The size of the goat's bottom

Welcome to 2013.

I know, but, it's the first post for the year and it wasn't gonna happen before the 8th. ;-) Speaking of which, it's day eight, but, given all that's happened so far - especially in my fair homeland of Jamaica - it practically feels like we're halfway in.

One really has to wonder (as one channels one's inner Queen Elizabeth) whether the island of Jamaica means herself well. Of course, by that I mean, whether the people of Jamaica really want the best for the country for generations to come. Successive governments/administrations have made their mark over the years. The economists and statisticians would tell you that the ebb and flow of economic growth may be markedly aligned with one or other of the country's two main political parties being at the helm at x point in time. And, yet, some people - well, the majority of voters - intentionally chose the current crop of political leaders. On purpose! Is my homeland self-harming? Is there a kind of warped pleasure that she gets from shooting herself in the foot?

Now, as I continue with my (unusual) political harangue, there are a few things that concern me. One is the proclivity of some persons to be up in arms against someone because of an opposing political view. That is beyond me. Not only is each person entitled to his/her opinion, but, as my sis likes to point out, when a voter enters a voting booth in his/her constituency, he/she has to make a choice. Then, the voter dips his/her finger in the ink provided to show that he/she has already voted then runs along and hopes for the best. What is the point of being upset with another because that person does not share your political view? Sometimes I think some of us show up to have a battle of wits with persons who are unarmed - to borrow from that quote. Because, no matter how you try to reason with some thick-headed nincompoop on some comment boards - thinking it, no name-calling now - they just don't seem to get the idea that not everybody will vote for their choice of party/candidate or share their views. The minute you start disagreeing, they start attacking you vs. the points you're making.

Another concern is about the auto-pilot setting the country seems to be on. (Yeah, I read somewhere that prepositions are quite acceptable words to end a sentence with.) I've heard that auto-pilot term being bandied about in reference to the nature of the governance being meted out in Jamaica right now. It's quite apt and puts me in mind of this calypso by Gypsy - being sung about another Caribbean island at the time, but, oh, how allegorically fitting - and timely.

Hardly anything summed up the smashing and, already tiring, start to the new year like the New Year's Day letter to the Editor of the Jamaica Observer, Let's end our relationship, PNP, by sis @MizDurie. It echoed what so many were thinking. No wonder it went viral in a short while  - like the gift that keeps on giving.

Then, a couple days after, the Cabinet was referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions by the Office of the Contractor General - a commission of Parliament established to monitor the award of government contracts.

A few days after that, the Prime Minister gave an address to the nation, which is more palatable through this treatment by sis, published in the Jamaica Observer. Again, this treatment echoes the thoughts of many.

And, the very next day, which brings us to today, like the Real McKoy being revealed after the decoy, an article in the Chicago Tribune was brought to our attention: Jamaica's debt hurricane. Not sure how many people hung their heads in shame after reading it. I did. Here was Jamaica, a gem of the Caribbean, having produced so many greats, still producing so many greats, being held up as a lesson in economic catastrophe and "irresponsible stewardship".

There's a Jamaican proverb that says, "Tek bad tings mek joke" and another, "Tek kin teet kibba heart bun." The first means, essentially, don't let your calamity get you down. Laugh at it. The second, smile or laugh to cover up the heart ache. Jamaicans are resilient people with a reserve of courage blah blah blah. We are a resilient set but the country needs proper leadership and good governance.

The governing administration would do well to remember another popular Jamaican proverb, "Everyday bucket a go a well, one day di bottom mus drop out." The people will be able to take so much and no more. You know? This government has clearly taken up a responsibility that it is ill-equipped to manage. What a legacy! "The Greece of the Western Hemisphere" stamped across Jamaica. Lord have mercy. In the last general elections, power and position were fought for and won with weapons of mass deception. But, the Empress has no clothes and, well, as for the administration as a whole, I can hardly say it better than my favourite favourite Jamaican proverb:

Goat mus know di size a him bottom before him swallow mango seed.

All the best for 2013! Lord knows we're gonna need it.



