I’m currently out in the country, from my native parish of St. Elizabeth, in a small but growing and vibrant sea side town of Black River.
I found this nice chill out spot on the sea side with a bar, a few rooms for rent, some bench and a platform gazebo over looking the beach.
I ordered a freshly chopped coconut and I’m here overhearing the conversations of the folks by the bar.
For the past hour they have been discussing human health. They’re talking about who had cancers, went to doctors, getting second opinions, who was healed and how they were healed.
This has been the trend of discussions here. Health has become a major topic. If they’re talking about how to make money, health comes up as a factor. If they’re talking about the government and progress, health finds a way into the conversation.
In some conversation, such as talking to librarians about the trend of visitors and borrowers, that’s when they bring up technology. And it’s not brought up in a good way. It’s brought up as an infection that is creating mental diseases that manifests as physical illnesses. But they cannot really explain it, but they are observing it. TikTok is one of the apps that they will talk about.
Some of them know the destructive forces of the “blue light” from the devices after sunset. Some are aware of the electromagnetic forces on biological life.
The country folks have nothing good to say about technology.
And this is true, as I myself, who depends on technology for a living, was hired to write algorithms for a few of the systems we use.
Not one of these systems are helping people.
We do not need global distribution and logistics in the country. Many are already aware of the dangers of eating imported and processed foods.
On my morning walk today, one man saw me and called me into his garden and gave me some pak choi, spinach, peppers, etc. He was even telling me how nothing is used on it except the grass he cut from his yard as fertilizer and the burnt ashes as insect repellant. He wasn’t even aware of companion planting so imagine if he starts testing that stuff out.
So food is a pretty solved issue, we don’t even need technology here.
Energy and communication systems seems to be the technology they really depend on.
But their communication systems have been hijacked by gimmick American gambling systems such as the facebooks, instagrams and TikToks. They no longer use these tools for knowledge. It is not until they ask questions and I begin to talk, then they listen and start asking me how I come to such knowledge.
It is through these same communication systems, the internet. But they let American men infiltrate their minds and use it in other ways to make money. The same Jamaicans will give Facebook money for ads so they can sell them cars and other products.
There’s no warm and fuzzy feeling of using Facebook to stay in touch with family and friends. It is all about business, someone is there to sell you something on top of the ads trying to sell you something.
Some people call this consumerism.
But one thing for certain when you are out in the country, is that you’re able to detach from this process and mindset, and observe what is taking place and where the conversations converge.
It converges on, technology is bad, and health is of paramount importance.
So how am I supposed to help them?