Amina Blackwood Meeks, Contributor
MISS LADY sey if more people did teck to heart what ole time people sey, we wudden be in a summuch prekkeh.
For she sey whereas she do not fully undastand what some people mean when dem talk bout de 'coarsening of the Jamaican society', she fully know where it start.
It look like de Commish know too, for him give out soun' bout jacket and tie people backa lectern wid microphone an give out warning sey people is to try an prips who or what is dem backitive. For what appears to be dem background might not be dem background at all.
But dat is a nex nedda story. Maybe is de same ole story all de same, jus dat some people jus start fe hear fe it.
For Miss Lady sey from de days when rotten mango was de most fearsome weapon into Jamaica an big people use to send likkle children go fetch rotten mango an put dem into carton box pan de shap piazza, all de nearer fe stone de opposing political party when dem passing, everybody did know sey bigger heads or maybe jus some so-so big head was always backa de crime.
Is jus chu mango never kill nuhbaddi yet excep dem swallow de seed. But is nat dat she talking bout now.
TASTE DE SINTING
Meck all who qualify fe Fish and Restore go forth an do same. She talking about de coarsening dat begins pan people tongue.
Now doan badda run go sey Miss Lady sey de speaking of something dat is not even a close cousin of Missis Queen Hinglish is de downfall of de nation.
She neva sey, mean or intend any such ting. But if you now run off an sey she sey what she she did not say, mark it down 10 dat you are proving her point.
Har point is dat if more people did stop fe taste de sinting dat is jus about to run affa dem tongue, dem wudda find some odda way fe get rid of it besides utter it, for bile is not a good tasting ting an ongle a wicked smaddy give anedda smaddy something dat dem discover is a terrible ting fe dem owna self.
Plus, Miss Lady sey dat bile is available in any language. Some of the worse form of it come off de tongues of people who cuss Professor uppa de university everyday bout how she talk.
An is fe go hear de quality Hinglish what de cussing teck place into. But see de mystery here now, how de act of degrading people show dat you is betta dan dem?
For ascarding to Miss Lady, anybody who have to drag somebody down already have to be down where dem plan to do de dragging.
In Miss Lady philosophy, dat is part of the pathology of coarsening, dat people teck fe dem owna self an meck it into an instrument of defiling oddas an doan even know sey a dat dem a do.
TREAT CHILDREN RIGHT
But is when dem do it to children dat Miss Lady out fe short-circuit. She a beg we fe jus stop an taste how we talk to we children dem sometime. Massi mi massa.
She sey de odda day she was into de staff room of a particular school, where, at least while she was dere, it did obvious sey de teacha dem care bout de children dem, help dem straighten dem clothes, talk to dem genkle an such.
Two likkle children now come ask fe a particular teacher. Hear de teacha who a carry de message: "Mr. So and So, two a your likkle terrorist dem out here to you." An everybody laugh, including de children.
Hear a next teacher looking outside, "But nuh two a my own dem dat, is what dem doing out dere?"
Den dem turn to Miss Lady an sey, "A pure likkle terrorist we have here you know."
More laughing and de two likkle children still waiting on dem teacha, enjoying de fun, wallowing in de pronouncement an mekking it clear sey a nuh de first time dem hear sey dem is a 'likkle' terrorist.
You can imagine how it sound attractive? Like fe dem aim in life now is to be a 'big' terrorist. It nuh funny.
COMPARISON TO SATAN
Into a next school now, a likkle boy, nuh bigga dan de size of ants into a line of similar size ones a walk to assembly an at dat size dem nuh do good a job of keeping de line straight. Teacha decide fe straighten him out.
Hear har, "Yu see dah likkle Satan deh, a so him rude all de time."
So Miss Lady teck faas gane sey, "Rude? Fe kean walk straight? Plus you can imagine how it mussi frightening fe kean see where yu going on account of yu kean see through de person in front a yu?"
Wrong mistake. For de teacha now raise har vice, all puns and meanings intended, an start pint pan de pikney. Hear har: "Who him, him Miss, is because you don't know. Him is a Satan, a living Satan. A hell him come from."
All the while, de poor likkle morsel a shake an shiver an try find him place into de line.
So seet it dere. One set a learn sey dem is terrorist an dat is something to enjoy as a joke, an one a learn de devastating effects of ridicule an comparison to Satan and both a dem a learn it at de hands of people into whose care they have been entrusted for a significant part of their formation.
Nuff a we nuh memba what inna book dem what we read dem time deh, we ongly memba what de book reader do an how dem meck we feel an what dem meck we tink was valuable. Dat name incidental learning an some times it impact more dan de intended book and page number.
Into a next school now de class room hot, teacha decide fe cool dung everybody unda a tree.
So dem a clap an a sing ... unprintables - every lyrics what meck some people outrageous!
Hear dat deh teacha excuse now: "But dem hear it every day, Miss. Is life dat where dem come from".
Miss Lady sey obviously is dat is de reality which part dat teacha live or entertain herself too. She sey is we who feget sey a what teacher know dem bring inna school.
Who dem is, where dem live, what dem see pan teevee an what dem tink is funny dat is part of de curriculum.
But nuttin nuh inna teachers' college curriculum fe address dat. Bless de teacha dem who know sey dem nuh haffe petpetuate it.
An plenty a dem deh bout. But de whole a we dun know what a handful of waywardness have we a go chu.
LET THE HEALING START
Outside of school now, we likkle children go to de park, family gathering to hear a good concert an de emcee tell some 'jokes' dat soun like fe him tongue nuh have no taste bud and everybody laugh, chu a "so him stay".
An some a who a laugh wudden repeat dose tings, but nobaody naw tell emcee sey dem tings deh coarse, was coarse den, is coarse now and form part of de accumulated coarsening of we collective khaki.
Too much starch in deh. We nuh jus a experience coarseness, we a chaffe too.
Miss Lady she ef we wudda jus talk an taste we tongue, a big part a healing wudda start.
