general area was also a preferred thoroughfare for Dennis Barth, a legendary badman infamously called Copper, who gave policemen and banks hell.

There were many like Copper, who chose the way of crime and were cut down. People tried to convert them but they were never interested. At that point, they are regarded as irredeemable and a real threat to society. It is then that they must be sent to hell.

The West Indies must win, or else…

What do cricketers Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, and Nicholas Pooran, along with Coach Phil Simmons have in common? They do not take kindly to ‘negative’ criticism especially anything coming from former West Indies players, fondly called ‘Legends’.

It is shocking that the three cricketers reacted that way to the observations of fast bowling great Curtly Ambrose, who merely said that Gayle’s place in the starting 11 for the Twenty/20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates later this month was not guaranteed. It is so profoundly accurate, for Gayle was lucky to have been selected in the first place, based upon form. And it was all because Captain Pollard insisted on having him in the squad why he got the nod.

So for Gayle first, and then Pollard and the rest to be getting so jumpy about something that is a clear as day, it only tells some of us that the West Indies players are a group of untouchables, who, even when they are under-performing, should not come under the microscope at any time, and must be allowed to do as they like.

Gayle even hinted at a tracing match with Ambrose, should any criticism persist. It is hard to see why people have to be so thin-skinned. The selection committee did a lousy job in choosing the squad for the tournament. It was a massive gamble not to have named Jason Holder and Sunil Narine, for example.

The West Indies, the defending two-time champions, had better win. For if they do not, the players and administrators will see how ‘negative’ the people of the Caribbean who have the stomach to continue to follow cricket will behave.

Finally, now fully vaccinated

Finally! The administering of my second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine brand was completed last Thursday with no bawling involved, at all. But unlike the receiving of the first dose nine weeks before, the second one was not like a stroll in the park.

In fact, it was hot, but I dared not show the face of a coward during the episode at the Girl Guides of Jamaica headquarters in St Andrew, as too many women were watching.

It actually should have been given four days earlier, but having been informed to attend the National Arena on October 10, turning up there only revealed that there was no blitz scheduled for that day, but the following. Knowing well that IPL cricket, European Nations football final, and Jamaica v Canada would make it impossible to leave base, I tried to have the mission accomplished that same Saturday, but there was a crowd at St Joseph’s Hospital in the morning, and Good Samaritan Inn was closed.

So, after putting in some work, it was off again to St Joseph’s in the afternoon. Somehow, the vibes were not right, and I had even seen better customer service. The crowd, too, had not eased off considerably, and the needles being used appeared longer than the first set I had seen. So, I was like the child who ran away from home again.

Signing up for the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaicaled initiative led me to the HQ of the girl guides. The crowd was bearable, but having joined the queue, I heard a squeal, and saw a young woman remonstrating with a senior professional. That was enough to put me off, but I decided that I would not run away again like the Saturday before. I must be a man and take the shot, while hoping that I would not be called by that particular ‘jabber’.

My goodness, it was my time, and guess who I would have to face? The walk was slow, and as soon as I sat, I struck up a friendly conversation. It did not work though, for I felt the needle like never before upon its insertion. I had to look down directly in front of me to see if there was dampness. There wasn’t. Everything was over in less than 30 minutes. But what an experience. Now, counting down the 14 days when I will be free like a Robin to proudly, and legitimately hug up the ‘fully vaccinated’ card, is underway.

PNP wrong on vaccine stance

A part of leadership and management is taking decisions that may be considered tough.

And that is what the Government needs to do in respect of a vaccination mandate, at a time when Jamaica, in fact the world at large, is faced with the greatest crisis to have hit mankind in the last 100 years.

The novel coronavirus pandemic is no joke, and so, the seriousness that this matter requires is crucial now than at any other time since cases showed up here over 17 months ago.

The call, therefore, by the Opposition People’s National Party for there not to be mandatory vaccination, should not be endorsed by those who mean this country well.

Jamaicans, by and large, are stubborn people, myself included. Many of them prefer to follow old wives tales, and believe them, rather than go with facts, and the accompanying science. It is worth repeating that all the studies point to an overwhelming amount of good, than the odd incidents of bad, that have been associated with the vaccines. Therefore, logics, and not politics, should be projected in a matter such as this.

Granted, there will be exceptions to the rule, for in reality, not everybody can be vaccinated, based up certain health challenges that may be involved with those cases. But they are small in number. For a country like Jamaica, one whose population was a little over 2.6 million inhabitants based on a census a few years ago, but which is believed to be higher, innoculating a mere 10 per cent almost a year after vaccines hit the market is poor.

So when a major political party that has shaped the history of this country for so long takes a cowardly position like that, which means empowering more anti- vaxers, the road to herd immunity will get rougher.

Prime Minister Holness has a job to do, and do fast. He must dictate, in this crucial case, that except in rare circumstances, all people either living, learning, or doing business in Jamaica, must be vaccinated. There can be no other exit route.