Wrong Direction

The carnival season is over and, as far as I can tell, the fiesta was enjoyed without any major criminal incidents. As a result, for our safety, we commend the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) for doing such an outstanding job for keeping the carnival revelers safe especially coming on the heals of the spike in violent crimes just weeks leading up to the festival.

Within this backdrop, we are reminded that, for a society to function properly, safety is paramount. Societies constantly improve their rules and regulations in an effort to meet the best collective needs of its people. Since this carnival season has passed without any major incidences; this has pleased us so greatly, constantly sustaining such a safe society should be our major goal moving forward. No! I am not speaking of creating a utopia. I am saying the as a nation, we must find ways so that each citizen, without being restricted or being afraid, can explore and live fulfilling lives.

Since, however, creating an ideal society with the perfect socioeconomic, political and legal system seems out of reach, societal problems will continue to be with us for sometime or forever. Knowing this means, that finding real solutions to the seemingly inescapable problems that will surface within our society must become one of our main concerns. But, how do we achieve such a goal? Certainly, appealing to pre-enlightenment, dark-ages solutions of appealing to a god or gods, for instance, is not an option. As I have alluded to above, we can accomplish this by each of us accepting our duty to be responsible moral agents - good citizens - and contribute positively to our immediate society and, of course, to the world at large. Kirani James has indeed demonstrated this to us during the past London 2012 Olympic games. This is indeed one way, and a very important one at that; being good for goodness' sake. However, despite each citizen, on an individual and community level, doing his or her part, acting on a national political level is also extremely important. We must seek to be informative citizens and exercise our voting rights in order to place the right people in the positions that are designed to solve the problems we face. Our elected officials must have the ability to properly diagnose these problems. They must be able to understand or at least be capable to identify the root causes of societal ills. Thus, we must critically evaluate actions taken by our elected officials at all times.
Take the call put fourth by Her Majesty's Opposition Party, The New National Party (NNP), for  National Days of Prayers, as a case in point. As a concerned citizen, I am very interested in knowing whether these elected officials sincerely believe that the prayer option is a real, viable solution to the problems they are trying to solve. In other words, do these officials actually believe, as objective facts, that praying will provide a change in our experience. Can they provide certainty of change. My vote is at stake here! Indeed, the fact that these officials are calling for prayer as a means to solve real problems appears to expose them as not having the slightest understanding of the source of societal ills. To this position, however, I am desperately trying not to adhere. But this knee-jerk reaction taken by supposed intelligent men and women in an effort to quell what appears to be an increase in killings leading up to the carnival celebrations, seems to confirm my fears. Society's safety must be among our ultimate concerns, but reverting to the old adage of appealing to God as a valid policy to contend with very real problems isn't very reassuring. Therefore, as a citizen working for the best of my country, here is what I believe the source of some of these crimes are. 

Taking the recent crime wave as the point of diagnostic entry – and I am concerned here with what is normally classified as “crimes of passion”, a category most of the crimes in Grenada seems to fall into – some troubling characteristics become apparent.

• The sexual relationship between adult males and teenage females. These relationships are normally built on male control. Indeed, much work is being directed into preventing child abuse. However, many parents, who suffer financially, continually allow older men, who can provide them with well needed funding, to sexually bond with their underage daughters. As a result, these predators exhibit high level of control over these young girls. However, if these young girls mature and gain an education and sort to sever themselves from the illegitimate,abusive relationship, the men becomes angry and act out in often deadly and gruesome ways.
• Domestic violence in almost all cases of these "crimes of passion" are a noticeable factor, and highlights the relationship between many Grenadians – old and young couples alike. Take the killing of Marsha Cherman of Pearls, St. Andrew, which happened in August, making her the 4^th woman to be killed for 2012, as an example. Her relationship appeared to have been riddled with instances of domestic violence. However, according to police “it’s a problem where we have the victims start the process (of persecuting the abusers), we encourage them to continue by all means and then they decide that they should not continue because they would ‘make up.’ (The killing of Marsha Cherman)
• Insecurity. Many of these men exhibit lack of self-confidence, a problem that is exacerbated when someone losses his or her means of income. This then means that his or her relationship with his wife/husband or girlfriend/boyfriend becomes strained. Indeed, women that find themselves in these situations normally revert to removing themselves from the situation by either getting rid of the husband/boyfriend or sometimes she will secretly cohabit with another, as it appears to have been in Marsh Cherman’s case. Thus, not being able to cope, many of these men because of their insecurities and inability to cope with rejection react in extremely violent ways.
• The abuse of alcohol. Grenadians are living in a society where the consumption of alcohol is pervasive.  Alcohol use is vigorously promoted in Grenada, leading to its abuse, mostly done by men - both underage young male and adult male- creating a high amount of alcoholics, which contribute to the domestic violence, which certainly leads to other crimes.  

