Every Man for Himself and God For Me Alone!

Continued from: The Lack of Organized Public Protest By The silent Majority

Are we actually interested in permanent solutions to our problems? I think we have given up on the Government’s ability to fix anything and have decided to provide for ourselves the things they have failed to do. In most developed countries the people would take to the streets to demand that the Government deliver on what they are suppose to deliver, it is why we pay taxes, so that we do not have to worry about these basic services.

Take the dilapidated state of our roads and infrastructure, faced with this problem do we organize and demand that our hard earn tax dollars go towards fixing our basic needs? The average Jamaican choose the alternative they go to the bank and take out loans to buy the biggest SUV they can find to navigate the potholes, the more dilapidated the roads the bigger the vehicle. Big SUV's are more a status symbol than a requirement, peoples way to profile and separate themselves from the have not. Problem solved, those who can afford it are happy and those that cannot suck salt.

A friend was telling me about a person he knows, this person lived in Portmore in one of those prefab houses with an SUV that took up every square inch of the front yard. It was taller than the house and valued about 12 times as much.

 With the introduction of satellite dishes most Jamaican household began to install these massive ugly metallic structures in their yards and on top of their house, they would walk around boasting of their size, who had a 15 footer and who had a 20 footer and how much channels then had. It was also amazing to drive through the ghettos to see a 20 footer dish that was much bigger than the house made of board and zinc that it shared the yard with, even more amusing to see a satellite dishes on top of a house that looked like it could not and should not be able to support the weight of these monsters.

Every summer Jamaicans go through a series of water lock off’s due to drought and every summer the brains of our society write various articles proposing various schemes on how to solve this problem, it is a yearly ritual because as soon as it starts to rain everyone forgets about the summer drought, plans are shelved to be republished next year. We have these two dams, Hermitage Dam in Stony Hill, opened in 1927 and Mona Reservoir, opened in 1947, that we have totally out grown, the population size of the city has more than doubled and these dams I am sure are filled with more dirt and debris than water. So what do we do? Do we take to the streets in protest to force the Government to build new Dams or increase the capacity of the old dams or do we take hard earned money and buy these ugly personalized black tanks that sit on top of our houses? You guessed it, given the option the average Jamaican would rather take a financial hit, taxes plus the cost of ugly black water tanks rather than confront the government, also its a status symbol to be able to afford this, peoples way to profile, to show that they have the means and again those who can afford it are happy and those who cannot suck salt. 

Security and crime is a big problem in Jamaica our governments have failed to provide adequately security for our country and as such it is affecting us in a negative way. Our GDP would increase if we could bring about a solution to crime, it would free our minds to be more creative, to build and develop.  Faced with this problem the Jamaican people would prefer to provide their own security other than force the government to tackle the issue of crime. One of the biggest business is Jamaica is security firms, private police forces, armed rent a cops used to guard entire families and homes, you call them to tell them you are on your way home and they send a car to wait for you at your gate, they enter your property for a quick look around then escort you into your home, soon I believe they will tuck you into bed, read you a bedtime story and get you milk and cookies. Most of these people have never been a victim of crime, even before the days of the security firms, they do not live in crime ridden areas so this is more of a status symbol, keeping up with the Jones, to separate themselves, the look at me syndrome, more profiling and in order to justify it they go on and on about crime.

Houses have become bunkers, fortresses as we imprison ourselves by placing iron bars on every window and doors, there have been cases where fire have destroyed entire families because they could not exit their own house/prison cell, they could not find the keys to the grilled iron gate. Walls around properties have shot up some 12 feet with remote control gates and gun ownership has gone up as most walk around with bulged hips and while coming home from late night parties are forced wait on slow moving electric gates to open with their guns in hand, at the ready half-cocked or full-cocked. More and more people are leaving stand alone houses with massive front and back yards for Gated Community Compounds with 24 hour security and again those who can afford it are happy and those who cannot suck salt.

Frequent power cuts across Jamaica affects GDP growth and the personal lives of the people, but faced with this problem Jamaicans would rather buy Delco Generators than force the Government to guarantee constant power supply and again those who can afford it are happy and those who cannot suck salt.

We have a selfish society that only cares about me, myself and I, every man for himself and God for me alone, the educated class is only thinking about themselves, there is little or no concern for wider society and when you engage them in conversation they will provide a million and one reasons why that is so. In order to care less about their fellow Jamaicans they must portray them in such a way that would force a mental disconnect, they are animals, they are this and that, which empowers them to care less and only for themselves but we are creating a cycle that will come back to bite us in the butt as the number of people we care less about gets large.

All of Jamaica’s achievements in the past came about because the educated class engaged the lower class and the upper class in a fight for social justice, workers rights and universal adult suffrage. None of this would have been possible if it was not for the unique position of the educated class, their proximity to power-base of the ruling upper class and their ability to organize the power of the common people to bring about the required changes. These days however they care about nothing but themselves, want everything for themselves and give nothing back to the process of Nation Building.

