Dear Editor,
I had an old neighbour who used to tell me that one way the British colonialist police officers used to insult black "natives" was to interrupt us and order us to clean their shoes. Well, if that was an insult, then what we are doing today with regard to Barack Obama's visit must be a super insult.
Like everybody else, I too am glad that he is coming here, and I suppose that we should give him the respect that he deserves. But our actions in preparing for his visit have once again shown just how much we really don't like ourselves.
Notice how all of a sudden there are many road repairs taking place? I am on the road every day, and I have heard of the numerous complaints from year zero to now about some of these roads. Remember the dust bowl that we had to put up with in Cross Roads just a short time ago? To my shock, that was fixed. If you had to drive on Tom Redcam Drive, heading north, you couldn't miss that depression near the stop lights that could have caused many accidents. That, too, has now been fixed.
The same is true all over the city. Why is it that when we Jamaicans complain about these roads we are either ignored or told that there is no money, but when someone visits previously unavailable money is suddenly found? The only other time something gets done is when someone dies. Why is it that we don't think foreigners deserve to see our mess, but we do?
And talking about mess, I noticed with interest that the vendors who have been selling near Heroes Circle have been moved because it was felt that their presence would be inappropriate for Obama's Heroes Circle visit. You know, we Jamaicans are really something else. For decades, we have had to put up with this inappropriateness. Those who govern us didn't care about the "negative" effects that these vendors were having on us, but the minute someone important is coming, we hasten to clean up this "mess". This says a lot about how our leaders view us.
I lament for the people of Denham Town, Tivoli and other depressed communities that could benefit from a visit. I suppose they will have to continue to live in the "mess". After all, god isn't visiting them.
This has been happening now for years. Remember when Pope John Paul II visited? The road that he had to set his "holy feet" on was fixed, but the one right next to it was ignored.
Then again, we really can't blame our leaders. It seems clear to me that, as a people, we really do like being insulted by our own governments.
Michael A Dingwall
michael_a_dingwall@hotmail.com
I had an old neighbour who used to tell me that one way the British colonialist police officers used to insult black "natives" was to interrupt us and order us to clean their shoes. Well, if that was an insult, then what we are doing today with regard to Barack Obama's visit must be a super insult.
Like everybody else, I too am glad that he is coming here, and I suppose that we should give him the respect that he deserves. But our actions in preparing for his visit have once again shown just how much we really don't like ourselves.
Notice how all of a sudden there are many road repairs taking place? I am on the road every day, and I have heard of the numerous complaints from year zero to now about some of these roads. Remember the dust bowl that we had to put up with in Cross Roads just a short time ago? To my shock, that was fixed. If you had to drive on Tom Redcam Drive, heading north, you couldn't miss that depression near the stop lights that could have caused many accidents. That, too, has now been fixed.
The same is true all over the city. Why is it that when we Jamaicans complain about these roads we are either ignored or told that there is no money, but when someone visits previously unavailable money is suddenly found? The only other time something gets done is when someone dies. Why is it that we don't think foreigners deserve to see our mess, but we do?
And talking about mess, I noticed with interest that the vendors who have been selling near Heroes Circle have been moved because it was felt that their presence would be inappropriate for Obama's Heroes Circle visit. You know, we Jamaicans are really something else. For decades, we have had to put up with this inappropriateness. Those who govern us didn't care about the "negative" effects that these vendors were having on us, but the minute someone important is coming, we hasten to clean up this "mess". This says a lot about how our leaders view us.
I lament for the people of Denham Town, Tivoli and other depressed communities that could benefit from a visit. I suppose they will have to continue to live in the "mess". After all, god isn't visiting them.
This has been happening now for years. Remember when Pope John Paul II visited? The road that he had to set his "holy feet" on was fixed, but the one right next to it was ignored.
Then again, we really can't blame our leaders. It seems clear to me that, as a people, we really do like being insulted by our own governments.
Michael A Dingwall
michael_a_dingwall@hotmail.com