Comments on It's Bloodier in Jamaica

Jamaica-me-dead.

Ja, mon, boycott Jamaica.

Nothing I have ever heard about Jamaica makes me want to be anywhere remotely near it, ever.

Oh, and don't forget "Boom Bye Bye".

that's one of the saddest things i've read in a long time.

so sad. reggae used to be cool before synthesizers ruined it.

All that Christian love for one's fellow-man... it's very moving.

You'd think a country so dependent on tourism that 63% of their people are employed in the service industry would try to prevent activities that would keep tourists away.

On the other hand, they could just start marketing to Nigeria, Iran, and Saudia Arabia, who wouldn't mind the lynchings.

Maybe an entire country smoking dope wasn't such a good idea after all.

Isn't Jamaica the home of the Hedonism swingers' resorts, where there's plenty of bi-female frolic?

Gosh, no wonder that poor gay man married Terry McMillan... to get the hell out!

So why arent all the religious funda-mental-cases flocking down there to vacation? Oh--right--that Sons-of-Cain racist bullshit...

Whatever, I'm still not gonna let a little deep-seated cultural hatred trample my love for "The Harder they Come".

As someone of Jamaican descent, I'll ever so slightly allay your fears and tell you that most of this happens in the 99% of the island that tourists don't visit. Yes, Jamaica has world class resorts, but outside of those fine exclusive establishments lies one of the highest murder rates in the world. No, ignore the stereotype that even the above article perpetrates of an island full of smiling weed smoking Rastas saying "no problem, mon!"I'm surprised how many white people I know who have no idea about this underbelly, despite dancing all summer long a few years back to Damien Marley's "Welcome To Jamrock", a song that specifically talks about people not seeing beyond the island's resorts. Imagine a world where street gangs kill you not because you're Blood or Crip, but Republican or Democrat. If they'll murder someone over political beliefs, you can only shudder to think of what they'll do over sexuality issues.

Homophobia is very ingrained in Jamaican society. Even those who aren't necessarily condoning killing or beating gay people generally oppose it as something that's against God's will. In fact, God's Law seems to be the reason for anyone, from the murderous rude bwoys to the churchgoing crowd, for hating gays. When you hear them talking about "fyah" and "bun dem" in their speech and lyrics, they're not usually referring to literally setting gays on fire, but letting them 'burn' in the fires of hell for their sin. Of course, I've never really received an explanation how murder (also a sin) wouldn't subject the killer of a homosexual to the same eternal fate.

I don't think my dad (who is born Jamaican but has lived in liberal Toronto for the past 40 years) has any strong opinions on this issue, but I can just imagine the conversations his circle of friends have whenever Pride Week rools around. (I also wonder how many of them have had a prostate exam, since that involves another man sticking something up your batty.)

#10. You'd be surprised to learn that in some Jamaican's eyes, even that is inexcuseable. I've known a number of West Indian immigrants or 1st/2nd generation West Indians who frown upon the standard "hot girl on girl action" that appears in mainstream porn.

Sorry for the meandering post.

Bont reminds us that the largest class of victims of violent crime in Jamaica are Jamaicans, period. But since they're mostly straight, poor and black, nobody who writes for an alternative coastal city alternative paper in the United States thinks that's particularly worth mentioning. Where's the angle?

Did Jamaica ever claim to be an island paradise? Dan, maybe you should stop using tourism ads as educational tools. Jamaica is a developing country with a lot of serious problems. You need to get out more and stop using bullshit blogs and shitty news sites to learn about the world.