So instead of confronting Government we now provide our own power, water, security and transport while still paying taxes to a Government who provide very little. I write not to condemn but to try and inspire change, I want us to become a nation that cares about our fellow man, woman and child, I want us to build a Nation State that would be a shining example to others, I want us to be more pro-active and I want us to come together as one people, not as JLP or PNP, not as rich, poor, educated or uneducated but one people because the problems we face are not limited to a certain sector of society, it is our problem, this is our country and its future depends on all of us. I beg you all to reengage the Nation Building process.

More about → Every Man for Himself and God For Me Alone!

The Lack of Organized Public Protest By The silent Majority

I cannot help but wonder why there is an almost lack of public protest in Jamaica, I am having a hard time remembering a time when Jamaicans organized a massive, peaceful, progressive socially cohesive movement against anything and I am not talking about the politically organized partisan, out of control gas riots of the past or the protest in defense of Dons, warlords and gang members but a more productive outcry, a socially conscious movement against injustice, mismanagement and corruption within the Jamaican society.

The lack of organized public outcry in Jamaica either means that we are all content, yard nice, everything sweet, session a run  and everything is right in our world or that we are such a fragmented society that it is almost impossible for us to come together as a people to confront the problems we face as Jamaicans. I know for a fact that all is not right with our world, even though some of us like to pretend it is. I know we are all concerned about the alarming crime rates in our country, mismanagement of the Government sector, I know we are concerned with high unemployment rates , I know we are concerned with dilapidated infrastructure and the declining education system that is turning out students who are incapable of 21st century productivity. So why then are we so complacent in the face of Government corruption, crime and the declining economy? I have said it before that the people of Jamaica are afraid to hold the Government accountable fearing that the Government would then turn around and hold them accountable, I think Jamaicans are afraid of a society with rules, equality and Justice and we are addicted to the crab in a barrel lifestyle.

People in other countries throughout the world do not seem to suffer from this complacency, people around the world are organizing and taking to the streets to voice their discontent, from the UK various groups have organized and took to the streets, the massive student protest against raising student fees almost shut down cities across England, disgusting far right groups have organized and protest to make their voices heard, a protest against police shooting that turned in a mass riot in England which highlighted deep rooted social and economic problems that exist across the UK and more organized protest are being planned as we speak against government cuts, increasing unemployment and economic hardship.

 In the United States the Occupy Wall Street Movement is a protest against the greedy bankers who run the financial system that caused global economic collapse, which is set to spread to other cities and countries as people take to the streets to send a message to the ruling class that enough is enough, we are tired and we are not taking it anymore. The Tea Party Movement represents people standing up for what they believe in (right or wrong) and making their voices heard. I remember the million man march which was perfectly organized and executed with precision, Jon Stewart’s rally to restore sanity  just to name a few. Not to mention the uprising the in the Middle East.

 Million Man March

So what of Jamaica? We complain daily about the negative things happening within our society but we never seem to get past that, our Governments know that we are incapable of organizing a dance or a piss up in a brewery much less a massive socially conscious movement and so they are free to do what they want, when they want and like us they only pay lip service to the problems we face as a nation. The year (2009) when we had 1681 murders across the island, where was the outrage? Where was the organized movement to force our government to take the issue of crime seriously? When are we going to stand up and demand accountability from not only the Government, but the Private sector and ourselves? We are afraid to protest because we think it will affect our earnings, disrupt the well oiled wheels of our economy (lol) but crime, mismanagement and corruption is actually affecting our earnings and causing the wheels of our economy to grind to a halt.  

When the mid 90’s Orane Report on waste and mismanagement in the Government was published and the Government did not implement it, I expected the people to demonstrate and demand that the Government implement the requested changes for making the Public sector more accountable and streamlined this would save millions of tax payer’s money. In doing so the people would have demonstrated that they have reached a level of political sophistication, demanding not only short term but also long term changes from the Government. This would have set precedence, showing that the people are no longer waiting for crumbs from the politician table but wanted exactly what they employed them to do.  I remember a group organized a protest against the rising crime rate but only about 200 people bothered to show up at that event, but keep a street dance on Knutsford Boulevard and the people will descend like locus to part take in the merriment,” Easy skanking, skanking it easy”.

OK the memory of Morris Cargill ripping into Bob Marley about the following lyrics just comes to mind, Morris thought it was a low class and boogoyagga thing to say ... 

I want to disturb my neighbour,

'Cause I'm feelin' so right;

I want to turn up my disco...

Continue On Page: Every Man for Himself and God For Me and Me Alone

More about → The Lack of Organized Public Protest By The silent Majority

Preserving All Of Our History

Many Jamaicans have a romantic notion of life in old colonial Jamaica, somehow they feel that life was better for all under British colonial rule and I sometimes wonder just where they got this idea from. Yes life was very good for a chosen few, yes it was a simpler time but back then a vast majority of Jamaicans lived in poverty.  Just before independence one quarter of the adult population could not read or write, one quarter of the total workforce had no jobs and the distribution of land ownership and the means of production represented gross and growing inequalities and at that time pre-independence Jamaica had a very small middle class.