Claudia
www.cyopro.com
www.twitter.com/cyopro

While you were out: World Peace achieved

As a few of my co-workers returned from lunch the other day, one of them asked, “Anything interesting happened while we were out?”  Without missing a beat – and I’m still not sure where it came from – I responded, “World peace was achieved!”   I followed up with, “I wish!” and we laughed it off.  But, nonetheless, it got me thinking that there are days when you just want to close your eyes and open them...Voila!  Everything is in its place and all is right with the world. 

Well, at least, your world.

Given the plethora of things that can (and do) go wrong on any given day, it’s amazing how most of us manage to keep it together.  True, things are not always in ‘the-sky-is-falling!’ mode, but, sometimes, when you do try to take it one day at a time, as that old quote says: “Some days seem to attack you all at once.”

And that’s just in your 2x2 zone.  Look outside of that and you become aware of people and their hurts and their despair and their voicelessness.  Yes, there’s lotsa beauty to behold, but we’re not talking beauty now. At this moment.  We’re talking about the ugly and the fact that, in many circumstances, it doesn’t have to be.

The Hiding

What makes it worse, however, is that some of us, with our multiplicity of media, including social media, and platforms from which to speak, take advantage of that.  Even – and especially – when we shouldn’t.  It’s pretty easy to hide behind…okay, let’s say use pseudonyms and monikers and what not, as we comment on news items and so on.  (After all, I use - not hide behind - Cee Dubya. Well, it kinda started off as kinda hiding behind, but for the apprehension of dealing with negative criticism.  Now, I just use it - and should perhaps add my real name to future postings...oh the digression.)  But it becomes “hiding behind” when we lash out at other faceless and sometimes real-nameless persons.  There’s a theory my sis has mentioned and I’ve forgotten what it’s called. It seeks to explain that the more far removed you are from your ‘target’ the harsher you are prone to get.   And we see examples of that every single solitary day as we comb the comment boards on various sites – mainstream and other media alike.   People say really mean and ugly and harsh things to their fellow human beings; things that they would never say to them in person, but for the fact that they are remaining anonymous.  Kinda like an ‘average Joe’ with a gun, isn’t it?  Wouldn’t be confrontational in a situation, much more fight it out.  Yet, standing behind a .38 calibre (Way too much TV here.  No, wait!  Maybe, it’s just the news) he is Mr. Tough n Ready.   

Because we can?

So, folks hide and hit and run off to the next story and the next comment board.  This past week, this issue was brought to the fore by way of a rather sad piece of news.  Looking through an edition of the Jamaica Observer, I came upon the story of a gentleman who had passed oh so suddenly, a day short of his 70^th birthday.  He had climbed an ackee tree and met his end when he fell and suffered head trauma.  Now, what took me aback were a few of the comments.  They not only questioned his decision to climb a tree at that age (I didn’t know the man, I have only read accounts that he was strong and in good health), but also insinuated that he was stingy!  That he could have paid a younger person to do that blah blah blah.  And I’m thinking, are you nuts?!  Does your elevator go all the way to the top?  Because, unless you’re, y’know, clueless, you would understand that the probability of family members reading the story, and its online comments, is very high.  What would possess someone to offer condolences in one breath and criticize the person for causing-his-own-death-because-he-was-stingy in the other? ‘Two’ words: un believable.   How would you imagine the family members felt upon reading those comments, or, for the much older ones who are not too computer/Internet savvy, having the comments read to them?

The Ugly: Co-created by...

There are a few times when we say things that we regret, even as the last syllable is leaving our lips.  A kind of similar thing happens when we write – especially in haste.  When we write, however, we have a little more wiggle room.  If we’re still in the pen and paper mode, we can ‘white out’, cross out…you get  the idea.  At our computer, we almost invariably have the option of backspacing/deleting before we hit ‘post comment’.  Could we at least re-read our comments about things of such a sensitive nature before we post?  How are they likely to affect the real people concerned?  As another sis pointed out, the affected family aren’t actors in a movie.  They are real people.  We might be standing on top of our podium – tap tap, is this thing on? – clearing our throats and uttering our rhetoric for all of cyberspace to hear.  But, to whom it does concern, how helpful is our speech?  How much of the ugly do we help to create?  (And then bicker about later?  But that’s for another post.)

