October 11, 2019
No surprise at the reaction on social media to the arrest of former Education Minister Ruel Reid and others for diverting $50 million in public funds for personal use. Many found the development more disappointing than surprising.
Some trashed the public way the arrests were made, seeing it as demeaning and going too far. Others showed support for the work of the police in holding the alleged offenders accountable for the crimes committed despite their lofty public positions. A few even argued that the police didn’t go far enough with the coordinated dawn raids.
The strangest thing for everyone, of course, was comments from Justice Minister Delroy Chuck, who was less than enthusiastic about the police actions. He was called out as hypocritical and owning a conflict of interest since his daughter is representing one of the arrested parties.
In true Jamaican spirit, many made light of the negative on social media with memes and gifs. Some posts and gifs showed people enthusiastically munching on popcorn or shadily sipping tea as they happily watched the events unfold. One tweet hilariously alluded to the recent #RihannaisJamaican trend in which Jamaican twitter trolls Bajans by trying to steal the famous singer and claim her as Jamaican with a post that reads “Barbados can tek Ruel Reid”.
Whatever happens next in this ongoing saga, one can rest assured that social media will be following along closely, keeping everyone updated with passionate responses, both serious and satirical commentary alike.