If you ask some old-timers about life back then they would go into great details about how wonderful it was when they were a child, what they use to do, it was a fun simpler time but they were children, with not a care in the world, most not responsible for putting food on the table. However when you sit down and do the research into the lives of the people, read the social and economic historical archives, you get a completely different picture of life in colonial Jamaica, yes it was safer but harder times and most seems to be contented with the hard life they lived, no light, running water, horrible living conditions and very little hope of progress.

I think people were very simple back then and accepted and enjoyed simpler things, I think they accepted their status, position and station in life and did not question it. A lot of times the life they described was not their own but the life of the British colonial class, a life they could not take part in but could only observe and they seemed happy that the colonial class was able to live so well, usually at their expense. I love to interrogate the older generation about life back then, I once spoke to an old friend of the family who loved to talk a lot about the glory days but only in terms of the big house she use to work in, not the house she lived in, how great the lady of the house was, how stylish and upper class, they were, a fine white Lady and gentleman who belong to the upper echelons of Jamaican and British society and even though these people lived in Jamaica most did not consider themselves Jamaicans, Jamaica was not an option for them after independence, the gravy train had ended and so they packed up their belongings and returned to the mother country.

The words Jamaicans used to describe colonial Jamaica was taken from the British, the idea that Jamaica was the pearl of the Caribbean or the jewel in the British crown was a British concept based purely on the benefits Britain received at the expense of the native population and not its development. Britain cared very little about how the native population lived, cared very little about their education and well-being and more about pacifying the people so that they continue to work hard and support the British economy.

Sometime ago I joined a Facebook group called the Jamaica Colonial Heritage Society created by Brett Ashmeade-Hawkins, who is a passionate historian with a wealth of knowledge, he presents historical artifacts with detail descriptions of names, dates and places.  The Jamaica Colonial Heritage Society’s group love of history excites me and I support their desire to preserve our colonial past, I love the artifacts they have on display and I understand why each time they see another colonial artifact from our past being destroyed they get very upset. I too get very upset that we as a people have not taken advantage of our history, we see it as something to forget, to push aside, as we set out to destroy everything colonial but unlike some members of the group I will not lash out against the Jamaican people in a very stereotypical way, painting all with the same ignorant brush. Somehow some of these people believed that the British had created a perfect society, instilled the perfect values in us but for whatever reason we are incapable of retaining values, thus reverting to our savage dark nature destroying the perfect society that was created and given to us.

Greenwood Great House

One thing I most admire about the Jewish community is how they set out to preserve various Holocaust sites and Jewish artifacts because they realized that these sites have value and needed to be preserved even though they represented great suffering and hardship for their people. The sites are preserved so that future generations will not forget what had happened to their ancestors.

 

I view the plantations and the great houses as a Holocaust sites that should be preserved for future generation to understand what had happened to our ancestors, how they suffered, to see how the ruling class lived at the expense of the slave class. It is amazing that in almost all the plantations the slave section of these estates have almost vanished leaving behind the majestic mansions of the white colonial class, which makes it difficult for our young people to imagine the human suffering that took place, out of sight out of mind, as everyone involved push the greatness and sing praises to the people who lived in these massive Great Houses.

I am particular interested in our colonial architecture but most Jamaicans seem to see these old buildings as something to knock down and rebuild into something awful. It is correct to say that most Jamaicans do not see any value in preserving historical artifacts from our colonial history because they were never educated to see any value in it. Our past Colonial Masters did not set out to create an educated society with values or else we would not be in the situation we are currently in since values are normally passed down from generation to generation and our current Home Grown Colonial leaders learned from the very best, they too are not too concerned about values within our society.  My estimate is that if we have 100 historical sites 85 percent of them are almost gone, turning into dust.

The shocking thing is, we expect poor, uneducated, ignorant, low income, materialistic people to acquire a sense of value and historical perspective as if people are genetically engineered with values or acquire them through osmosis. The fact is not even our foreign minded, foreign educated, middle and upper-class have these values, at least the poor have an excuse, what is the excuse of the educated class? A well traveled educated Jamaican will tell you about the old historical ruins in Greece, England and France with joy while totally ignoring those at home.

I am a huge admirer of Jamaica’s Environmental Groups, they play an active role in preserving the natural eco-system. They organize lectures and various events such as beach cleaning days, they are environmental activists/warriors as they protest and fight to force our government to put in place measures to protect environmentally sensitive areas, they create petitions so the world wide community can assist them in their fight, they go out to schools and communities, they reach out to explain the importance of the environment to young, old, rich and poor alike, they try to make uneducated low income people understand the importance of the environment to their existence.

There is a need to duplicate this effort with regards to historical sites and artifacts, there needs to be a more pro-active group that is interested in the complete history of our people, not just trying to glorify Colonialism and Slavery as if they wish to return to the good old glory days. It is not suppose to be about which plantation Slave owner you are related to, like any association you can draw elevates your status in life, the nostalgia of a life you did not live but now try to live by proxy, as they praise how great their ancestors were, how big their plantation was, how massive the Great House was and how many heads of slave they had at their disposal, I cannot imagine descendants of Nazi Germany boasting the same way about getting rich at the expense of Jewish suffering. This is not the way to get the Black population on-board, when they read things like this, they then want nothing to do with preservation of these sites. History is suppose to be inclusive, the story of everyone involved must be told, lay bare for all to see and read.