We breathe the same air (part of a fav line from Mr. Monk and the Astronaut)

I just imagine this scenario in many other situations and the multiplier effect.  Just one of the reasons for the elusive “World Peace”.  (Do beauty contestants still make that wish?)  At the risk of sounding sanctimonious, I humbly posit: Let’s be kinder, even when online, even when using a moniker and especially in really sensitive situations.

It may not seem like it’s covering a wide geographic area, but, where we have a personal test of our humanity, let’s win!  Let’s begin, in our own world, to reduce the ugly and to increase peace.  ‘Cause, in case you haven’t yet realized it, our worlds are connected - and we breathe the same air!

Claudia

www.cyopro.com

www.twitter.com/cyopro

Don't stay out of it!

I read a newspaper column the other day in which the writer made a subtle reference to one of the then topical issues. In doing so, she couched it within a context that clearly indicated her leaning. So, clear context, subtle reference. I'd say more than a few of her readers got it.

So much so that, in my comment (as Cee Dubya) below the column, I made my not-so-subtle reference to her not-so-subtle reference. And someone spotted mine and so on.

What I was a tad put off by, however, was one of the comments that advised her to steer clear of making an input in the matter; not to be "caught up" in the debate and have her say.

Now, I just figured the author, Barbara Gloudon or Miss G, (as she is sometimes affectionately called - other times maybe Ms. B etc.) is mature and street wise and, in short has been around long enough not to have paid the poster any mind. I mean, after all, she is a writer - a columnist, to boot! Why would she hold back her thoughts about an issue, if she had something to say and the opportunity to say it?

Pretty soon, though, I realized why I was on about it so much; why I had given so much thought to a seemingly trivial thing. The reason was this: Anger - the healthy kind. See, I recognized some time ago the rather sad truth that many people would "put themselves out there" were it not for fear. It is a crippling fear that convinces you that the critics and cynics and naysayers are going to come raining dissent and scorn and ridicule upon your expressions; that it's better to just save yourself the agony, don't cause any problems and instead of confrontation, run! So, even before you begin to speak, you are silenced by angst and anticipation of the worst. And, very soon, the choice to "stay out of it" becomes less difficult with each opportunity to make a unique and meaningful input.

Here's the thing (Monk), the truth is, "we live in a cynical world" as Jerry said. (Yes, he "had me at hello", too.) Heck, I'm just now beginning to realize that I've added a dash or two of cynicism to a number of scenarios. I've had to take a step back and go, "Is this me?" Always, the answer comes back, Yup! Guess I've simply learned to look through other lens now. Point? There will be critics and cynics and editors and censors and apologists and nincompoops and people-who-may-mean-well-but-for-the-life-of-them-give-really-bad-advice. I heard my father with this saying a long time ago (when there was a minor home accident or something) and it stuck: "Never mind. The first hundred years are the hardest." OK. So I was about to highlight the point. And it's this: say what you have to say without fear - not even a little bit. Don't stay out of it! Provisos? Engage brain and mind before opening mouth. In some cases, you might need to open mouth, remove foot, engage brain and mind then proceed.

But, for the sake of your sense of self and sanity, don't clam up just because you're fearful that somebody might disagree with what you've said or might try to tear it apart. People are people wherever you go (I always say) and folks from the above list are always going to be around in some shape, form or hue. Perhaps no one, except the Lord Himself, may know from whence your strong points or passionate arguments come. But, be brave enough to express them and prepared enough to defend them - if necessary.

And I know about clamming up! About five or six years ago I wrote a book. It was not a big book, but, a book none-the-less. I've seen books with less than 50 pages, less than 20 pages, even. They tell their stories and that's that. Well, my book was running near 150 pages. I'm mentioning the pages because, at first, I thought a book doesn't really qualify to be called a book unless it has a decent number of pages. Yes, I clearly had a lot to learn; many myths to debunk.

The title of the book was...is, "I'm not an American, but I live here". It had a sub-title, but that'll do for now. It captured the essence of the lessons and new things I'd learnt in my journey from Jamaica to the USofA. My experiences were neatly packaged in this little book that I hoped would be enlightening, entertaining and inspiring. Well, I sent it to a couple of family members, a cousin, a friend, a professor at my alma mater and a former columnist for one of the major newspapers in Jamaica who was, at the time, a professor at another university.

