Bruce bruising goes online
Published:Friday | May 14, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Mark Beckford, Staff Reporter
Using the World Wide Web as their forum, Jamaicans here and in the diaspora have joined the debate surrounding Prime Minister Bruce Golding's statement in Parliament on Tuesday.
Golding revealed that he sanctioned a Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) contract with Manatt, Phelps & Phillips to lobby the United States in an extradition matter.
A common interest group, which calls itself 'Prime Minister Bruce Golding Must Resign', has launched an on-line campaign to pressure Golding into stepping down from office. Up to press time yesterday, the group had 330 members.
"This group is for persons who are dissatisfied and fed up with the prime minister of Jamaica and his administration," the group declared on the social networking website Facebook.
Comments on the group's wall had persons agitating for action to be taken, to send a message to Golding.
But 'Prime Minister Bruce Golding Must Resign' is just one of at least a dozen groups that have sprung up on Facebook since Golding's admission.
Another group, 'Bruce Golding Mash Up The Country', had the image of Golding on the home page with a "just say no" sign across his face.
Unflattering comments
Many of the comments on the page were unflattering, but the sentiments against Golding appeared strong, as demonstrated by the notification "1,668 people like this".
A search of Twitter's tweets written on the matter since Wednesday morning saw several individuals expressing disgust.
The majority of comments on Twitter expressed exasperation or disgust with the state of affairs.
A user by the name of Top5Jamaica said: "Question of the day: How much credibility does Prime Minister Bruce Golding have in your eyes at this time???????????."
Another comment, by kimz_tardy said, "Bruce Golding, yu put yuself inna di mess wha u inna ... bere di consequences." Another user, OfftheWaltham, commented: "Bruce Golding has lost all credibility. He should now step down as PM and call a fresh election in Jamaica."