Dear Editor,
I wish to highlight Mark Clarke's letter, titled 'Peter Bunting...our hero', which was published in the Jamaica Observer on Thursday, October 23, 2014.
In his letter, Clarke sarcastically applauds Peter Bunting's "heroic" feat in "saving" us from Yasin Abu Bakr, the leader of the Jamaat al Muslimeem group in Trinidad and Tobago.
Although I recognised Clarke's marked use of satire, there were many readers who took his adulation seriously. The comments posted below the letter on the Jamaica Observer's website confirm same and bring into question the comprehension capacity of a number of readers.
One reader commented: "Fren a tek up fi a fren. Nothing more, nothing less."
Clarke was in fact hinting that the $4 million spent to deport the Muslim leader was injudicious as the money could have been better invested in disaster preparedness, especially for diseases and epidemics.
The lines "We cannot purchase personal protective equipment for health care workers, but we can spend $4 million to deport Yasin Abu Bakr, not Osama bin Laden," and "Now which is the greater threat? Yasin Abu Bakr, Ebola or chikungunya?" underscore Clarke's thoughts.
The persons who misinterpreted and attacked Clarke's views were seemingly reading through foggy lenses of political partisanship. How myopic!
In truth, I have found many readers eager to comment on varied publications without a proper understanding of the subject or position presented. Salient points are often overlooked or repudiated because we invariably compete for intellectual championship.
Certainly, we are entitled to express divergent views. However, we must read, not simply identify and pronounce words, before disagreeing or criticising.
Let us read and reason objectively and disallow political and other affiliations to preclude our ability to think critically.
Shawna Kay Williams
shawna201@gmail.com
We must learn to read and reason
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I wish to highlight Mark Clarke's letter, titled 'Peter Bunting...our hero', which was published in the Jamaica Observer on Thursday, October 23, 2014.
In his letter, Clarke sarcastically applauds Peter Bunting's "heroic" feat in "saving" us from Yasin Abu Bakr, the leader of the Jamaat al Muslimeem group in Trinidad and Tobago.
Although I recognised Clarke's marked use of satire, there were many readers who took his adulation seriously. The comments posted below the letter on the Jamaica Observer's website confirm same and bring into question the comprehension capacity of a number of readers.
One reader commented: "Fren a tek up fi a fren. Nothing more, nothing less."
Clarke was in fact hinting that the $4 million spent to deport the Muslim leader was injudicious as the money could have been better invested in disaster preparedness, especially for diseases and epidemics.
The lines "We cannot purchase personal protective equipment for health care workers, but we can spend $4 million to deport Yasin Abu Bakr, not Osama bin Laden," and "Now which is the greater threat? Yasin Abu Bakr, Ebola or chikungunya?" underscore Clarke's thoughts.
The persons who misinterpreted and attacked Clarke's views were seemingly reading through foggy lenses of political partisanship. How myopic!
In truth, I have found many readers eager to comment on varied publications without a proper understanding of the subject or position presented. Salient points are often overlooked or repudiated because we invariably compete for intellectual championship.
Certainly, we are entitled to express divergent views. However, we must read, not simply identify and pronounce words, before disagreeing or criticising.
Let us read and reason objectively and disallow political and other affiliations to preclude our ability to think critically.
Shawna Kay Williams
shawna201@gmail.com
We must learn to read and reason
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