And The Cycle Continues...

Originally written on Jan 22, 2011.

So...DJ Coppercat was gunned down at his house today. Sad, very sad. Unfortunately not new. Nothing novel about it, and that is even just as sad as his death. I'm trying not to keep a mental count on how many entertainers have lost their lives violently. I try not to keep a mental note of how many people in general I hear have died violently. I'm just not built for that kind of thing.

In any cause, in light of Coppercat's death I am waiting for the entertainment fraternity to start their usual uproar. I expect to see people in Half Way Tree holding prayer vigils. I expect to hear outcry that "This Must End", and the like, and I expect that to be ALL that is done. AND you know what else? I expect all of this to last only until his burial and then things will go back to normal. People will continue about their daily lives doing what they did before. I expect artistes to continue to write lyrics promoting violence against their rivals and groups in society that they are morally in opposition to. I expect to see the artistes hurling insults at each other in social media (do I need to cite "Badgyal Cecile's rant" on Twitter the other day? see ) and I expect violence to continue to be as high as it is in Ja.

It's such a sad time that we live in. It's now "in" to be obnoxious and "irreverent" as some people put it. People couldn't care less about others nowadays. The more you talk trash about people and advance ideas that suggest that 'I am the baddest and I don't give a fuck" the more popular you are. Check Twitter for example and the "IJA" it's their modus operondi to speak ill of people and tout how bad they are and how much they couldn't care less and how do people respond: look what tweets get retweeted. It's in an environment where attitudes like that are rampant that violence will also be rampant.
What am I doing? I won't even begin to pretend that I have some large scale idea to stem violence in Jamaica. I won't pretend to be 'better than' others, holy and self righteous. I do however realize that by just refusing to be combatant and obnoxious, abrasive especially without cause, I will prevent at least myself and the people around me from being involved in a violent interaction that involves me. I chose how my interactions will go as much as I can. I hate that the cycle of violence continues. I really wish people would realize just how much of it could be avoided if they started with themselves. That's just my two cents. Salut.