One of my favorite author and Historian is Niall Ferguson even though I do not agree with some of his conclusions on British Colonial History, the fact is he is a brilliant writer and historian and have the ability to describe history in details and take me back in time. In a part of his book Empire “The Rise and Demise of the British World Order and the Lessons for Global Power” Ferguson states “If not the British then who?”  As if to say, who would you rather to enslave you, use you and abuse you, beat you and rape you, the French would have made your life 10 times worst and the Germans would put you against the wall and have you shot, so count your blessing it was the British. That is what I dislike about his writings but his writings are so much more than this.

Please Also Read: That oh so special time

For the average Jamaican, colonialism was not pretty, life was not easy and the British for all its 350 years of rule did not invest out of love for Jamaicans, they did not invest in Jamaican minds, They were never interested in building a nation, they just did not create a society capable of valuing, understanding  or embracing history.  History can be a very profitable business, if we take the time to invest in our past, we could have a very bright future, a revitalized Downtown Kingston to recapture 17 Century architecture, how it use to be, centuries old quaint villages across the island rebuilt to capture historical life, Spanish Town the 16 century capital of the Island, in any other country would be a major tourist attraction with the ability to transport its occupants back to the 16 Century, to see and feel history.

Now I agree that people who know better should do better, it is not enough to just curse poor people because they do not share your superior sense of value, you the materialistic educated class is a waste of space if you do not attempt to use your education, wealth, position in society, your proximity to power to mold our society for the greater good, to build a nation state with values to appreciate our history and historical artifacts, so that everyone can get a better understanding of their future. Today’s educated middle and upper-class have no excuse for not pushing values unless they are truly bankrupt of it , by not doing so you are behaving like the British Colonial Masters of the past but this time with an American outlook on life, if its old… bulldoze it.......

I am a huge fan of shows that trace people’s heritage like “Who Do You Think You Are?” on the BBC. It is fascinating to see how far back these people can go, finding relatives that are spread across the globe.  The British Government seems to keep records of everything and everyone and all has been computerized, just by entering your name in the search engine and you can track your family roots going back centuries, even with pictures in some cases, now how cool is that? My mother died when I was 9 months old and I have no idea how she looked as the family have no pictures of her, it seems strange in this day and age but back them people had more important things to do than to stand around taking pictures it seems, so I cannot even connect her face to mine.

I know my last name, is my last name but not really my last name, I know it was given to me based mainly on which plantation my ancestors was sold to. I know name assignment was a simple process, for example, there goes Stewart’s slave and before you know it an entire generation of people with the last name Stewart started spreading all over Jamaica and Stewart could be the owner of the plantation or the overseer, so tracing my heritage is not as easy as I would like but it does not stop me from wondering who my ancestors were, what were they like, what did they do? Are there people in other countries who are related to me, separated only by which ship went left or right, do they look like me, it boggles the mind. I remember going to England for a little family reunion and was shocked to see people who look like me, my father, my sisters and my grandmother so just imagine how many extended family I may have in others countries.

I remember the exact day and time when I read the following text, I will never forget it, certain things can mark you for life and this is one of them, not out of anger but shock and disappointment with humanity, it is my firm belief that no one should get angry over history, upset yes, disappointed why not but anger no. History represents how we use to be, not who we are today, not where we are going, we must use it to shape our future.. 

Cecil Rhodes embarked on war with Lobengula in Matebele, his troops used a new "secret weapon:" the Maxim which could fire 500 rounds a minute. In 1893, in the battle of Shangani River, 1,500 Matebele warriors were killed while only four British died. The English Liberals penned a bitter satire on the victory, which Rhodes' men --- the Chartered Company Volunteers --- then cynically adopted as their anthem (below):

The Rise and Demise of The British World Order and The Lessons for Global Power

Niall Ferguson

Onward Chartered Soldiers, on to heathen lands,

Prayer books in your pockets, rifles in your hands.

Take the florious tidings where trade can be done,

Spread the peaceful gospel --- with a Maxim gun.

Tell the wretched natives, sinful are their hearts,

Turn their heathen temples into spirit marts.

And if to your teaching they will not succumb,

Give them another sermon with the Maxim gun...

When the Ten Commandments they quite understand,

You their Chief must hocus, and annex their land;

And if they misguided call you to account,

Give them another sermon --- with a Maxim from the Mount.

I remember when my Primary school teacher had us repeat the following over and over until we got it right. The words did something to me that day, I began to question myself, who am I and where am I going, and how I am going to get there.. It was then that I realized that my principles and my word is all I really have to go by, it is what defines me as a person, I will not turn my back on my principles and my word is my bond.

If We Must Die :

Claude McKay (1890–1948)

IF we must die—let it not be like hogs

Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot,

While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,

Making their mock at our accursed lot.

