Amina Blackwood MeeksMISS LADY sey it appears to her like somewhere out there, there is a notion that the positive change which is needed in Jamaica and which must come, will be led by people with the moral authority to do certain things, that is, the authority to act with certainty on specific issues and get results.
She sey there is just one little problem, we first have to come to an understanding of who has moral authority to what. Because de person who can lead a change in one area can't necessarily have an impact in any other area. So her first prescription is that we should stop looking for the one person who is the embodiment of God on earth, like everybody know dat deh smaddy an a go do anyting what dem sey.
Next ting she sey is dat we are to stop confusing popularity with moral authority. If the ability to lead and create change was based on popularity polls, there would be no leadership or accomplishment gaps in Jamaica. We could simply entrust our future to the politician who poll the most votes in anyting, appear de most pan radio, teevee or newspiapa an go home an have a good night's rest. But like how we don't believe in dat kind of magic, Miss Lady wants to know how come everytime somebody wid money decide to launch a campaign gains dis or dat evil dem reach fe de entertainment industry, meaning people who sing, for it doan seem to occur to nuff people dat entertainment is more dan singing.
Anyway, ascarding to her dem reach into dat segment of de industry and pull out who dem believe is de most popular person into de segment an jam moralising dung dem throat, put a video camera into dem face, show dem pan teevee and expeck crowd a people fe gadder roun dem.
First to commence in dis complex way in which Jamaicans operate, if yu give dem something as entertainment, by and large dat's how dem is going to treat it. So dem might jus sign along and dance along an stap when de music stop. Dem know when people jus use a deejay or a singer fe sell dem products or draw crowd a dem party. Dem dun know sey afta de crowd dun draw an de products dun sell, de voice or de "talent" get crucify into nuff cocktail party or pan nuff dining table wid ten knife an fork fe eat two piece a sumpen like de wings of dove form out into a dainty likkle cupcake pattern into a big oversize plate. Yu see from dat dey perception of double-dealing and hypocrisy get invite to de occasion, whatever it is, moral authority cry excuse an leave de space. And if is one ting Jamaicans master over de last two decades is how fe recognise de game of hypocrisy, when people a try use an tun dem culture gains dem, den dem jus suck dem teet, leave de party an slam de door so yu have no doubt dat dem leave.
ANTI-VIOLENCE CAMPAIGN
So a so comes Miss Lady been examining de latest anti-violence campaign and a wonder what de people dem who put de campaign togedda was tinking. How dem fe have deejay who bruk countless fight at countless stage show, or cause de fight fe bruk, an den spen how much time pan nuff entertainment programme a explain fe dem part of de fracas, up pan teevee now a tell de nation sey violence nuh good. An inna de midst of de campaign gone a next stage show gane square off wid nadda artiste.
Miss Lady nuh blame de artistes dem yuh nuh. She blame de smaddy who a gi likkle boy big man work fe do. She sey it seem to her dat is de firs brukking dung of de moral authority, for nuff time she inna meeting where people a decide who fe deh pan such campaign an she find de logics of de reasoning quite illusive. Missa Man is going to declare dat Such an Such have appeal to Such an Such a income group. Missa Next Man is going to agree, but hear him, "Den if we put awn Such an Such we have to put awn Such Too." Hear de come back, "But Such Too get banned or at least partially reprimanded for inciting violence gains vulnerable groups, brukking code of conduck what him agree to as soon as him see crowd a people, and cussing profanities pan stage."
"Yes, but him popular, him have de mose money, drive de mose expensive upstairs car." An a so de argument gwaan, till who mus meck de decision bout who have de moral authority fe help bring bout change in de public arena, nuh use no moral authority fe meck de decision inna de first place. Is like dem fraid fe fine a ground what nat popular and hole awn to it because it right.
Miss Lady sey de fraid ting and moral authority is nat even distant family. So now dem best intentions jus come out looking like moral posturing, especially if dem live into de area what declare dat dem don't want poor people, de objects of dere campaigns, to come live into no housing scheme an bring dung dem value. So we all jus gwaan pose till de nex photo-op comes along. Later on now yu look pan certain people cv an see de mount a campaign-for-change what dem endorse and yu have no doubt how we end up which part we deh and kean fine we way home like de likkle pig.
LEADERSHIP
Miss Lady sey campaigns for change must have leadership dat can create de kind of followership dat meck change possible. An sometimes dat is jus de likkle man what lose everyting him plant to bad wedda but neva teef him nayba breadfruit yet. Or de likkle lady what work wit teacher till de she tired but never get weary yet of how she and school going to form an alliance fe meck sure de tuff head pikney dem turn out into smaddy what doan cause anybody else head fe haffe heng down wid shame. De same ones who wudda want a chance fe live into more salubrious climate if only de people who live dere arreddi would acknowledge dere humanity an every entiklement what dat entikle dem to.
Miss Lady wants to know if people who devise dese campaigns doan know anybody like dat or doan know anybody who can point dem to somebedy like dat? Den nuh dat's why we reach whey we reach den? We insist on ignoring de people whose lifestyle really hole up dis country and prevent de whole a we from sink, because dem nuh sing pan stage, never been interviewed pan no programme dat celebrate de best of Jamaica and to boot, dem might not express demself in Farin Language.
She sey every single problem dat we have go back to how to worship material tings and people who have nuff a it regardless of how dem lifestyle a help bring we down an lack de moral fortitude fe tell dem sey dem wrong. Every single problem we have go right back to how we operate in a way fe meck ordinary people and dem wisdom an sincerity invisible an derefore inaccessible to we collective benefit. She sey we have to begin to correck dat as part of de process of exercising moral authority fe accomplish de greatness of which we dream an maintain de good part of de name what we still have out dere.
