It is difficult to get a true handle on the motive for the disrespect meted out to Member of Parliament Juliet Holness, who is also the wife of Prime Minister Andrew Holness.
Some people booed Mrs. Holness in the crowd at a Jerk festival she attended in Miramar, Florida, last Sunday.
One local newspaper bemoaned the booing, thus,‘Diaspora members embarrassed by the booing of Juliet Holness in Florida.’
Wanting to get a better handle on what may have been behind the booing of Mrs. Holness by people in a crowd at a jerk festival in the state of Desantis, I reached out to a few friends who actually live in that most southern of southern states along with Donald Trump and the other ‘deplorables’ Hillary Clinton warned us about in 2016.
Call after call, the response I received from sources was the same. This was the act of Jamaicans living abroad acting out at someone from the party they did not support. I wasn’t sure whether or not there was something more specific behind the concerted booing which prompted Mrs. Holness to bravely deliver her short address over the act of hooliganism.
Global Jamaica Diaspora Council member, Dr. Allan Cunningham, opined to a local publication
that it appears that people were venting their frustration over the country’s direction, especially regarding crime and corruption, speaking of Jamaica.
Does anyone really believe those people booing the Prime minister’s wife were doing so because of corruption or crime?
I think not. As one Floridian told me this morning, Juliet Holness is one of the country’s most dedicated and effective political representatives, and she did not deserve the disrespect.
I agree with my friend on both counts, and I certainly do not believe that that element in the crowd was booing about either crime or corruption in Jamaica. To my mind, those elements may be more about increasing crime and corruption than ending it.
Jamaicans living in the United States and other countries are doing big things worthy of recognition and emulation in Jamaica. Jamaicans who did not have the opportunity at home have moved to the United States and other countries and worked wonders out of nothing.
Those are the people Jamaica’s representatives need to meet with to seek solutions. Nevertheless, as per usual. They meet with a few people in little cliques who shovel them into situations like Miramar, Florida, resulting in that outcome.
An old Jamaican saying is quite apropos in this situation: ” If yu nu gu anda fowl roos fowl caan shit pon yu”.
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Mike Beckles is a former Police Detective, businessman, freelance writer, black achiever honoree, and creator of the blog mikebeckles.com.