I am not contending that the points highlighted here are the only aspects that contribute to crimes and other problems. The stellar job done by the RGPF  this carnival by ensuring that everyone entering a celebration area was stopped and searched, revealed the melancholy nature of many Grenadians. Hundreds of weapons were found on individuals who certainly intended to cause harm on others. What this shows, is that the human being's ability to personify negative characteristic for no apparent reasons is certainly a factor. But these points I have pointed out here are obvious ones, which, I believe, are the major underpinnings for most of these “crimes of passion”. Moreover, they all seem to point to one common denominator - economics; the lack of sustainable living, and this, my friends, prayer cannot and will not fix. My argument, of course, is not that if we happened to create a society where  one hundred percent employment exists, crimes will disappear. Certainly not! What I am saying is this; our elected officials are looking in the wrong direction. I am  certain that there cannot and will never be any direct causal effect of positive change on societal problems that can or will be, as a result of prayer. Calypsonian Elimus Gilbert - The Inspector - reminded us in 1989 that we were going the wrong way - the title of one of his calypsos that year. This is a warning, I will argue, is relevant here. This is, the wrong way; we are looking in wrong directions. These officials should stop the knee-jerk reactions; refrain from engaging in wishful thinking, and instead, take the time to properly diagnose and understand the cause of our problems, then real solutions can be developed. Certainly, as highly religious people, they are moved by their religious faith in their God. However, to invoke the word of the American inventor, journalist, printer, diplomat and statesman, Benjamin Franklin, "the way to see by faith is to shut the eye to reason".   

Prayer is Not What Grenada Needs

Religion is a human invention. Originally developed, it appears, to calm the fears of our early humans ancestors. It gave them a sense of security in an insecure,and uncertain world. It was the end result of the attempt by early man and woman to answer pressing questions early humans had about the environment around them. Who is responsible for creating the hurricanes, the monsoons, the volcanoes etc.?, and how can they petition that person or persons to stop sending these devastating disasters their way? Our ancestors thought long, and hard, eventually deciding that communicating to the "God" or "gods" in charge via ritual, sacrifice and even prayer as the ideal ways to appease him or them. This, however, was then. We have now matured to gain understanding about the workings of hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanoes, etc. Today we (humanity) have and continue to develop real solutions to many real dangers. Not that we are totally safe from these natural disasters, but we are today better prepared to deal with them. For instance, we've created building materials that can better withstand the natural weather and have come up with ways to alert ourselves of arriving disasters. We now understand that sickness is not caused by evil spirits entering the human body and, therefore must be exorcised or prayed over to be healed. No! We have developed medical science.

Yes, indeed, I say all this to establish this fact, prayer does not work. Unless, of course, one views praying as a motivating tool; an energy booster, which works not unlike how sport athletes using chants (or even prayer) to mentally prepare themselves and focus on the task at hand before engaging in a competition. Praying for one’s condition to be changed and not literally sorting out a real solution to the problem, guarantees the problem to remain the same. As Christianity is concerned, this truth is evident in the Faith Healing Christian community of today. Every year innocent children are left to die by parents denying their children medical attention because the parents are invested in an irrational belief that says praying and having faith in God will ensure their children better health. They never do heal if the truth be told. 

