Hilary Robertson- Hickling

Nearly 14 years ago Professor Carl Stone wrote a column in this newspaper entitled 'The Anatomy of Aggression'. His prophetic words foretold our daily experience in Jamaica today. He described the violence which has emerged to fill the post-colonial authority structures in which the very concept of authority is a bad word. At home, at work, at school and on the streets we see people flying off the handle at the slightest sign of an actual or perceived 'diss'. What he described as bullyism and its more advanced cousin, badmanism, are elevated to the highest forms in the popular culture, and some even believe that Jamaica is the home of the baddest in the world. In fact, we are suffering from some of the unanticipated consequences of this reputation as the law-abiding among us are subject to more and more visa restrictions and barriers as we try to benefit from globalisation.

Grenada, Guyana and Barbados have banned 'Passa Passa' as unfit for their countries as they find the music and moves too obscene. There will be many who cry foul and cite the suggestive lyrics of soca and the 'wines' of carnival, but they may argue that there is a season for this carnival while we seem to have a 24/7 approach to the dancehall. In any case, we have the product to sell so we have to consider what the people of those countries are saying. Some of our music is a vehicle for the aggression and in some neighbourhoods there are sounds which assault those who dare to want to sleep at night every night of the week. There is also the competition with aggressive church crusades which make the sleepers unable to sleep at night. I believe that some of the aggression must be connected to sleep deprivation and all that follows.

Aggression

The aggression on the roads is terrifying, and each week, month, year we hear of people who have lost their lives as a result of an aggressive driver overtaking a line of traffic. Visitors to the country observe that the conduct on the roads is one of the worst aspects of their experience in Jamaica. Aggression in the home is reflected in domestic violence and cursing of bad words, yes bad words infused with venom, hate and frustration. I have seen a big man cry as a woman traced him and so much public discourse is venom filled and aggressive. The talk shows, the Parliament and other public spaces are also filled with the aggression plus the 'divatude', according to the American Judge Joe Brown. The in-your-face provocative stance is not helping our people as many do not know when to use another strategy and, in fact, do not know any other strategy.

Is there a balm in Gilead? I hope so because we need to find a way to channel this aggression more positively or we are on the road to self-destruction. Our performance at the Olympics and in the other fields that we are excelling is about the channelling of the aggression positively. Have you ever seen a river in spate, when it overflows its banks and drowns everything in its path? Some of the aggression is like that. Of course, rivers can be trained and the life-giving water can be used to grow crops, providing a connection between two worlds and many other positive things. Langston Hughes, the great American poet, in his The Negro Speaks of Rivers, sums up the possibilities in the line 'my soul has grown deep like the river'. Our own Jamaican song bemoans the effect of the 'The river ben come down'.

Hilary Robertson-Hickling is a lecturer in the Department of Management Studies, UWI, Mona.