CAYMAN ISLANDS – I shot myself in the hand and my brother shot himself in the foot, not because we are a nutty family, but mine was to save a client and he was well, simply ignorant. I shot myself in the hand in court trying to save a young man from prison for a BB gun while my sibling tried to kill a snake that got his own back. It hurt like a scorpion sting and not recommended for younger counsel.
It is true. Google it.
Poor Choices
My family are not limited to shooting mistakes but errors in the choice of men. One sister in Jamaica almost married a serial con artist that was caught painting a horse at Caymanas Park. The other sister in Cayman almost ran away to Iceland with a foreign exchange student. Today she thanks her lucky stars she married a gardener instead, at least it is warm and he is simple.
They survived their poor choices but Caribbean countries may not.
Caribbean Errors
Caribbean errors of choice include erratic gunfire, selection of significant others, government ministers failing to disclose integrity investigations, loans to foreign corporations, electoral choice of leaders, mistakes on political party selection. The problem for a poor voter is that they feel that they are all in at a poker game and have to live with that bet until the next election.
The answer to much of this would be creation of recall petitions in the Caribbean that can remove political representatives with a simple constituency petition. This is not impeachment but a member of parliament in Jamaica can be removed for receiving a sentence of death or 30 days or more of imprisonment. Relief for some that no one has been hanged for decades.
Recall Petitions
The United Kingdom is home to simple recall petitions as well as the useful Unexplained Wealth Order yet to see the light of day in the Caribbean. The recall petition is activated if an MP is imprisoned, detained for madness, suspended from the House for two weeks or more, convicted of misleading information for allowances claims. This last one is very similar to the integrity breaches flooding the Jamaican cabinet.
If 10% of the voters of that constituency sign the petition, then that member of parliament is removed. This would be a very quick route to remove a politician unlike the years of meandering of investigations leaving competent, honest voters in limbo, sometimes past the next election.
This suggestion is as ridiculous as shooting oneself in a dark Belizean jungle. It will never happen in the Caribbean unless the voters press for it before election and from the streets. If that elegant lady goes back to the streets of Kingston again for a recall petition, the police should not attend. It makes the government look desperate and afraid.
Hope springs eternal and all that.