If we must die—oh, let us nobly die,

So that our precious blood may not be shed

In vain; then even the monsters we defy

Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!

Oh, Kinsmen! We must meet the common foe;

Though far outnumbered, let us still be brave,

And for their thousand blows deal one death-blow!

What though before us lies the open grave?

Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack,

Pressed to the wall, dying, but—fighting back!

The following week she had us do the same thing to Mango Time...

Mi Gone!

More about → Preserving All Of Our History

Arsenal Through and Through

There are times when a club finishes the season on fire, when something wonderful happens and the entire squad jells to the point where team mates communicate with each other using telepathy, they know exactly where to pass the ball, they are in perfect harmony, then the season ends, summer break begins after that the new season starts, the same squad hits the field and they play like total and utter shit. Something happened over the summer and the squad and club have lost its dynamics. Sometimes the total opposite happen, the club finishes the season playing their worst football and starts the new season on fire with everyone fitter, fresher in sync and plays one step ahead of their opponents, something wonderful happened, I am not sure what, they matured, they grew stronger with determination and vision.  It is also possible for a squad to start the season well and by the time December comes around starts to lose ground and other times they start the season bad but end up in a fight for the title.

If you ask me who I would like to take over from Wenger, I cannot tell you, I do not know of another manager I would like to manage Arsenal FC but Arsene Wenger, I am use to the old Geezer and his crazy ways but the reaction of our supporters to the lack of progress is expected and understandable, we are being asked  to be patient once again, it’s been 6 years and still we are no closer to a squad we can depend on, a squad we have full confidence in.  In years gone pass we had no such worry, suporters and players alike was filled with confidence, bask in our own superiority as we roll over anything and anyone they throw in front of us, we were the media darling, our style was the best in all the lands, our passing games produced results, scoring some of the most beautiful goals in all of England and the world, “We Are The Arsenal..”.

These days we get excited if we can come away with a win or a draw against lesser clubs, clubs we never worry about in the pass, we are now so very nervous that it adds to our anxiety and frustration and I can totally understand the frustration, fear and disappointment of the fans. Once upon a time we were the club everyone wanted to play for, we could get any top of the line players our heart desire, they all wanted to be at the club, they all wanted to share in the Arsenal experience, now we are publicly dismissed by some of the world’s best players as not good enough, so I can understand the frustration of the fans. 

We watch each match hoping that we are witnessing history in the making, that this is the match when the club, team and squad will achieve enlightenment, the point where they start to believe as a team, they begin to understand each other more than they understand themselves, communicate using telepathy and outplay everyone, anywhere and anytime, a super team, warriors on the pitch and we want this for Arsene Wenger, we want to secure his legacy of being the greatest Manager the club have ever seen, but deep down we know that this set of player have not developed to that level. But I can understand the frustration of the fan, the confusion as they lose faith in the Wenger philosophy, some of us have trouble understand why it was necessary to transform the club over night, to get rid of all its seasoned, mature players who have led this club winning trophies after trophies, back to back titles, why was it necessary to trust the future of the club on players so young, skillful but void of experience, guts and determination. If the experiment had worked then transfer fees would not be the high over the top price it is today as everyone would use the Wenger experiment as a bench mark. 

 The perceived failure of the Wenger experiment proved to others that the way forward is to spend, spend and spend big, get the best of the best forget the concept of building from the ground up, everyone wants an instant squad, mercenaries for higher.  The problem with some of our young players is that they are not Arsenal enough, no guts, not commitment, they surrender too easy and cry about how they miss home and mummy, they do not understanding what it means to be an Arsenal player, Bergkamp, Henry, Pirès, Vieira and the English Back line did not just play for Arsenal, they went to war for Arsenal and we went to war with them week in week out, they made us proud. I hope our current squad will develop into true Arsenal players, warriors who dictate events on the pitch and see us back to winning ways but that will not happen until the powers that be make some fundamental changes to the squad and club, Arsenal FC in its current form lack vision and leadership, there is a disconnect between Players, managers, the board and the supporters and nothing will change until that is resolved.

Wenger promised us a very active transfer market but the only real transfer activity we had was transfer-out, as we lost Samir Nasri, Cesc Fabregas, Gaël Clichy among others. For the past couple seasons the fans have demanded tactical signings, we had identified where the squad was weakest and wanted specific signings to buffer those areas but it seems Wenger was more interested in signing yet another young cheap striker, who do not know what to do when he is one on one with a goal keeper much less a hot blond.  Our defense is horrible, I mean nonexistent, we have very poor cover for most areas, the squad is very shallow, no depth what so ever, unlike our main rivals Manchester United, City and Chelsea who can play almost anyone on the bench and still come away with a win, we struggle even when we are playing our first team against championship sides.  Arsenal bought Carl Jenkinson for around £1 million and he is totally and utterly worthless, we got exactly what we paid for, where did this penny pinching mentality come from, who decided to sacrifice winning titles and championship to save a million here and a million there. The club reported time and time again that Mr. Wenger does have money to enter the transfer market, not to mention our recent sales must have added to our war chest but still nothing.

