We hear about setups often. We see it play out in movies, we see it play out on a smaller scale among our peers. We believe that people are “wicked” and “heartless” when their mindset is “do whatever it takes, just make sure you win”. The narrative isn’t that rare.
Get rich or die trying.
No guts no glory.
A team wins but no one wants to share the trophy.
Every man for himself.
Every man wants it for himself.
The only difference between some people and that mindset is that some take it further. But everyone does it in one way or another, even if you are the type to try and help others win.
It’s not just poor people trying to get a likkle crumbs.
It’s not just people who have only been exposed to a life of gun violence and theft.
It also happens amongst white collars. Sabotage, contract killing, you name it.
An October 12, 1964 New York Times article title reads “Jamaican Aide Dies After Fall”. They are talking about 38-year-old (at the time) Minister of Communications and Works.
Kenneth Jones was a young politician and member of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). In the period of Jones’ death, the JLP was the ruling party, with Alexander Bustamante being the Prime Minister. Rumours state that Kenneth Jones was forthcoming with taking over the top JLP job. No one wants to see the highest position swept from under their feet, especially if it was someone that was already resented.
While conducting party business with other high ranking members of the JLP at a Cabinet retreat held at a hotel in Montego Bay, Jones fell to his death from the hotel’s balcony.
No autopsy was carried out to ascertain the cause of his death, yet, his death was ruled to be as a result of him sleepwalking, though he had no previous history of being a sleepwalker. It is very interesting that no autopsy was carried out to examine the death of someone who held such a powerful position in the country. Needless to say, most people were suspicious about his “sleepwalking fall”.
Kenneth Jones died at hospital hours later.
Now, I definitely was not alive when the incident happened, and even if I was, it would be unlikely that I would find myself in that crowd. But, one fact stands: people will do anything to gain power, especially if you were raised with that mindset. People will go as far as to push their colleague off a balcony and say that he fell while sleepwalking.