In light of these facts, come Saturday August 4, 2012 and Sunday August 5, 2012, the Political leaders of the New National Party, as presented in an article published in the online Grenada news network Spicegrenada.com, entitled The National Party Calls for National Days of Prayer and Reflection, are designating the mentioned days as national days of prayer and reflection for our nation because of the recent increase in violent crimes. Whether these people view prayer as the real solution to the problem, I don’t know. It seems to be a stretch to conclude that they do. On the other hand, they are, as the Faith Healing Community, vested in their faith, and, based on the article, it appear to suggest that they do believe that by praying God will be move to heal Grenada from the crimes. In fact, to convince themselves and others that they are taking the correct action, the outrageous claim that Grenada is a Christian Country was made. As if by verbalizing this false aphorism, God is now required to help. Hold up a minute. Do they mean that Grenada is a theocracy? The last time I checked we had a secular constitution that protects the right of all Grenadians to have “the right to freedom of conscience and religion. This right includes freedom to maintain or to change one’s religion or beliefs, and freedom to profess or disseminate one’s religion or belief, either individually or together with others, in public or in private”.  We are not a Christian nation, period.

Indeed, Grenada does have a problem with violent crime, and this problem is increasing. We certainly cannot let crime become synonymous with our lovely Spice Island. Real responses to the problem, by our leaders, however, have been wanting. It is not so much that our political leaders lack the ability to present meaningful solution to the problem. No! The problem seems to be deeply rooted in their belief in a messianic savior. The belief that someone will come that takes care of their problems. All one has to do is ask; “pray for it”. In addition, we are direct, through the article, to Psalm 121:1, as if to guarantee that what they are proposing will certainly work. “Truly, there is no better place but in the Lord to find deliverance”, the article boasts. 

Reading this article troubled me deeply. We are asked to place our sureness in wishful thinking. More so to trust in a group of people who believe that prayer can and will solve our country’s crime problems. I don’t know about you, but I can’t. This is not a solution to the problems. This activity is not unlike flipping a coin and trusting that the problem magically vanishes. This strategy is not planted in reality.

Grenadian leaders have to stop the pussyfooting around and really engage in developing real strategies to tackle the problem. Stop playing politics and develop actual solutions to this very real problem. Of course, I am not calling for these men clothed in long dresses not to engage in prayer in the privacy of their homes or churches (in their closet), but for these politicians to literally accept this as a genuine approach to fighting crime is ridiculous. If this assertion is correct, then they are men and women not fit for public office. 

Look, let’s be for real, Grenada’s crime problem did not come about because people stopped going to church or stopped praying. It is because of what you the politicians did or didn't do. Yes, you guys did and are doing a lousy job. The New National Party (NNP) government (Yes, the prayer party) handed an almost bankrupt country to the incoming National Democratic Congress (NDC) government. Today with a failing world economy, Grenada has seen huge job losses adding to the already double digit unemployment. So instead of calling for Grenadians to bow their heads and close their eyes to the problem, create jobs, build an education system accessible to all Grenadians; create an economic system that fosters social upward mobility. Step up and stop allowing big business and big banks from operating unregulated.

"Two government backbenches ... vote with members of Her Majesty's Opposition (The New National Party - NNP) to block an amendment to the Insurance Amendment Bill which seeks to protect the Grenadian population against fraudulent activity in the financials services sector." More

Please do your job and protect the people from being robbed by these "plutocrats and oligarchs"(in the spirit of Professor Cornell West). The problem is not that Grenadians are not praying enough. On the contrary, Grenadians are spending so much time with their hands clasped and eyes closed asking for a messianic fairy godfather, sky daddy, to fix their problems, that they forget they have the wits to solve their problems  themselves. Let NNP know that Grenada does not need wishful thinking. Grenada needs actual solutions.
A proposed solution - The way forward for Grenada and Grenadians   

Are The Poor Being Locked-out From Higher Education In Grenada?

There is no denying that that the education level one receives from T. A Marryshow Community College has improved over the years, and it is true that as the quality of a product improves, so too is the cost of acquiring it. The question is, however, why level this tuition hike now, given the state of the economic condition of the country. According to a survey completed in 1999, (Grenada National Report OnSustainable Development) Grenada has an unemployment rate of 15 percent, and, among the poor, the unemployment figure is as high as 20 percent. In fact, the experts believe that this 1999 poverty profile numbers have not improved, and is negatively affected by the now global economic downturn we are facing, pushing the unemployment number even higher. So, in light of these facts, what does this tuition hike means, and how will it affects the country?

In her dissent to the hike, shadow cabinet minister for education, Mrs. Delma Thomas, as reported by the online news network, Grenada Connection, said that she is concern about, “the impact that the increase will have on the ability for many parents to send their children to the institution, and consequently on the access to higher education by large numbers of the nation’s young people, particularly those who reside in rural areas and whose parents will not be able to afford these new fees in addition to the already high costs, including transportation, books, and materials, food and other related services.”