 I cannot say I was surprise at the result of the match against United, I suspected like most Arsenal fans that this encounter would open the eyes of everyone to the fact that we are heading in the wrong direction. Some part of me wanted this trashing, I saw it as the only way for us to change the direction of the club, this policy that is clearly not working for us and have not worked for us for 5 years now. Why is it that we can see and identify the problem but the managers are blind to it? Wenger declared that the result was the way it is because we had players out thus indirectly saying that we have not invested enough into the club, Arsenal FC should not be suffering from this problem, we are an old experience club and should know better, should know that adequate cover is a must. Every club should invest in young talent but every club also need mature, experience players with guts and determination to lead the charge. I am also not confident about the players who are out, the dynamics of the squad is all wrong and unless Wenger realize and fix it, then be prepared to expect more of the same.

 A response against Shrewsbury in it self means nothing, we are looking for consistency and I am forced to live in the past because none of these current players with the exception of Wojciech Szczesny seems capable of creating a future deserving of our history or achievements.

This squad can win a match here and a match there but that is not what makes true Champions, Arsenal needs to be more consistent and until something changes with this squad I do not see consistency coming from them. Just look how they walk around the pitch after being scored against. For me the match against United was not so much about winning but a measure of character, to better understand who they are and how they deal with being 2 or 3 goals down, that is where maturity comes in. I wanted to see fight back, determination, guts true Arsenal spirit but instead I saw a team that gave up and wanted the Ref to blow the whistle before time. They looked like they wished football had mercy rules, like boxing, that Wenger would get up and throw in the white towel thus saving them from further punishment and humiliation. The supporters are frustrated and I can surly understand why because I am just as frustrated as they are, that does not mean that we do not love this club, it is because we love this club of ours, we are Arsenal supporters through and through.

We will continue to do what we have always done, support this club, cheer them along, those of us on this side of the world will continue to wake up at the most ungodly hours to support our club though thick and thin, win lose or draw, unlike some players we do not have a transfer market nor need one, we do not want to turn our backs on this club. We are Arsenal Supporters, Gooners through and through and nothing can change that, cause we all follow the Arsenal.

Link->> keep It Arsenal

Link->>Arsenal Till I Die!


**Update** August 31st 20011

The Transfer window is now close which saw Arsenal signing several players after their 8-2 defeat to United.  I cannot help feeling that this was a panic (but welcome) buy, a rush by the board to save face and prevent wrought of the fans. We should not have been in this position where we have make last minute desperate buys. Wenger had the entire summer to analyze players and make a proper decision but for some reason this was not done. We made some good signings, not great signings however much better than what we had… we finally have some experience players in the squad, now to see how they jell with our current players and how dangerous they are on the pitch.  I am particular worried about Vermaelen he seems to be injury prone and may make limited contribution if it continues so hopefully Per Mertesacker will fill in nicely coupled with the Brazilian Andre Santos. In any case this is an improvement with what we started the season with.

Carl Jenkinson
Joel Campbell
Andre Santos
Chu Young-Park
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Yossi Benayoun (Loan)
Mikel Arteta
Per Mertesacker
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Whites have become Black ...WTF?

David-Starkey claims: Whites have become black

First let me say:

• If the recent riot in the city of London was happening in Jamaica I wonder what the headlines in the British media would be. They would highlight all manner of things, how we are poverty stricken, corrupt, drug and gang infested, a third world hellhole with no future.  The British Government would issue a travel Advisory telling its citizens to stay away from all of Jamaica even if the riot was in one small section of the Capital.
   
• If the recent riot in the city of London was happening Jamaica I wonder what the Jamaicans living overseas would say on the various messaging boards. They would declare how a shamed and disgusted they were,   not wanting anyone to know they were Jamaican, they would make it seem like a riot like that would never happen in the country they now call home and that Jamaica was a failed state and would be better off either under British rule or as a state of America, sometimes Jamaicans are Jamaica’s worst enemy. 
   
•  If the shooting of an unarm man by the police occurred in Jamaica you would hear how corrupt our police force is because they carry out summary justice killings with no regard for life but when Jean Charles de Menezes was shot in the face or Mark Duggan shot in the back of a cab the British media tried very hard to spin the story even in the face of mounting evidence against the police version of the events. In fact since 1998 a total of 333 people have died in the UK while in police custody, but no officer has ever been successfully prosecuted.

Whatever I write here hold true for almost every society because I think we are suffering from some of the same problems, no country is immune to riots, violence and corruption, so we could easily swap out then name Britain and use Jamaica or the United States who have seen its fair share of riots over the years.

I will agree 100% that the rioters are, illiterate, no good troglodytes’ thieves and animals out to get their hands on flat screen TV, trainers, phones or anything else they can fine, I will agree that the riot was more about stealing and destruction, that it was mindless and without cause and if name calling helps, I would gladly come up with a couple more but no amount of name calling will solve this problem.  These rioters, these troglodytes are a the product of a Failing British Society, these rioters were born, bred, educated and socialized in the United Kingdom of Great Britain, whatever they are, however you want to describe them or their actions you must accept the fact that they are product of their society, a society that failed to instill the proper values in them.  How can anyone in their right mind set a building on fire knowing that inside there may be man, woman and children, small babies who could burn to death? 

