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The Hair Debate In Los Barbados II

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After reading the daily newspaper today we were struck by what many of us already know. In fact we have expressed our feelings on this matter as recent as February 26, 2008 when we blogged on the topic, The Hair Debate In Los Barbados. The pictures on the top row represent three out of four young men charged with terrorizing Barbados in recent weeks with a slew of robberies. Of interest is the charge of robbing groups of tourist, and the much publicized daylight robbery in Warrens last week. The two pictures to the right at the bottom show Jason Norville released on bail for causing bodily harm to persons while driving a car and Anthony Charles facing a gun charge.

So why have we highlighted the five gentlemen? It comes down to hair. The recent appointment of Senator Damien Griffith to the Senate of Barbados was hailed by everyone as a good selection. He has always been known as a young articulate gentleman. When he walked into the Upper Chamber with his hair plaited in the cornrow style it absolutely created a furor in Barbados. In our opinion the current debate has overtaken that time when Rihanna walked into Chefette wearing a swim suit top. We understand from Mr. Mathew Farley, who has triggered the debate by expressing his disgust in the press that Senator Griffith should not be allowed to enter the Senate of Barbados with a plaited hairstyle. Many feel that for him to wear a hairstyle which has been made famous by the opposite sex maybe sending mixed signals to our young men. Many conservative Barbadians already suggest that our young men are already confused about their sexuality. Senator Griffith has indicated that he will wear the cornrow hairstyle because the people he represent are inclined to look like him, we think that is what he said.

We said it last week and we will say it again. Senator Griffith you are talking hogwash! The reality of the situation is you are wearing a hairstyle which is the preferred style of many of our young men who make up the criminal minds in our country. That negative perception does not mean that your are not a good person. However as a leader who has been given the honour to represent your country in the highest lawmaking chamber in the country, you need to send a message to the youth, loud and clear. Look at the pictures above and reflect before it is too late.

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133 responses to “The Hair Debate In Los Barbados II”

  1. Sam Gamgee Avatar
    Sam Gamgee

    BU, you gone again?

  2. Bimbro Avatar
    Bimbro

    Dave, I jus wake-up and u frighten me with those pictures!!!! U could b a little more considerate of my heart-condition, man!!!!

    Dave, u know I caan say much more on this subject ’cause u know how they love to say, ‘Bimbro dis and Bimbro dat’, when it come to duh jamaican sweethearts and duh Bajee dreadlocks etc, so I gun have to lef it to wunna!!!!

    Anyway, u know my views from the earlier, discussion!!!!

    ***************************

    The pictures on the top row represent three out of four young men charged with terrorizing Barbados in recent weeks

    ******************************

    Dave, I said at BFP, that I give Bim a maximum of another 10-20 years before life there will become untenable. The BFP posters, with their tender feelings, can’t bear to hear such warnings!! However, I repeat it again, here!! Ignore my warnings, AT YOUR PERIL!!!!

    ***********************

    Dave, I know what u mean, but, they’re certainly NOT, gentlemen!!!! Anything, except!!!!

    ********************************

    We said it last week and we will say it again. Senator Griffith you are talking hogwash! The reality of the situation is you are wearing a hairstyle which is the preferred style of many of our young men who make up the criminal minds in our country.

    *******************************

    I absolutely, agree with u here, BU and don’t really wish to waste any more time with this young, idiot!!!!

    ********************************

    BU, you’re so right!! Viewed from across the water, Bim today, seems to be all about falling standards!! Left unchallanged there’ll be nothing left of Bim, worth mentioning in a few years time!!

    Deplore these fools, stand-up for high standards in Bim, or we’re finished!!!!

    The people who applaud their kind of behaviour are probably not too, dissimilar in nature, themselves!!!! i.e. in one way or another, DEGENERATE!!!!

  3. Bimbro Avatar
    Bimbro

    IN MY OPINION, PEOPLE SHOUD N’T BE ALLOWED TO DEPORT THEMSELVES IN THEIR MANNER IN BIM, AT ALL, WHETHER IN THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT, OR ANYWHERE ELSE!!!!

    IT’S ALL ABOUT STANDARDS AND THE MESSAGES WHICH THEY CONVEY!!!!