This is certainly not an overstatement. Mrs. Thomas’ voice is certainly planted on real concerns. College tuition was already high, locking out many students, most coming from the countryside, from acquiring a higher education. I was one of these rural youths who were unable to attend T.A Marryshow Community College. Indeed, many of us wanted to. However, the lack of funds prevented it. The 1999 Poverty Assessment Survey “analy[z]ed the education sector and found that the educational attainment of the population is generally low with correspondingly low-level educational certification and socio-economic status.” “The data revealed that 64 percent of the population has no form of education certification and the lack of certification is higher among the poor than the non-poor.” These are real issues the college should have taken into consideration before agreeing to this hike in tuition. Mrs. Thomas is right that, “these increased fees will only serve to increase the financial burden on the backs of many parents in a time of economic recession”. Thus it will certainly decline the number of our young people that is able to acquire a higher education. This will be bad for our country.

A SOLUTION 

I am in agreement with Mrs. Thomas’ point, that in light of this tuition hike, the government must step in and do something. We are speaking of the country’s future, here. Thus, some form of assistance must be given to those students affected by this tuition hike. This solution, however, I see as a short term fix. The college will, in the future, most certainly hike its tuition price. So I am proposing a solution that I think is a long term one. This step I think should have been taken a long time ago. A plan that will, not restrict the college from hiking its prices, but will, I believe, help students from poor families in rural areas cut back on the additional cost they must pay in pursuit of higher learning. I am speaking here of taking the college to the poor. I am calling on our government to build a campus in the north of the country, St. Patrick, for instance, so that the rural area students can cut the cost of transportation and/or housing. Indeed, the traveling back and forth, and/or paying for housing in the city, adds tremendous pressure on these poor young people struggling to obtain an education. This I believe is of utmost important for Grenada as we sought to improve the condition of all citizens.

A Revolution of The Mind; The Way Forward for Grenada and Grenadians

From the moment Cristoforo Colombo (Christopher Columbus) appeared in the new world, Grenada was destined to be in the fold of Paul-ism (Christianity). However, not only has the adherents of this religion, maimed and killed all the island’s natives (Caribs and Arawaks), they killed and enslaved African people they had kidnapped and brought to the island. Indeed, from its inception, coming from its Judaic past, the legacy of this religion is written in bloodshed and mayhem. Immoral activities God contracted hit men to carry out, and/or, according to the book, physically descended and participated. Yet, the descendants of the African people who were so grossly abused maintains and continues to promote this religion. Today, Grenada describes its population as being ninety percent (90%) Paul-ites (Christians) and the remaining ten percent (10%) as practicing some other form of religion.

With that said, allow me to share my observation on the discussion that surrounds our nation's moral compass, while, at the same time, present what I believe is the best possible solution to our societal problems. We have been complaining that crimes have been and continue to damage our country’s image. Our country continues to be plagued with men killing each other. Our men continue to abuse, disrespect and/or killing women, and politicians (principalities in high places) committing all sorts of corruptions while in public offices. Child abuse continues to linger with us. Even the people we trust to police crimes constantly abuse their power and engage in gross wrongdoings themselves. This, and other societal ills the Grenada Conference of Churches and other religious bodies in the country, contend is as a result of the Grenadian people have abandoned God and Church, and the solution they say, is to revert to our past religious orthodoxy. We need God! But, is that so? Do we really need to revert to God and the Bible as we seek to create a better society? I think otherwise.

 In the backdrop of what is laid out above, I am contending that the moral problems that plague our society have its roots in the very religious foundation it has endorsed. In that, the country embraced a worldview that breads antagonism. This is not to say that there are not nonreligious factors that contribute to our moral shortcomings. However, it is embracing ideologies that are rooted in religious dogmas that largely contribute to societal breakdown.  I submit that domestic violence, which has plagued the Grenadian society and continues today, for instance, is informed by the Christian religious ideology that fundamentally promotes a male chauvinistic worldview. Child abuse, although not confined to just the religious world, has had and continues to have fertile ground behind the stained glasses. Furthermore, A study concerning religion and its effect on society, published in the Journal of Religion and society by Gregory S. Paul, has shown that areas that display high religious conviction have greater societal ills and crimes. 