It is my perception that most people in the UK are not looking at the riots as a sign of a deeper societal problem which requires further analysis and solution, people are not looking at the fact that society have somehow failed these young people, it is much easier to pretend that the British society is perfect and the people carrying out the riots are not seeds of Britain but suffer from a genetic disorder carried like a plague on the Empire Windrush.  It is amazing how people’s opinion differ when those doing the rioting are not white. The Daily Whine (Mail) immediately worked itself up into a frenzy becoming an extension of the BNP and EDL as it tries to start its own brand of race riot, look what these brown people are doing to Her Majesty’s perfect country. The British it seems are professional scapegoat artist they see everything that is wrong with the United Kingdom of Great Britain to be the fault of Immigrants and British born minorities.

Right wing Britain do not like to take responsibility for anything bad, they are professionals at passing the blame to some other group or entity. Britain is not only broken but a divided society with an open sore for the entire world to see and I am very disappointed about that because I expect better as Britain is my second favorite place on the planet. All I am hearing is “us against them, their community, my community, it is always someone else’s fault, its social media, its Blackberry, it’s the afro-Caribbean fault, it’s the Jamaicans fault, it’s the increasing influence of the black American culture”, everywhere it seems, there is a conspiracy by all to destroy Her Majesty’s perfect Britain. What I would like to know is when will the British Government and its people, all of its people take responsibility for its own failures.

The British must believe Jamaica to be the most powerful country on the face of this planet and that no amount of education and proper socialization of their young people can protect them from our most awesome powers, to bend the world to our will. If only that was true then we could use that power to better Jamaica instead of wasting it on Bad Breed British Pickney. 

Whenever you attempt to analyze the problem, to get to root of the matter in order to come up with a constructive, objective solution you get accuse of being a liberal because these so called hard-noses beat them with stick types believe that the solution is to beat down anyone and anything who dares to step out of line, no analysis required. Most people do not behave like this, so SOD the rest just shoot them where they stand and before you know it you have a well armed underclass void of conscience beating down your door and setting your family on fire. The law is the law and dysfunctional people who break it must be punished with that I agree, no one is saying not to uphold the law what we are saying is that you cannot expect the poor and ignorant to continue to suffer in silent and out of sight, your world is perfect so long as you don’t see or hear them. It is the responsibility of everyone in society to try to fix the problems we face and so upholding the law is only one part of the solution putting in place preventative measures, which is finding long term solutions to alleviate poverty, suffering and ignorance (a lethal combination) will secure the future of any country.

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• Britain has one of the highest violent crime rates in the EU. Roughly 18 per cent of youths between 16 and 24 are jobless and nearly half of all black youths are out of work with a total of 2.49 million people out of work.
•  There's income inequality, extremely high levels of unemployment between 16 and 24-year-olds and huge parts of this population not in education or training.
• In 2008, there were more than 1 million reported cases of violent crimes in England and Wales alone. By comparison, there were 331,778 reported incidents in France and some 210,885 incidents in Germany. Violent crime carried out by children and teenagers is also among the highest in Europe.
• The UK has the highest teenage birth rates in Western Europe - twice as high as in Germany, three times as high as in France and six times as high as in the Netherlands. So now we have the young rising the very young and I wonder where will they get good values from?
• In the UK young people aged 16-24 years are most at risk of being diagnosed with an STD
• Britain is the binge-drinking capitol of Europe - The prevalence of binge drinking in the UK and Ireland compared with other European countries is also evident when looking at the proportion of 15-16 year old who report binge drinking. 

 "I wonder where is Ian Thomson (author of Dead Yard) to document all of the above... he would probably blame it all on us Jamaicans anyway..."

Article on Drunken Broken Britain 

What can we say about a society that cultivate, socialize create people with such destructive criminal mindset, clearly one must realize that a problem exist and must be tackled. Young people live what they learn, it is the British society that created that mindset and that mindset is not unique to the UK almost every country including Jamaica and the United States of America suffer from the same problem and need to find a solution. This riot is not unique as a quick research on demonstrations in Britain will show that they do have a tendency to quickly turn into mindless destructive riots, from students to BNP/EDL, to football hooliganism, to G20.  

The people who were rioting in London are not all immigrants, most are British citizens, some may be descendants of immigrants but they are British. If the Government of Great Britain allows people from others countries into the UK then it is the responsibility of that government and its people to treat these people as equals. By not doing this the British is in a sense, “cutting off their nose to spite their face”, as once immigrants are already in your country and have been for way over a century then they cannot and should not be called immigrants anymore and it is in everyone’s best interest to make sure that they are treated fairly and become Good, Valued Citizens who will join mainstream society and contribute to the greater good. These British citizens must be accepted as equals they must be given equal opportunity with equal access to everything Britain have to offer, to do otherwise would be inhumane and would condemn British society to a never ending struggle of inequality and crime.