As you might imagine, the responses from my family, relative and friend were more favourable than the others. The main criticism from the professors was that I needed to identify my audience. To whom was I telling the story? The book wasn't ready for publication, then. It was good criticism. But the 'not ready' stuck with me more than the 'ID audience' part. I don't think I've picked it up since receiving the critique. And, I feel, that I've disappointed not only myself, but also family members who might have had hopes of me finishing the thing. I imagine, however, given my new zeal and no-fear, no-doubt resolve, I will be re-visiting that project - and that right early. It will be published one way or another.

And that's why I feel so strongly about putting yourself out there. Especially as a writer, you just gotta be prepared for the sharks and wolves and whatnot. I just think that some people don't speak up or write because of fear of what others might say. What if it doesn't sound intelligent enough; witty enough; well-read enough; "in" (with the in-crowd) enough; oratorical enough and all that jazz? Well, what if it doesn't? Does it mean that you will always be concealing your opinion or take on everything?

But, then again, what if it does?

Jump in. Add your say. Be a part of the vibrant exchange. You'd be amazed and delighted at the wonderful things you begin to notice about the world around you. About yourself.

AND HOW DID THAT MAKE ME FEEL?
I was just about ten metres away from the revolving doors, as I made my way to my building the other day. Just as I crossed at the lights, I saw another guy coming from my right, talking on his cell. He paused in conversation to holler at this guy, just ahead of me, leaning against a column, "Pablo!" Now, Pablo looked like an immigrant - Mexican, to be honest - mid-forties. Maybe I latched on to that nationality because of, well, "Pablo!" Anyway, I saw Pablo quickly end his own cell conversation, snap the phone shut and hurried to catch up to the first guy, who had by now, almost disappeared back around the corner where I'd spotted him just seconds before.

One of the first thoughts that entered my mind was, maybe Pablo is just getting a break - some degree of "hustling" and connections paying off at last. It just looked that way. Toronto is a pretty big city of approx 2.6M with a high percentage of immigrants. It was possible!

Just as they left my peripheral vision, I saw three guys (looked Caucasian), maybe early fifties, sitting in the patio area of a nearby café, having their morning coffee. Clad in hard hats and the proper construction attire, I surmised that they were on break from the massive multi-million dollar construction project taking place across the street (the hard hat one was wearing had the name of the project management company on it). They didn't look hurried or edgy or like they were 'hustling' at all. And I know that different people are at different points in their different lives. And I do believe that people make choices and they should be ready to face the rewards/consequences of those choices.

It's just that, for that moment, there was a juxtaposition of two very different worlds. And, for an-even-now-unexplained reason, it made me feel sad. In that instant, I got why there are those who commit their lives and resources to advocate for the marginalized and oppressed. It moved from "Pablo!" - cause I really don't know his situation; it moved from the construction workers - cause I don't know theirs, either - to the larger matter of disparity.

For, after all, Pablo's world seemed very different from mine, too.


Claudia
www.cyopro.com
www.twitter.com/cyopro

Time enough

Made a comment on this article in the Jamaica Observer on Wednesday (May 26, 2010) - as Cee Dubya. Even at this time of writing, things are still tense. But, there will come better days.

"Someone described yesterday’s sitting of Parliament - apparently one of unusual civility. No raucous spat-filled behaviour? What gives?
.
Perhaps the understanding, (which was already held by … almost everybody else, really) that this war on crime is not about Party but rather what’s best for Jamaica, is finally sinking in?
.
Could it be that persons are now feeling a bit anxious or sopm, what with PMBG reportedly being referred to as a “criminal affiliate” by the US gov? I imagine that, after all is said and done, a lot more will be said - one way or another. And who would be prepared to go down alone?
.
What’s that saying again? “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you.”
.
Whatever the deal, let it sink in. Good must come of this. It won’t be overnight, but even time takes time.
.
(Btw, more responsible journalism at work here than that ABC report: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/world/americas/26jamaica.html?scp=2&sq=jamaica&st=cse)"

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Claudia
www.cyopro.com
www.twitter.com/cyopro