Indeed, Grenada has embraced a worldview that is not only alien to them, as descendants of Africans, but one that promotes extremely narrow-mindedness; one that suffocates an individual’s ability to think, and breads gross ignorance. Thus, if the Grenada Conference of Churches is correct in that the Grenadian people are abandoning their religion and faith, then their call to regress back to a religious conservative worldview is a knee-jerk reaction to that issue, and not, in a real sense, expected to address the ethical problem they contends the country is facing.

I can certainly hear the grumbling.  Where would our morals come from if you do not accept God and the Church, you ask? I.e Christianity. Well, morality is not owned by any religion. It is shaped by society as it pursuits its best interest. Morals come not from an external supernatural being. An individual is in control of personifying his or her own actions, which can certainly have negative or positive effects on the social group she is a part of – humanity. You don’t need a God/gods or a religion to achieve this.  Grenadians’ lack of church going, which certainly does not mean an outright abandonment of their religion, as shown by the numbers above, did not and will not create a society of lawlessness, as the Conference of Churches wants us to believe. This trend instead, and despite having a long way to go, shaped a society that is more predisposed to hold itself accountable for its moral failures.It create whereby more and more people are not neglecting their moral obligation by not placing it upon the shoulders of an unproven supernatural being. Today, despite identifying as Christians, more Grenadians are less enthusiastic to view the world via a narrow dogmatic ideology. Thus, more Grenadian men, for example, are viewing woman as equals and not as lesser beings, created by God as helpmates and property. Showing them much more respect. More people are reporting domestic violence against women and vice versa. We are seeing an increase in our citizens breaking their silence on child abuse, and the list can go on.  

Thus, understanding this reality and its implications, I, in speaking to my Rastaferi brothers, in my forthcoming book, From Mythology to Reality: Moving Beyond Rastafari, argue for the adoption of a different mode of thought. Of course, this new mode of thought is not presented only to the adherents of Rastafari, and to the people who are looking to assent to this Pauline faith, but the book also asks that the nation of Grenada adopt this new way of thinking, as we move forward, as a nation, into creating a more humane and ethical society. However, what new mode of thought am I speaking off here?  Well, Grenadians, I will maintain, should not just abstain from going to church. In that, I am saying that Grenadians should not just divorce themselves from institutionalized religion. We should go farther. We need a revolution of the mind. Break the spell of religious dogmatism that has been imprinted into our minds by religious theologians.  In its place, develop a worldview that embeds the physical world and a system of thought or action that is concerned with the interests or ideas of people as its foci. One cannot, I believe, be inclusively humanistic if one hedges his or her worldview in religious dogmatism. One must emancipate his or herself.  Indeed, another aspect that the study mentioned above has shown is that secular societies have much lower rates of violence and other crimes. Therefore, my call is that we free ourselves from the clutches of religion and adopt a Secular Humanist worldview. As Tom Flynn, editor of the Free Enquiry magazine put it, “Secular Humanism is emancipation” (Flynn, p. 4: Free Inquiry – October/November 2010.Vol. 30 No. 6).  To him, it is, as he put it, emancipation from,

• Divine scrutiny: “it is the ultimate release from “parental” control. What real parent’s scrutiny could be as intrusive as that of a deity who never sleeps, never looks away, and can never be deceived or misled?” ( Free Inquiry, p. 4)
• A worldview contrary to our senses-and common senses:  “To my mind, the realization that existence is purely physical…. It frees me to cherish this life on its own terms. No longer must I devalue my existence as the eye-blink prologue to some boundless perpetuity where, if only by dint of its incalculably greater scale, true significance must lie.” ( Free Inquiry, p. 5)
• From an often oppressive parochial community: “Beyond the demands to assent to doctrine and fill the collection plate, congregational life involved a larger web of social expectations.  We are “free to stop centering our lives in an insular community of the likeminded, free to anchor ourselves directly in the culture at its broadest and its most diverse, free to seek the services we desire from the-qualified providers without screening them through some hidebound denominational sieve. Instead of restricting ourselves to a parochial community’s straitened menu, to the extent our resources permit we may choose from everything an abundant society has to offer.” ( Free Inquiry, p. 5)  
• From external command morality: “What secular humanism does mean is that we need not accept some arbitrary moral code unrooted in our own experience on the mere authority of, well, authority. Rather than freeing us from morality, secular humanism frees us to develop a truly relevant morality, one rooted in the real world and in the physical and social consequences of life as humans live it. Instead of accepting unverifiable assertions, we can come together with others to forge pragmatic values whose worth and value can be intersubjectively conformed.” (Free Inquiry, pp. 5-6) 

