Unfathomable Evil

[DarterBlue]

This represents the fifth in a handful of topics before my departure till summer. For my detractors and other assorted haters, deal with it, as there will be a sixth topic on January 30, which will be my last thread here for the next several months. I have decided you, hateful pricks, deserve a "brawta" post. For those that find some of these topics interesting or thought provoking, enjoy.

My first conscious encounter with unfathomable evil occurred within a year of my 20th birthday. Jamaica, not being the most peaceful place on earth, had coughed up many examples of evil before the event I am going to describe. However, such crimes were of property and/or passion. Thus I could clearly discern the reason they were committed, though I could never condone them. So, a bank or gas station robbery ending in violence or death, was understandable,  as was an aggrieved lover violently taking the life of a spouse or significant other. Yes, these events are awful and not to be condoned under any circumstances. But they are totally understandable to one taking the time to be emphatic, or even to just clinically understand and analyze the motives.   

The Orange Lane fire was not! The fire razed to the ground all the housing units in a tenement yard (a tenement yard is a property that has several stand alone, single family structures, usually of poor quality). Many of urban Jamaica's poor live in tenement yards, as contrasted with apartments such as are many section 8 properties in the USA. The fire was ignited by armed thugs financed by one of the two major political parties in Jamaica. The motive was to "burn out" residents of a particular community who had abandoned the party of the thugs for the other. In of itself, I did not have a hard time understanding the motive or even execution of the fire which claimed multiple lives.  However, what happened next shall forever remain etched in my psyche. 

The incident occurred in the twelve months leading up to the 1976 national (General) elections. These elections were to not only draw the most votes ever in percentage terms of the electorate of any General Election in Jamaica, but they were preceded by a level of violence never before seen in Jamaica. Well, as the Orange Lane fire raged, several parents trapped in the flames, figured they would at least give their children a chance at survival. Thus, while they dared not flee from the burning structures themselves, knowing they would be cannon fodder, they sent their young children out, assuming that their lives would be spared. To the thugs it did not matter. In fact, rather than just gun down the 4-10 year olds, which would have at least led to a quick death, they proceeded to brutally force them back into the flames. Many children died that night in these circumstances. As I read the written report in the local newspaper the next morning and saw video of the fire on TV the next morning. I was haunted by the fact that I, who had seen many acquaintances, and a few friends, meet violence, including death, during my childhood, could not understand this unfathomable act of evil. 

Several years later, when I was in an in-house training program at Bank of Jamaica, Jamaica's Central Bank, and the topic was empathy, it dawned on me that such unfathomable evil had not been unique to Jamaica, as in Stalin's Russia, with the liquidation of the Kulaks; Amin's, Uganda; Pol Pot's, Cambodia; Pinochet's, Chile; and Hitler's, Germany, among others, similar unfathomable acts of evil had been perpetrated, often on a huge scale. That I had not viewed these events in the same light as the Orange Lane fire, speaks to the foibles of human character.

It is always easier to empathize and understand when things occur in your own backyard and not that of the stranger.   

 

[Horsefly]

5 minutes ago, DarterBlue said:

This represents the fifth in a handful of topics before my departure till summer. For my detractors and other assorted haters, deal with it, as there will be a sixth topic on January 30, which will be my last thread here for the next several months. I have decided you, hateful pricks, deserve a "brawta" post. For those that find some of these topics interesting or thought provoking, enjoy.

My first conscious encounter with unfathomable evil occurred within a year of my 20th birthday. Jamaica, not being the most peaceful place on earth, had coughed up many examples of evil before the event I am going to describe. However, such crimes were of property and/or passion. Thus I could clearly discern the reason they were committed, though I could never condone them. So, a bank or gas station robbery ending in violence or death, was understandable,  as was an aggrieved lover violently taking the life of a spouse or significant other. Yes, these events are awful and not to be condoned under any circumstances. But they are totally understandable to one taking the time to be emphatic, or even to just clinically understand and analyze the motives.   

The Orange Lane fire was not! The fire razed to the ground all the housing units in a tenement yard (a tenement yard is a property that has several stand alone, single family structures, usually of poor quality). Many of urban Jamaica's poor live in tenement yards, as contrasted with apartments such as are many section 8 properties in the USA. The fire was ignited by armed thugs financed by one of the two major political parties in Jamaica. The motive was to "burn out" residents of a particular community who had abandoned the party of the thugs for the other. In of itself, I did not have a hard time understanding the motive or even execution of the fire which claimed multiple lives.  However, what happened next shall forever remain etched in my psyche. 

