Retarded in self-defence
Dear Editor,
Jamaicans are constrained where self-defence is concerned. Basic examples will suffice.
Why in the name of sweet Jesus did Parliament make illegal the possession of knives for all people, no matter how small the knife. The criminals have guns, the police have guns, the wealthy and elite have guns. Why on Earth can’t the poor and humble have a small knife?
In the United States it is legal to carry on your person a knife with a blade bigger than the distance across the palm of your hand just below your fingers, approximately 3 cm. Why not that approach?
Pepper spray is also outlawed in Jamaica yet legal in the US. Very few men carry it, but many women do — as a first line of defence.
Jamaica have retarded in a way that is especially harmful to the small man or woman, poor or relatively powerless. But then, isn’t that the Jamaica we know at so many levels . Shame on our representatives!
Robert Trivers
Southfield, St Elizabeth
triversr@gmail.com