Kristen Gyles | Show just a little humanity …

Last Thursday, a horrendous crime took place in an apartment off Spanish Town Road, involving one of Jamaica’s children. Price Johnson, a 14-year-old girl, was raped and killed in her home. It was first alleged that a man of unsound mind entered the apartment and bludgeoned her in the head with a hammer and raped her.

There’s a lot that we don’t know about the circumstances surrounding this incident. For example, it is alleged that the man was of unsound mind. However, the actions of the perpetrator were calculated and reflect some level of cognition. News reports say that a relative of the girl heard a commotion at the time of the incident and rushed to her assistance only to end up wrestling with the perpetrator who injured him and fled the scene. It is strange that a man supposedly so far out of his mind that he would insensibly commit such an atrocity, would be aware of when and how to escape the scene of a crime and remain in hiding.

It is also strange that persons could definitively say that the perpetrator was of unsound mind and yet not be able to identify the individual. Or can they? I guess we don’t know.

MANY OF US HAVE FAILED PRICE

What we do know is that besides the wicked perpetrator, many of us Jamaicans have failed Price. It appears that in the aftermath of the incident moments before she was transported to the hospital, someone entered the home, saw the girl naked, battered, bloodied and gasping for air and decided the best thing they could do was record a video of her taking her final breaths.

We also know that, whoever the individual is, they sent the video to at least one other person who sent it to at least one other person, and that by now, so many have seen the video that the police have had to appeal to members of the public to stop circulating it.

It is hard not to contrast the recent protests held in Spanish Town over the killing of an area ‘don’ to what appears to be an abated reaction to the gruesome killing of the teenager. One social media influencer rightfully asked why so many Jamaicans seemed to have more energy for defending dons than for speaking up about injustices such as the one committed against the high school girl. He also wanted to know why so many persons were interested in seeing the video showing her death.

No longer do we collectively shudder at the sight of brutal violence like bludgeoning, beheading or rape. Some had the misfortune of seeing the video because it was shared with them. And, admittedly, people often begin watching videos sent to them not knowing what content awaits them only to end up getting emotionally scarred for life on account of what they see. But what is indicative of sheer depravity is the fact that having heard what the video entails one would still want to see it.

INTRIGUED BY GRUESOME VIOLENCE

Why are we so intrigued and interested by gory and gruesome violence? And if not intrigued, why are we so indifferent towards it? It is not normal to sit in front of a television watching an individual getting beaten to a pulp and want to see it continue. It is also not normal to want to see someone dying after a brutal attack. It does not matter who the individual is. Such a sight is not something that a healthy mind should want to see.

Why are so many people within our population intent on imbibing their minds with violent images and sounds, so much so that they would be eager to watch the death of a 14-year-old on a phone screen? Is it not obvious what is wrong with this?

Unbelievably, some persons who commented on the influencer’s social commentary video, continued to ask where they can see the video of the dying girl and if there were any other commentators who could share it with them.

Crime has partly become so commonplace because we are not frightened by violence any more. We embrace it. We hug it up and we see it as entertainment. Of course, we only see it this way when we and our loved ones are not the victims.

How many have stopped to think about how the family of the violated girl may be feeling knowing that a video of her death has been shared multiple times and will remain on people’s personal devices for years from today? How many have stopped to think about how the family of the young victim may be feeling knowing that naked images of their deceased relative are now all over cyberspace, for all and sundry to scrutinize? How many have stopped to remember that the family is grieving and may not want to relive the news of their loved one’s murder over and over again through repeated encounters with the video online?

Just a little humanity can go a far way for a grieving family.

Kristen Gyles is a free-thinking public affairs opinionator. Send feedback to kristengyles@gmail.com and columns@gleanerjm.com