The incident occurred in the twelve months leading up to the 1976 national (General) elections. These elections were to not only draw the most votes ever in percentage terms of the electorate of any General Election in Jamaica, but they were preceded by a level of violence never before seen in Jamaica. Well, as the Orange Lane fire raged, several parents trapped in the flames, figured they would at least give their children a chance at survival. Thus, while they dared not flee from the burning structures themselves, knowing they would be cannon fodder, they sent their young children out, assuming that their lives would be spared. To the thugs it did not matter. In fact, rather than just gun down the 4-10 year olds, which would have at least led to a quick death, they proceeded to brutally force them back into the flames. Many children died that night in these circumstances. As I read the written report in the local newspaper the next morning and saw video of the fire on TV the next morning. I was haunted by the fact that I, who had seen many acquaintances, and a few friends, meet violence, including death, during my childhood, could not understand this unfathomable act of evil. 

Several years later, when I was in a in-house training program at Bank of Jamaica, Jamaica's Central Bank, and the topic was empathy, it dawned on me that such unfathomable evil had not been unique to Jamaica, as in Stalin's Russia, with the liquidation of the Kulaks; Amin's, Uganda; Pol Pot's, Cambodia; Pinochet's, Chile; and Hitler's, Germany, among others, similar unfathomable acts of evil had been perpetrated, often on a huge scale. That I had not viewed these events in the same light as the Orange Lane fire, speaks to the foibles of human character.

It is always easier to empathize and understand when things occur in your own backyard and not that of the stranger.   

 

That is horrific, no other words to describe the brutality. 

[DarterBlue]

7 minutes ago, Horsefly said:

That is horrific, no other words to describe the brutality. 

I know. It is difficult to deal with to this day. Orange Lane was about three miles north of where I lived at the time. I found it hard to believe that this could have happened in my own backyard. 

[Horsefly]

5 minutes ago, DarterBlue said:

I know. It is difficult to deal with to this day. Orange Lane was about three miles north of where I lived at the time. I found it hard to believe that this could have happened in my own backyard. 

Was anyone prosecuted for it, or was the whole thing washed over? 

[World Citizen]

Pretty bad stuff.  There is no shortage of horrific things people do to each other.

However, if one looks they can find incredible kindness and the best of humanity in the face of such evil.  A book I read a long time ago, Treblinka, was a perfect example of this.  It is about the holocaust and detailed what those people went through.  But at the same time it explains how in the face of this evil there are individuals who seem to rise above it to show by example how beautiful and loving people can be.  After reading that book, ironically, I had a renewed faith in people and that stuck with me much more than the atrocities.  

 

[DarterBlue]

21 minutes ago, Horsefly said:

Was anyone prosecuted for it, or was the whole thing washed over? 

There were arrests, a trial and an acquittal. No one was punished by the law except for the time spent in jail waiting for the trial. The sad thing in Jamaica is that if you are well connected with one of the two political parties you enjoy a lot of protection. It sometimes breaks down, but for the most part you are teflon. 

It is the most dirty aspect of politics in Jamaica and has led to a lot of corrosion in society. The sad thing is, that there is a lot of love and kindness in the country. I know many a person that would give a friend (or at times even a stranger) the shirt off his back. 

[zulu1128]

Shaping up to be a pretty big handful of topics. 

Gene Simmons could obviously take a lesson. 

[AztecPadre]

What a crazy story.  I could not imagine living through something like that.  Great stories brother. 

[DarterBlue]

4 hours ago, AztecPadre said:

What a crazy story.  I could not imagine living through something like that.  Great stories brother. 

Yes, it was something I had trouble coming to grips with at 19. I just could not understand how you could have it in you to kill elementary school kids, especially in such a vile way. 

[ohio]

23 hours ago, DarterBlue said:

Yes, it was something I had trouble coming to grips with at 19. I just could not understand how you could have it in you to kill elementary school kids, especially in such a vile way. 

It's sad what politicians will do to others for political power.  And don't be surprised if our Government gets shut down by our politicians again as well.

Sad to see you not posting for a while.  But hope you enjoy your break...I know I will mine.

[Nolebull813]

Based on the title of the thread, I thought this was gonna be about all the democrat leaders putting into effect the legalization of murdering fully formed living babies. 