And so it should be to us also. For sure Secular Humanism embodies much more than just these four points presented here. However, the point is that by adopting a worldview that is informed by Secular Humanism we are emancipating ourselves from depending on unproven supernatural being/beings and instead depending on us – humanity – giving us an opportunity to bring real positive change to Grenada and Grenadians and the rest of the world.

As I conclude, I must say that looking at the Grenada I knew as a young “lord” verses the present, there are good societal things we indeed have lost. No doubt! Showing more respect for elders, for instance. However, for the Grenada Conference of Churches and other moral police to argue that our society has become worse, as a result, is misguided. Their reaction is base in the fact that they are losing their grip on the mind of the masses’; people are exiting the churches and looking elsewhere for realistic answers to their problems. Thus, I believe that freeing ourselves and truly moving away from dogmatic religious worldviews is the direction we should continue as we develop a society that fosters better and more humane relationships. Our education system should be secular; one that nourishes modes of thought that includes, not only the freedom to worship one’s God or gods, as our constitution guards, but it should also encourage and nourishes Free Thought and Skepticism. We must encourage and promote critical and rational thinking as rudimentary to our education process.  If this is done, Grenada will have a much better informed citizenry. We will certainly have the ability to be more objective and inclusive. We will possess the ability to understand what it is to be a member of the broader human family. We will understand and welcome the vast array of diversity that builds humanity and not discriminate based on a worldview informed by narrow closed-minded, inhuman religious ideologies. Emancipating ourselves from this cognitive prison and promoting a Secular Humanist worldview can certainly assist in alleviating the seemingly pervasive toxic interpersonal relationship that plagues Grenada and Grenadians. I submit that our police officers will indeed be more predisposed to exhibit coherent and rational thinking. Solving differences will be done on a more humanistic level that is informed by objective rational thought. This, of course, will not create a utopian society, which, based on human nature, I submit appears to be an unrealistic goal. That is not what I am calling for. However, adopting this humanistic mode of thought will certainly help us create the better ethical society Grenadians has been calling for, for so long and all along.

Sweep It Under The Rug?!

I am still in a state of surprise and shock weeks later. Yes, I remain in a state of astonishment, weeks after attending the January 22^nd, 2012 Independence Calypso Monarch, presented by The Richard “OP” Holder House of Calypso Tent and held at the Mahalia Jackson School auditorium in Brooklyn, New York. I know you are wondering what was responsible for my having such a surprise. So I’ll tell you.

The Independence Calypso Monarch show has always been promoted as an arena to showcase Grenada’s calypso artists’ talents and, although, as I’ve noticed, some artists needed much more practice, there were brilliant talents displayed, indeed. Despite this, I enjoyed what each one of the participants had to offer. On the other hand, the judges’ final result was one aspect of the evening that troubled me to some extent. However, I will return to this later. Allow me to start from the beginning.

It was my first time attending the Independence Calypso Monarch show in New York, and although entering a virtually empty auditorium, the evening started out well. I was thrilled to meet some Grenadians I had not seen in years. Some of whom I barely even remembered. Nonetheless, as we reminisced about the past, it was time for the evening’s proceedings to begin, and as the band’s vocalist asked the auditorium to stand for the national anthem, a sense of pride overtook me. I looked around, and almost every individual in the room was dressed in something designed with the national colors. People had neckties designed in the colors of the national flag. Beautiful, I murmured to myself. It was as if the national colors were omnipresent. The atmosphere reminded me of my high school days taking part in the independence celebrations. The music began, all in attendance stood, and I shut my eyes. Instantly, I was mentally transported to this beautiful, beach laden, sun lit, little island of mine. “Hail Grenada, Land of Ours, We pledge ourselves to thee.” As these words filled the room, for a moment, the New York cold vanished. I was home.

