Garth Rattray | Pernicious, anarchic behaviour

When I was a teenager, a friend and I were walking along a main street after it had rained. We noticed a car driving at a high rate of speed and, in spite of the flooded road surface, the driver never slowed as he approached us. We climbed on the rear of the seat of a bus shelter in an effort to escape being doused by the dirty water. Nevertheless, the driver sped by and the huge wave that he created covered us completely.

We wondered what kind of horrible individual would do that to helpless pedestrians who could not avoid being splashed by his speeding vehicle. We were thoroughly soaked, but neither of us contemplated violent retaliation. However, nowadays, many pedestrians would propel a missile of one sort or the other at the vehicle that splashed them.

I was, therefore, horrified to learn of the mob killing of 30-year-old Okeef Sewell simply because he allegedly (accidentally) splashed a pedestrian while manoeuvring a forklift. Forklifts are not speedy vehicles and they definitely can’t speed while being manoeuvred.

The news reports that the person who was splashed hit Mr Sewell with an object. He stopped, argued with the person who hit him and was consequently mobbed to death in full view of the community, including little children.

That’s anarchy.

Recently, one afternoon, I was driving out of town on the newly constructed Mandela Highway. It is a multi-lane highway but was converted into an extra ‘lane’ by a steady stream of (road) hogs that commandeered the hard shoulder. They sped dangerously along it and caused a traffic jam further down the line of law-abiding motorists. The passel of (road) hogs consisted of large buses, minibuses, legal and ‘robot’ taxis and regular private motorists who just couldn’t wait in line.

That’s anarchy.

Nowadays, many major roadways are gridlocked around peak time in the afternoons. Intersections are routinely blocked by rogue drivers who simply ignore the traffic lights. Whenever a line of (road) hogs disobey the lights and clog up the road, the other line of drivers realise that ‘anything goes’ and refuse to capitulate. Instead, they too ignore the traffic lights and drive into clogged intersections, which adds to the gridlock.

People turn from no-turning lanes and bore their way into the mayhem. Soon, there is a sea of motor vehicles going nowhere and throttling away hundreds of thousands of litres of precious fuel, while choking one another with toxic fumes. The police try their best, but they are sometimes overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of lawbreakers.

That’s anarchy.

LESS LAW AND ORDER

Ever so often we get urgent public announcements to avoid certain (main) roads because of a flare up in gang warfare. Rival gangs shoot at one another and innocent citizens are sometimes seriously injured or killed in the crossfire. The security forces have to place many boots on the ground and patrol in armour-plated personnel carriers designed for battle in military combat.

Our police appear militarised, decked out in full battle fatigues and high-powered rifles. Their appearance during deployment is reminiscent of troops in war-torn arenas in the Middle East. Heavily armed youths sometimes parade while slinging their personal rifles and sidearms. No community member dares rebuke their behaviour or interfere with their various ‘missions’.

That’s anarchy.

Although we have well-established building regulations, an indeterminate number of people construct what they want, when and where they want, and nothing comes of it. Sidewalks are taken over as (illegal) business establishments. They are left undisturbed until huge communities are established and become untouchable because of the political backlash that evicting them would cause.

More and more, ‘law and order’ is becoming the rule for less and less Jamaicans.

That’s anarchy. It’s pernicious and it’s dangerous.

Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com.