My mistake 

[World Citizen]

18 hours ago, Nolebull813 said:

Based on the title of the thread, I thought this was gonna be about all the democrat leaders putting into effect the legalization of murdering fully formed living babies. 

My mistake 

Are you seriously this dense?  Or are you are just trolling bc this is one of the most uninformed post I have read.  

If this was even remotely true, it just saves you from the effort it takes to hate the baby when they grow up.  Unless that child is white of course...and American.

How can you not be embarrased from this post?  

[Nolebull813]

1 hour ago, World Citizen said:

Are you seriously this dense?  Or are you are just trolling bc this is one of the most uninformed post I have read.  

If this was even remotely true, it just saves you from the effort it takes to hate the baby when they grow up.  Unless that child is white of course...and American.

How can you not be embarrased from this post?  

So it’s fake news that democrats like Cuomo and Northam aren’t pushing for and some finalizing legislation that allows living, breathing babies to be slaughtered? Don’t lie please? Don’t recite some liberal talking point. They are saying that babies who can live life with no issue after a certain time can be killed inside the womb and sometimes out of it. 

They literally said a baby can be delivered, and the mother can tell the doctor she doesn’t want it for any reason she feels like giving, and as long as he’s ok with it, they can murder it legally now. 

I wonder how the laws change for someone committing a crime against a pregnant woman that results in the baby dying. 

[SOCIntellectualProperty]

On 1/27/2019 at 3:31 PM, DarterBlue said:

This represents the fifth in a handful of topics before my departure till summer. For my detractors and other assorted haters, deal with it, as there will be a sixth topic on January 30, which will be my last thread here for the next several months. I have decided you, hateful pricks, deserve a "brawta" post. For those that find some of these topics interesting or thought provoking, enjoy.

My first conscious encounter with unfathomable evil occurred within a year of my 20th birthday. Jamaica, not being the most peaceful place on earth, had coughed up many examples of evil before the event I am going to describe. However, such crimes were of property and/or passion. Thus I could clearly discern the reason they were committed, though I could never condone them. So, a bank or gas station robbery ending in violence or death, was understandable,  as was an aggrieved lover violently taking the life of a spouse or significant other. Yes, these events are awful and not to be condoned under any circumstances. But they are totally understandable to one taking the time to be emphatic, or even to just clinically understand and analyze the motives.   

The Orange Lane fire was not! The fire razed to the ground all the housing units in a tenement yard (a tenement yard is a property that has several stand alone, single family structures, usually of poor quality). Many of urban Jamaica's poor live in tenement yards, as contrasted with apartments such as are many section 8 properties in the USA. The fire was ignited by armed thugs financed by one of the two major political parties in Jamaica. The motive was to "burn out" residents of a particular community who had abandoned the party of the thugs for the other. In of itself, I did not have a hard time understanding the motive or even execution of the fire which claimed multiple lives.  However, what happened next shall forever remain etched in my psyche. 

The incident occurred in the twelve months leading up to the 1976 national (General) elections. These elections were to not only draw the most votes ever in percentage terms of the electorate of any General Election in Jamaica, but they were preceded by a level of violence never before seen in Jamaica. Well, as the Orange Lane fire raged, several parents trapped in the flames, figured they would at least give their children a chance at survival. Thus, while they dared not flee from the burning structures themselves, knowing they would be cannon fodder, they sent their young children out, assuming that their lives would be spared. To the thugs it did not matter. In fact, rather than just gun down the 4-10 year olds, which would have at least led to a quick death, they proceeded to brutally force them back into the flames. Many children died that night in these circumstances. As I read the written report in the local newspaper the next morning and saw video of the fire on TV the next morning. I was haunted by the fact that I, who had seen many acquaintances, and a few friends, meet violence, including death, during my childhood, could not understand this unfathomable act of evil. 

Several years later, when I was in an in-house training program at Bank of Jamaica, Jamaica's Central Bank, and the topic was empathy, it dawned on me that such unfathomable evil had not been unique to Jamaica, as in Stalin's Russia, with the liquidation of the Kulaks; Amin's, Uganda; Pol Pot's, Cambodia; Pinochet's, Chile; and Hitler's, Germany, among others, similar unfathomable acts of evil had been perpetrated, often on a huge scale. That I had not viewed these events in the same light as the Orange Lane fire, speaks to the foibles of human character.

It is always easier to empathize and understand when things occur in your own backyard and not that of the stranger.   

 

wasnt Bob Marley's shooting a byproduct of this same political infighting