My nostalgic feelings, however, did not last very long. The show began and the surprise did not take long to come. A statement delivered by one principality (name I will not mention) had me staggered although I was firmly planted in my sit. According to the speaker, to be a good Grenadian, one must not engage in openly critiquing dreadful things that are happening in Grenada. Stop writing things in newspapers and on the internet, he commanded. Grenadians must stop exposing the wrongs that are happening in their country. Instead, Grenadians must sweep their bad stuff under the rug. In other words, we must censor ourselves. Don’t rock the boat. For a moment I thought I was beamed back in time, listening to a speech delivered by some principality of the Kremlin Russia political machine. Of course, this might be quite a stretch for an analogy. Nonetheless, I hope you get the point. In fact, the 1979-1983 revolutionary government of Grenada and its late leader Maurice Bishop was constantly ostracized for infringing on the freedom of the citizens’ right to criticize his regime and the wrongs that was being done. However, here we are, it is 2012 and the idea of censorship is still being flirted with. The speaker’s reason, Grenada is a tourist relying country, and, as a result, its dirty laundry must not be heard nor seen, if Grenada must attract people looking for a vacation spot.

I disagree with the speaker’s suggestion and the reason he gave for concluding such. Is this the message we deserved to hear at our 38 years of independence? Certainly not! Have we not grown, matured? Indeed, we would all love to live in a country that has no crimes, political or otherwise. However, this is an unreal expectation, and since this is the reality, it is us, the Grenadian citizenry right to keep the politicians (principalities), the police apparatus, etc. in check. How else can we accomplish this but by criticizing their wrongs via any media available? Certainly, we all are aware of what recently had been done to the Grenadian born, Canadian citizen, by police officers. This atrocious crime and others like it must be openly condemned. Doing this means just the opposite to what the speaker suggested. To criticize the wrongs happening in one’s country is to love and help it grow. One’s dirty laundry remains under the mattress not for long. It will eventually come to light, and most often is more damaging than if it had been taken care of earlier. I was, indeed, appalled at the speaker’s suggestion.

The Results

The singing completion is now ended and we await the judges’ results. Of course, the MC, Calypso artist Hercules, had to go through his routine antics of joke-telling. But as he cracked his sometimes very offensive jokes, he reminded the attendees to respect the judges’ decisions. Certainly, the use of this line is not unusual. This preemptive line seems to be present in all calypso competition held back home. What was different here though is the number of times and for how long the statement was repeated. It invoked a very different feeling. My wife, who is not a Grenadian nor from any Caribbean country, turned to me and curiously asked, is there a point in repeating this statement. I offered no answer because I had no idea. I too was curious. Nevertheless, after about one hour reminding us to respect the judges’ decisions as final, the results came and an atmosphere of fun and frolic abruptly transformed into a room of disappointment and calm anger. Gossip filled the auditorium, and as I, many attendees could not believe that Burgess McPhie (Quako) took the crown. Of course, neither they nor I are calypso experts, but I am quite sure, based on what I had seen and heard, Quako should not have won this competition with first place honors, and it seemed that the cynically repeated “respect the judges’ decisions” by Hercules, spoke to that fact. To me and my wife, the best performance of the night went to Clifford Matthew (Humorous Matt). Mind you, I have no idea who this guy is. However, it was not only his presentation, but his words were clear and very well articulated. He, I will argue, was the only competitor that commanded the attention of the entire audience. Second, third, fourth and fifth place should have been Harriet Jeremiah (Pet), Elwin Mark (Elo), Burgess McPhie (Quako) and David George (D Iceman) respectively. This is my list. In fact, a good number of attendees I spoke to after the show agreed. Indeed, the feeling amongst many was that the judges thief. I certainly felt cheated out of my money, and my wife promised never to attend another show. She was very disappointed, and so too were many others.

So, in conclusion, as I reflect on attending my first Independence Calypso Monarch show, I asked myself, is this kind of seemingly audacious robbery a staple of this competition. Could this have been the reason for the virtually empty auditorium? Indeed, the hall remained almost as empty as I had entered it, and, as it now stands, my wife and I are two less attendees for next year’s. I request that the Independence Committee please take heed. Nevertheless, with things like this, it is certainly hard not to critique what appears to be a wrong. 

