Many years ago while paying a friendly visit to the officesof some friends I experienced a situation that made caused me to rethink the notion of friendship as well as the way we treat with one another. There was nothing special about the visit, it was routine as I had done this many times before. It was an uneventful day and I had some time on my hand so I pulled up at the parking lot in the New Kingston office complex, parked and proceeded to the reception area where I was greeted by the receptionist who called my friend to announce my arrival. My friend who was the company's financial controller came to meet me at the front desk and ushered me to his office. I had done some work for the company in the past and so I knew most of the workers...I was offered a drink and after chit chatting for a little while, we were joined by the Managing Director who had brought some documents for my friend to sign. I also knew him and soon we were engaged is a discussion which briefly touched on politics and other social matters. We had a few laughs and during a pause I was asked by the MD about another mutual friend...When was the last time you saw so and so...?  I had seen the individual earlier that day and so I said a couple hours ago...why? There was a pause and then he continued...."I hear that gunmen are looking for him"...I sat up, after all this was Jamaica and that is one statement that is not taken lightly...I was stunned. I thought about what I had just heard and asked him if he had notified our friend to which he bluntly said no...its none of my business. Now I was in shock, these are people who had worked together in the bauxite industry and were friends for decades...I was the new kid on the block. What do you mean I inquired...if someone is looking for your friend to kill him why would you not warn him? He leaned back in the chair while my other friend jumped in and what was said made me cringed. They seem to have believed that our friend was involved in a business transaction and did not repay an investor and so he had what was coming to him...OK...let me assume this was so but do you not have an obligation to let him know of the danger he faces..? They both echoed the same sentiments... if its true he will have to deal with it...in other words, if he gets killed by these allege gunmen, he had it coming. I was shocked and I made it known...

Shortly after that exchange I got up and left the office...when I got to my vehicle I sat for a while contemplating what I had just heard and tried to make some sense of it...I drove out of the parking garage in a sort of daze and headed straight to my friend's office. I did not hesitate, I told him exactly what was said in the discussion I had with his other friends and cautioned him to be careful. My friend  had an uneasy smile on his face and proceeded to update me on what had occurred between him and the individual who had allegedly ordered the hit on him, he also assured me that it was not as serious as they had made it out to be but he was nonetheless annoyed that his friends of more than twenty years would not have warned him having heard a story like that.

Later that same afternoon he ran into one of the two and asked him about what I had told him...the only response he got was that I had no right to have gone and told him and I would not be invited back to their offices as I was a traitor...or words to that effect...So here it is...I do what I believed was the right thing to warn a friend of impending danger and for that I am being classified as a traitor...interesting.  That situation caused a rift between the group that has never been fixed although we still maintain a sort of relationship.

This is a true story and I remember that incident although it was almost twenty years ago because of the recent trial and subsequent conviction of Adija Palmer aka Vibes Kartel. I followed the case on-line and more so on social media since I am out of the country. Namesake aside, I have no special interest in the accused and now convicted Kartel and if he is indeed guilty he should be given the full force of the law. That said, I could not help but notice the venom that was spewed by many who had already made up their minds of his guilt. Did he do it? I simply do not know and even after his conviction yesterday I am not convinced that the Crown presented a compelling case...I also believe that the Defense was  lazy and went down a path that was unimpressive for all the hype that was being given to them. I also believe as I posted on line earlier that the case may very well be overturned by the Appeals Court in Jamaica and failing that The Privy Counsel in the United Kingdom. But I am not here to defend Kartel or anyone else, I am here to look at our predisposition to condemn and glory in the misery of others.

Unmoved by the fact that there are no winners in a situation like this because the lives of all the families involved will never be the same. If the allege victim was indeed murdered, his family has to deal with that grief and the fact that he was taken away from them albeit by his own cronies if we are to believe the case that was put forward. The others who were also convicted along with Kartel also have families whose lives will also be changed forever...they also have to deal with that situation...and finally Kartel's family who may or may not know anything about his alleged activities...his children, wife and so forth. They all have to deal with a situation which must have caused many sleepless nights and will continue for as long as he is locked away.
Remember now, I am not saying they are not guilty, I don't know and I certainly do not have the kind of information that could cause me to make such a determination...but consider this for a moment,what if Lizard is alive and well and hiding out somewhere...do we really know for sure that he is dead?  There was a time when like many,  I would hasten to jump to conclusion but life has taught me that stranger things have happened and nothing is for sure until all the pieces are properly examined. But again I digress...the question I would like to have answered is this...Do we get a special kind of satisfaction when we see our fellow citizens encounter tragedy? Is it that we are happy because it is not us or our family? Are some people jealous of the success of others and get a feeling of gladness when one who was supposedly going places is pulled back into the bowels of despair? Are we too quick to judge others and revel in their failures? These are questions I think we should all look at and try to answer honestly...because as sure as night follows day...each of us will have our own day of grief...maybe not in the same fashion but that day will surely come...Remember now, many have been convicted of crimes they knew nothing of and still many are walking the streets who should be locked away for life...it is dangerous to draw conclusions without all the information necessary to do so...Today its Kartel and gang...tomorrow who? Finally, before we rush to judge and start the venom spewing, do remember that tragedy of one kind or another can strike at anytime...it could be your son, your daughter, a brother or a sister. If they did the crime then the should serve the time but judgment without all the information is flawed and wanting someone to suffer just because you have a dislike for him/her is just as flawed.

James Palmer