In the 60s there was a drive by civil rights activists to end segregation as a law.

It began in 1865 as a form of black codes to control the former slaves. It did not end till 1964 when the Civil Rights Act was passed, this after a massive movement by freedom activists such as Dr Martin Luther King Jr.

Many people died, the United States was disgraced and for what, to change a law?

Why did it take almost a hundred years to remove a law that was clearly outdated and immoral?

The Act removing segregation and racial discrimination in Australia was enacted in 1975, this after 200 years of oppression by the former British of the indigenous people of Australia’s black populace.

The above must seem ridiculous to anyone who is reading this. Most of our Parliament was already born at the time these ancient repressive laws were still on the books.

It gets worse!

In South Africa the law that actively treated persons within the law according to race that is loosely referred to as ‘Apartheid Laws’ did not end till 1994 — and this only after thousands of deaths, wrong imprisonment and international sanctions.

Jamaica has no such issues in introducing, modifying, enacting and creating laws as the need determines.

The Suppression of Crime Act to control the unprecedented increase in gun violence was enacted in 1974.

Now there is some debate on the motive that created it. Some say it was to lay the foundation for the introduction of us becoming a communist state. Some say it was only about combating the violence.

I do not know, but to be honest, I will say it certainly was a good tool in the political war that came on its heels. Interestingly, it was kept by the new Government for their entire tenure of almost nine years, despite the criticism of it.

What is important to me though, is that a law was needed and it was created and enacted. When it was felt it was oppressive it was removed, something that the USA, Australia and South Africa did not do for decades despite the obvious ridiculousness and injustice of it.

When gun crime was first becoming an epidemic, the Gun Court Act was enacted in 1974. This created the Gun Court. Think, an entire court was created that allowed for virtual life sentences to be imposed by a judge, not a jury. This demonstrates an incredible ability of a country to make a decision to take necessary steps.

This practice is not restricted to the seventies. When scamming became a threat to our national security a law was created that made it illegal to possess peoples’ personal information. More commonly known as the lead sheet, this crime is actually tried in the Supreme Court, thus allowing for long sentences to be imposed.

Good or evil laws? That is subjective, but the fact that we can enact and remove without wars being fought show a level of responsiveness that is enviable.

There are laws that should not have been created and should be altered and I am sure they will.

The INDECOM Act is one. It was created when our Parliament thought our armed forces could not be trusted, they were ashamed of the outcome of the ‘Tivoli Incursion’ and they wanted to bury our pride in the colon of massive wealthy world powers that we like bowing to.

It needs modifying. It reduces Jamaican citizens once they were sworn officers by removing the right to remain silent, a right that Christopher “Dudus” Coke and Tesha Miller still have. So, in essence, it made police officers and soldiers second-class citizens in their own country.

I am sure though, that based on our history, we will modify it. We usually fix what needs to be fixed ‘legislatively’.

Now here comes another injustice that will need repair. The Act that has been created that will monitor the micro loans industry. That is the guys who give you payday loans and other small swift loans.

This was an industry started by small businessmen who had a few thousand to lend. It has worked out to be a really large industry. So we have now created an Act to ensure that only large organisations can be involved in it.

The requirements that have been laid out will make it too expensive for small operators, but large banks will do well and benefit by the ingenuity of the less educated.

Also, as importantly, the average taxi man who gets $10,000 to borrow for a week will not be able to get it from the corporate giants that will be the only ones left in the industry and therefore that need will be not be met. This will result in an underground industry being created. Loan sharking will now become a new crime. This time by real criminals.

Is this another attempt to keep various groups in society in their lane, or is it, as is said, being done to avoid money laundering?

If the latter is correct, was the destruction of the innovators your only option?

One of the few things that Edward Seaga, Michael Manley and Dr Peter Phillips have in common is that they all maintain that the pie of resources and opportunities in Jamaica has never been evenly sliced.

This demonstrates how right they are.

Are we going to allow regulators and big businesses to destroy another group of entrepreneurs who did not know their place?

We did not stop until we changed the entire structure of informal commercial importing, effectively destroying the ‘higglers’ of the eighties.

Well we have two leaders in this country who I believe do not support our past behaviour of creating and maintaining oligopolies.

Andrew Holness is known for standing up for the little man, as is Mark Golding.

The latter was a banker.

Which one of these two that we expect to save us from sixties style protectionism will step up and stop this injustice in its track?

There are laws that need modifying and I’m sure they will soon. It is not confined to the INDECOM Act or the Micro Loans Act. What makes us better than the other countries to include the superpowers is that we will change them. We react, we adapt.

It is this confidence in our wisdom and in our leadership that keeps us hopeful, irrespective of the horrors that we live every day, to change without bloodshed, to adapt without fear. And we are damn proud of it.

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