No Excuses For Thugs, Police Or Otherwise

As a Grenadian, I am compelled to comment on a story of which most of you are likely to be aware. I am commenting not only on the horrible incident itself, but, also, my reaction is directed to an editorial posted on The New Today, on January 2, 2012, entitled “The Police Are Capable”.
 Indeed, this very horrible incident, once again, has trusted our island onto the world stage. As a concerned Grenadian, this, to me, is certainly troubling. Our island worldwide image is being damage by this regrettable incident. Indeed, being in this position is not healthy for the country. However, on the other hand, we can use this unfortunate incident to show that we Grenadians are good citizen of the world, people who will stand for human rights and justice. It is, indeed, the latter point of this statement, which I found wanting in The New Today's editorial that stroke a cord.
 As reported, a young Grenadian man, who had made his home in Canada, returning to Grenada to visit family, was bound and beaten to his death by a few police officers. According to the report, “witness told police Friday that five Grenadian police officers swarmed Bartholomew after an incident with a female police officer, brought him into a jail cell, tied his hands and feet and beat him” (thestar.com). So, what was the crime did this young man committed to justify such a fate handed him by these officers? The report went on to say, that, “On Monday, Bartholomew was with his wife when they stopped outside St. David’s police station. According to family and friends, Bartholomew snuck behind a woman and gave her a bear hug. Bartholomew mistook the woman, a police officer who may or may not have been in uniform, for an old friend,” (thestar.com).
Certainly, one can understand why the police was concerned and arrested the young man. In fact, according to some reports, the woman police officer, who apparently was not dressed in police uniform, yelled out rape during the incident. Indeed, this incident definitely required the immediate action by the police. However, this does not give police officers the license to act in such an unprofessional manner. We should, indeed, be angered by the action of these police officers. There is no excuse for the action of these police officers.
Nevertheless, despite this degenerate action take by our police officers, we are told by the editorial in The New Today that we “should not be construed to mean that the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) are comprised of rogue cops who like to beat and brutalise people”. “Let us”, the editorial continues, “not judge the members of our police force because of this ugly incident”. Indeed, I doubt that any well-meaning Grenadian will use this incident and blanket the entire police force as incompetent rouges. However, the police force is certainly populated those types. They are goons. They are officers who view the police force as some type of gang, and are using the badge and the law as a license to bully regular civilian. Indeed, for many years, Grenadians have been complaining about being brutalized by goon style-operating police officers. So yes, there are rouge Grenadian cops who take pleasure in biting people.
In addition, The New Today, tell the family of the diseases that “there is no need to look at bringing into the country any foreign person to investigate this matter”. Why not? Because, “THE NEW TODAY is confident that the police force can do a thorough investigation into the incident along with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and come up with the appropriate and necessary action in the circumstances”. Is this a jock? We have a family who lost their love one, and The New Today are telling them don’t take their own action because, “The New Today” assured them the RGPF will do a through job. I certainly have confidence that my GRPF can and will do a through investigation. However, because I feel that way, does not translate into it actuality happening. Furthermore, it will be grossly offensive of me to ask this family not to take the action they deem best for them, because of my feelings, and so is The New Today suggesting this to this grieving family. Instead, I should encourage them to take action because, in reality, it could have been me, or it could have been you. Thus, instead of trying to protect the island image by discouraging the suffering family from finding a way in which they feel comfortable justice will be serve, The New Today should show the world that they are concern about the safety and protection of the human being. They should stand with the family to find justice and not try to protect the perpetrators of the crime. We have to stand and guard against police brutalization, regardless of who is the victim. These police officers must be punished to the full extent of the law.
I doubt that these officers were not aware of police protocols, as The New Today editorial alludes to. Stop making excuses for these goons. Are you saying that there was no one in the police station who knew the protocols? Were there anyone there that was thinking rationally who could have bring a stop to the brutalization done to this man, or avoided it from even starting. We are told, by the editorial, that the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), who is in charge of the station, was on the compound during the incident, however, he apparently did not know what was happening. Really! He did not know. Believe what you want, but I am skeptical. What we believe, however, is beside the point. This family has lost their love one.  Our Job, as responsible citizens of Grenada, is not to come up with ways to defend these despicable human beings who committed this horrible crime, but, instead, we should be demanding the family receive the justice they deserve. Indeed, these goons, who find themselves in our police force, must be dwelt with very seriously. Stop defending these goons.