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Would you act?
10/27/09
Would you act?
As I sit in my criminal law class I was presented with a situation which forced me to think hard on the Jamaican Psyche. Specifically the saying that we all know called which goes by the phrase - Hear and Deaf, See and Blind. For the unitiated out there, this saying simply means that. Things which you hear you should simply pretend you are deaf even though you clearly heard it, and things which you see, just pretend you are blind and you didn't see it.
This is something which carries across the Jamaican landscape quite regularly because as has been reported for years now, people who witness crimes rarely if ever report it. This is quite simply because of a fear of being called an informer or being sought out by the criminal offender and being harmed. While I can understand the fear of being harmed by a criminal offender, especially with the seemed failure of the Jamaican witness protection program (if any such thing exists). I cannot understand the fear of being called an informer.
An informer is certainly not a bad thing, this person has information, and informs the relevant authorities of the information. I dont see how this can be regarded as bad, maybe as a child if you tell your mother that your sibling stole some candy despite the fact that this affected nobody at all, then being called a taddle-tale (for the foreign readers) can be seen as bad. However if you see a man assault another man on the street with a stone or a knife, then maybe it makes sense to call the police and let them know that hey, this guy did a bad thing.
But what I cannot understand is where this culture came from, I doubt it would be something historical, though I can see how it can be linked to slavery I dont see why it would be something that is so perpetrated in our modern society. Jamaica being the society that we are, should be praising people who inform on criminals instead of berating them and giving them titles.
I put forward the following question to you however reader: If you see a rather large man beating a woman at a bus-stop do you a) Ignore it and act as if nothing happened b) call the relevant authorities to the situation, trying to get as much evidence (photos etc) of the crime or c) try to stop the act
As I just learned by the way... one of those may be against the law, guess which one 
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Reasons why I love my Jamaican Mom
1. My Mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.
"Just wait till we get home."
2. My Mother taught me about RECEIVING.
"You going get a ass'n when we get home!"
3. My Mother taught me to MEET A CHALLENGE.
"What di backside yu thinkin'? Answer me when me talk to you...Don't talk back to me!"
4. My Mother taught me CONSEQUENCES.
"If yu run cross de road an' cyar lick yu dung, a goin' kill yu wid lick."
5. My Mother taught me THE VALUE OF EDUCATION.
"If yu no go a school, yu a go tun tief or walk an' pick up bottle."
6. My Mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE.
"If yu tun over yu eye lid an fly pitch pan it, it a go stay so fi evva."
7. My Mother taught me to THINK AHEAD.
"Is not one time monkey goin' wan' wife"
8. My Mother taught me ESP.
"Yu tink a don't know what yu up to nuh?"
9. My Mother taught me HUMOR.
"If yu don' eat food, breeze goin' blow yu 'way."
10. My Mother taught me how to BECOME AN ADULT.
"Come an' tek yu beatin' like man."
11. My Mother taught me about SEX.
"Yu tink say yu drop from sky?"
12. My Mother taught me about GENETICS.
"Yu jus' like yu faada."
13. My Mother taught me about my ROOTS.
"Yu tink mi come from "Back A Wall?"
14. My Mother taught me about WISDOM OF AGE.
"When yu get to be as ol' as me, yu wi understan'."
15. And my all time favorite... JUSTICE.
"One day wen yu have pickney, a hope dem treat yu same way."
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