02-06-2017, 01:45 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-06-2017, 02:27 PM by jamaicajeanne.)
OT,
It would be a much kinder world if we all just took a minute to think about the words we chose to use and to further exacerbate the problem, you can not really get a feel for the intended tone in a posting.
There are awesome people everywhere and it is a shame when some get hurt, frustrated or ignored. It is also unfair to group folks into one category or another. By nature, I am a rule follower...can't help it. Do I always succeed? certainly not! I know that there are "guidelines" on the other board and there must be some here too because if you click and start scrolling through the members on this board, you will also see folks who are banned. I have no need to know WHY anyone was banned, but someone, somewhere decided that they did not deserve to be a member of this board
I also agree that the message boards should include discussions of safety. The climbing violence in Negril definitely a concern, but I personally feel that there has to be some form of verification. Just because it is on social media does not make it a verified incident. In the world we live in today, we seem to want instant answers/instant gratification and it appears as though many unscrupulous "news" agencies are happy to provide "fake" stories. Who does it help to report fake, made up, embellished or inaccurate news? In my opinion, it helps no one....not the families seeking justice and not the potential tourist to the island. As a matter fact, it may make tourists not want to travel to Jamaica at all and that certainly does not help the island we love. However, if a tourist is armed with correct and verified information, they would see that crimes against tourists are not the normal course of business. As for someone blaming a tourist for his own death, that was hinted at on several message boards/outlets....the suggestion that there is/was more to the story is certainly possible. Some tourists forget about personal safety and unfortunately allow themselves to get into some trouble. Many of us talk about Jamaica being a paradise and then some forget all about personal safety rules....I see pretty phones, flashy jewelry and fancy handbags every time I am there. I also see drunk tourists and stoned tourists...am I a goody two shoes?...not at all, remember, I am an old hippie, wink wink!, but I try to be smart enough not to get myself into a bad situation...like walking the beach at night, waving cash around or walking the West End Road...that road is narrow and dark and the traffic seems to zip by quickly!
As for the aging population, we are all in the same boat. I have already declared myself to be an old hippie, but really, I was born at the very tail end of the baby boomers. I was raised camping, hiking, fishing and hunting. I raised my 2 girls to camp in a tent, hike, fish and hunt. However, due to my aging, I can no longer sleep on the ground or take a day hike to the top of a mountain which makes a warm beach and ocean sound very appealing. As scrappy as my attitude can be, I clearly know that I could not completely defend myself in a bad situation...about a 1 1/2 years ago, I had a 6 inch tumor in my knee. Luckily it was not cancer, but I can no longer "run away" from a situation, LOL! I live in a small agricultural town 30 miles west of Omaha, NE. I commute everyday to Omaha to sit at my desk and position of 17 years. I am a banker and have been lucky enough to have never been in a robbery and some would never think it couldn't happen here as we are in a more upscale area of the city. Well, 12/16/16 I had 2 very large guns shoved in my face during a hostile takeover robbery. Luckily, no one was injured or killed and we handed over the money...things are tough everywhere, but I have not stopped going to work and I will continue to travel to Jamaica and I will continue to be vigilant of my own personal safety.
Challenge for today....say something kind to the ones you love and also say something kind to a stranger.
Cool runnings!
It would be a much kinder world if we all just took a minute to think about the words we chose to use and to further exacerbate the problem, you can not really get a feel for the intended tone in a posting.
There are awesome people everywhere and it is a shame when some get hurt, frustrated or ignored. It is also unfair to group folks into one category or another. By nature, I am a rule follower...can't help it. Do I always succeed? certainly not! I know that there are "guidelines" on the other board and there must be some here too because if you click and start scrolling through the members on this board, you will also see folks who are banned. I have no need to know WHY anyone was banned, but someone, somewhere decided that they did not deserve to be a member of this board
I also agree that the message boards should include discussions of safety. The climbing violence in Negril definitely a concern, but I personally feel that there has to be some form of verification. Just because it is on social media does not make it a verified incident. In the world we live in today, we seem to want instant answers/instant gratification and it appears as though many unscrupulous "news" agencies are happy to provide "fake" stories. Who does it help to report fake, made up, embellished or inaccurate news? In my opinion, it helps no one....not the families seeking justice and not the potential tourist to the island. As a matter fact, it may make tourists not want to travel to Jamaica at all and that certainly does not help the island we love. However, if a tourist is armed with correct and verified information, they would see that crimes against tourists are not the normal course of business. As for someone blaming a tourist for his own death, that was hinted at on several message boards/outlets....the suggestion that there is/was more to the story is certainly possible. Some tourists forget about personal safety and unfortunately allow themselves to get into some trouble. Many of us talk about Jamaica being a paradise and then some forget all about personal safety rules....I see pretty phones, flashy jewelry and fancy handbags every time I am there. I also see drunk tourists and stoned tourists...am I a goody two shoes?...not at all, remember, I am an old hippie, wink wink!, but I try to be smart enough not to get myself into a bad situation...like walking the beach at night, waving cash around or walking the West End Road...that road is narrow and dark and the traffic seems to zip by quickly!
As for the aging population, we are all in the same boat. I have already declared myself to be an old hippie, but really, I was born at the very tail end of the baby boomers. I was raised camping, hiking, fishing and hunting. I raised my 2 girls to camp in a tent, hike, fish and hunt. However, due to my aging, I can no longer sleep on the ground or take a day hike to the top of a mountain which makes a warm beach and ocean sound very appealing. As scrappy as my attitude can be, I clearly know that I could not completely defend myself in a bad situation...about a 1 1/2 years ago, I had a 6 inch tumor in my knee. Luckily it was not cancer, but I can no longer "run away" from a situation, LOL! I live in a small agricultural town 30 miles west of Omaha, NE. I commute everyday to Omaha to sit at my desk and position of 17 years. I am a banker and have been lucky enough to have never been in a robbery and some would never think it couldn't happen here as we are in a more upscale area of the city. Well, 12/16/16 I had 2 very large guns shoved in my face during a hostile takeover robbery. Luckily, no one was injured or killed and we handed over the money...things are tough everywhere, but I have not stopped going to work and I will continue to travel to Jamaica and I will continue to be vigilant of my own personal safety.
Challenge for today....say something kind to the ones you love and also say something kind to a stranger.
Cool runnings!