The rioting in England represented the worst case of policing that I have ever seen, the police was totally worthless on the night, what the hell kind of tactics was that, stand and watch, no taking charge. A far cry from how the English use to put down riots in the colonies, a volley of shots from kneeling and standing position: Riots Here: Send Help At Once: April 5, 1902 Riots, Montego Bay Jamaica 

The very idea that, if white Anglo Saxons British citizens treated the non-white British citizens as outcast, that if treated badly for a prolong period of time, prevented from getting a proper education, prevented from getting proper employment, excluded from mainstream society without the means to support themselves, that these none-white British citizens will pack their belongings and go back to a country they never came from and know nothing about, is flawed and mistaken. This line of action will only serve to create a subclass, a sub society which will separate themselves from mainstream society and find alternate means of supporting themselves, whether it is by honest or dishonest means. It has been proven over and over again that people who are rejected by mainstream society do not pack up and leave their homes, especially when they have no place to go and nowhere else to call home but will  turn to all forms of anti-social behavior to make ends meet.   

It seems no matter how long a person has lived in the United Kingdom no matter how many generations have passed that some Anglo Saxons and media outlet will not consider their non-white fellow citizens as British or English. Imagine living in a country for over a century and still being called an immigrant, still being asked which country you came from and still being told to go back to where you came from. I sympathize for these British citizens who was born in Britain, grow up in Britain, educated and socialized in Britain, all they know and ever know is Britain and still being told over and over that they do not belong to their birth country and they are forced to listen to rubbish like “that just because a dog was born in a barn does not make it a horse”… the psychological toll this must have on young minds is unimaginable.

Whenever I meet some British minorities I find it very strange that they seem compelled to emphasize almost immediately the fact that they are British, as if they are trying to convince me or themselves, even thou I never considered them to be anything else but now I understand why and it’s simply because of the society they live in, a society that continue to push them away, to tell them they do not belong but they want very much to belong, to be English, to be British and to play their part in building their country. How can you continue to tell people to go back to where they come from when all they know is the United Kingdom of Great Britain?

By 2020 the mixed race population is expected to become Britain's largest ethnic minority group with the highest growth rate.

Fact-> the United Kingdom of Great Britain is a multi-racial society, a destiny you created for yourself the day your ancestors decided to jump on ships loot, rape, pillage and enslave other countries and assume dominion over them, after centuries of convincing people that you were the greatest thing since slice bread, and that everyone should bow to your will and accept you as lord and master over them. Fact-> the non-white population living in the United Kingdom IS NOT going anywhere so you will continue to be a multi-racial society and as such it’s best to embrace it and let it work for you, celebrate your diversity.

Now as far as I am concern Britain is still one of the best countries on this planet, my second love and will continue to be for a very long time and if the riots had happen in any other country except Jamaica I would not have written this but sometimes you must confront the people you love, I write about Jamaica because I love my country and I write about Britain for the very same reason regardless of our pass and especially because of our pass. So here is hoping that we both find solutions to our problem and we continue to work together for the betterment of both our people. 

 

G20 Riot

 

Student Riot

***John Cleese Update: September 2nd 2011 ***

British actor John “I hate foreigners” Cleese declared that London is no longer an English city and that it is very hard to find an English person in London.What John “I hate foreigners” Cleese  is really saying is that, there is a lot of non-white people living in London and since us white Anglo-Saxon do not consider people who are not white to be English then London is no longer an English city. I so feel it for non-white British citizens because it does not matter that they consider themselves to be  British or English to the core they are still not accepted by their fellow white British and English citizens and are still considered as foreigners. But I must say that what is important is not what these people think of you but what you think of yourselves, be proud of who you are, be proud of and embrace your “Britishness/Englishness” and do not let them define you. 

I met a nationalistic English guy at a pub in the east village where everyone watches football, he declared that he had to leave England because it was filled with foreigners, it was amazing that this white Anglo-Saxon English man left England because of foreigners and moved to a state, borough and a country filled with Foreigners, to be a foreigner himself and lived in Bed-Sty Brooklyn, a West Indian and Jewish enclave while talking to a black Jamaican in an English/Irish Pub in New York City, I was at a lost because he was saying one thing and doing another, apart from that he was a very nice bloke.

A documentary I watched regarding the recent British invasion of Europe, their lack of assimilation and the French resistance to the British taking over and transforming entire villages into “little Britain”, moving the native French population aside.  The English love to say “when in Rome do as the Romans do” but they never practice what they preach, historically and today, when the British come to town they Bring Britain with them, right down to the Union Jack shorts, fish and chips and sardines on toast, they assimilate as much as the next foreigner, in New York for example there is a little Britain in the west village, British pubs, British Meet up Groups everywhere, British culture and lifestyle spreading like wildfire, it seems like every second person you meet in NYC is British. 

Diversity is wonderful, diversity in Jamaica is a welcome change, the chance to experience other culture and food while not leaving your country is great.  

Below is link I found regarding the British in New York:

Brits Behaving Badly in New York 

British woman on London transport complaining that Britain is nothing now that ethnic minorities are in her country

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