Leave gullibility at the church door
NEVER BEFORE had the nation witnessed a somewhat live tragedy played out so publicly. In Albion, St James. Pastor Kevin Smith and his embellishments - bishop, excellency, doctor - tried to live out his psychopathy in one final burst of egomaniacal delivery from the pulpit.
A young woman’s throat was slashed as per Smith’s directive. A critically ill man linked to a machine in a hospital discharged himself and presented himself before pastor Smith for healing. His bandages were ripped off, plastic tubes pulled out, and as the man bled to death, the crazed pastor must have been saying to himself, “How many more of them can I carry with me in this final stage of me becoming the God of my flock?”
The pastor and accomplices were then grabbed by the police. At that stage, many Jamaicans were not quite sure what had happened. “A sign a di times,” said a 46-year-old painter. “Demon dey pon di land.” Yes, Jamaicans are big on demons.
While pastor Smith was being held, a video of his interaction with cops was widely spread. The pastor was smiling and fully in his element as he strung words together. The words were meant to confuse, or at the very least, they were the product of a confused mind. But one could also hear the cops in friendly banter with him almost like a call and response part of a concert.
I wonder how much one had to pay to gain entry at that fair. But just when we thought that normality would trip in, that is, charges would be imposed and then the lengthy process to delivery of justice would begin, an accident claimed the life of the pastor and a young policeman. They were being transported to Kingston.
Speculation exploded. “I can’t buy what seems to be obvious,” said a journalist who did not want their name mentioned. “The chance that that would take place and the little niggling details inside that road trip make me want to bawl out for a specialist investigation.”
And of course, the demons were now like huge herds of cattle. And as expected, another clergyman, Canon Hartley Perrin, rector of the St Peter’s Anglican Church in Petersfield, Westmoreland, has decided to add a few extra hot Scotch bonnet peppers to the mix. He has suggested that the death of the spiritual leader is a sign and a message from God. Well, there you go. Problem solved.
“God is saying something, and the Church now has to probe the mind of God to discover exactly what God is saying to us in this context because it is not coincidental that all of these things are happening.”
He continued: “God is trying to tell us something, but I think we continue to miss it.” Oh, darn, problem reintroduced.
It can be fairly assumed that most people who attend church on a regular basis in Jamaica are those who find joy and contentment in doing so. But there are a few people who I know and it seems to me that they lean so heavy on church rituals and personalities that they have forgotten to enjoy their religion.
PRIVATE DOCTORS AND COVID-19 VACCINES
Expecting a consistent level of efficiency in private doctors applying COVID-19 vaccines seems more aspirational than practical. But before I criticise, let me just state that I have observed vaccination at about four different sites in the Corporate Area. In the process I have secured my two doses of AstraZeneca vaccine.
Two Sundays ago I spent about an hour at the Sunrise Health Centre and observed the excellence and the professionalism of the nursing and support staff at that public institution. First, the approximately 200-plus persons who were vaccinated did not all arrive at the same time. What that meant is that the lady giving the prep talk had to space it out so that she would not have to be doing it every five minutes.
Even if 10 people showed up at a doctor’s office, there is no guarantee that they will all arrive at the same time. It seems to be that many of these people showing up at private doctors’ offices had better prepare to wait half a day to get the jab.
At Sunrise Health Centre, I witnessed nurses assisting people to fill out the COVID-19 demographics form. When this trips in at the private doctor’s office, is it expected that he or she will leave a paying customer and attend to the unique needs of the person desiring the vaccination?
While shepherding people to the room where the vaccination would be done, the nurses at Sunrise Health Centre were constantly checking to ensure that the paperwork was fully aligned with the person seated in front of her. I am not imputing that medical personnel in the private sector should not step up and make themselves more useful in the fight to significantly increase the vaccination rate.
If doctors advertise on the outside of their doors specific hours for vaccinations, like between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., then I could understand them trying to bring order to a most urgent matter without service being watered down to their long-term, older patients.
STATES OF EMERGENCY. THAT’S IT!
Having now recognised that formal policing cannot make any significant dents in the criminal network of gangs in Jamaica, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) administration does not have to spell out that specific states of emergency imposed in trouble spots across the country is the crime plan. It is the default position of the fightback against dangerous youngsters who seek protection in armed gangs of killers.
Details coming out of the One Don trial in the Circuit Court have chilled the hearts of the toughest among us. If anything, it has brought into focus that many of these young men gain their real power by the mass silence of cowering community members.
They do not trust the police to give them info on these killers, so they clam up. Many policemen on the ground in certain areas will know who the main violence producers are, so once five or six main players are removed from the streets, as the theory goes, it gives the police intelligence units a certain space and time to build a case against these killers.