    HOWEVER, I WOULD N’T EXPECT THOMPSON OR ANY BARBADIAN POLITICIAN TO HAVE THE COURAGE TO TACKLE THIS PROBLEM. THE RISK OF LOSING VOTES MIGHT BE TOO SIGNIFICANT!!

    HOWEVER, WITH SUFFICIENT BACKING OF THE WHOLE COMMUNITY, THEIR MIGHT JUST BE A CHANCE OF THE GOVT. FINDING THE STRENGTH!!!!

  4. Technician Avatar
    Technician

    Now David …can you also post the pictures of men like Ruel Ward and his three accomplices, who are out on bail for the theft of nearly $1.5 Million.

    David I must say that I am always impressed with your answers.
    You are fair and balanced.Even though I disagree with your views sometimes, you still have a way of making me think long and hard. Others could take a page or two from your book.

  5. David Avatar
    David

    Technician we anticipated your comment. What percentage of people look like Ward et as oppose to those wearing natties, dreads, locks, hair plaited etc? We think the percentages have it!:-)

    and thanks for the compliment.

  6. Concerned Avatar
    Concerned

    Worked on many construction sites around the island.

    Was truly shocked to hear young men with similar hairstyles talking about moisturizing and oiling their hair as well as spending hours having their sisters/girlfriends “do” their hair.

    Am now fully convinced for myself (especially after many of my former teachers from many years ago warned me ) all of this co-education has in fact really bred a generation of feminized men.

    Many of these young men are also brilliant guys as well – extremely bright I found.

    But very sadly in many instances, the long hair also equates to a laid back, non-progressive, “boys-on-the-block” mentality.

  7. Technician Avatar
    Technician

    Well, I guess there will always be good and bad on both sides ….although I accept the fact that the % of those with locks, plaits etc clearly out number the clean cut ones .

    I still have a problem with people judging others by hairstyle and will always continue to do so.
    Maybe it is from my own personal experience, as I too have dreadlocks. This still did not stop me from having morals. Does my hairstyle make me indecent ….NO. I have a good job and a small business. I am in close contact with people from all corners of society every day and the only comments I get is how neatly dressed, well spoken and professional I am.
    I think the problem with our youth today goes way beyond the hairstyle but as usual we look for a scapegoat and bet the life out of it without really looking for the true problems.
    The hair does not make the man.

  8. Technician Avatar
    Technician

    Should be beat.

  9. Carson C. Cadogan Avatar
    Carson C. Cadogan

    DAVID

    Enlighten my darkness.

    Why is it that men with cornrows are criminals or criminal sympathizers and not women?

    Why were only men with locks expelled from the Polytechnic and women?

    Just asking.

  10. Radiance Avatar
    Radiance

    BU, BU BU. The prejudice here is phenomenal. It creates a stink on this board. It’s sad.

    But I like pictures, so I want to see some more pictures of men and their hair. Put up some
    pictures of the white collar criminals who terrorize people by stealing their money without having to wave a weapon at them, tourists who bring drugs into Barbados with them, people who steal from the taxpayers while they are holding government office, and bosses who steal from workers by failing to make their NIS contributions. Let us see the hair of the men whose social connections help them sweep their wrong-doings under the rug.

  11. Radiance Avatar
    Radiance

    BU,

    As the poster of the pictures, let us see some pictures of the hair of the men who terrorize their wives, partners, and children behind closed doors, who molest their young relatives, who harrass young girls and boys at their work places, and who demand wuk fuh wuk from their employees. Yes, yes. Let us see their hair.

    Let us see the hair of the men who steal money and property from the infirm elders in our communities, who fail to support their children financially or emotionally, who abandon their mothers and father at the district hospitals or QEH, and who get into accidents and leave the scene of the crime. Let us see the hair of those who park in the parking spaces set aside for the disabled.

    And let us see the hair of our entertainers – the same ones to whose music many of us jump and prance. Let us see the hair of our playwrights, poets, and artists, whose work (I hope) we have enjoyed. Let us see the hair of our sanitation workers, cleaners, teachers, engineers, doctors, bus drivers, conductors, salespersons, construction workers, and entrepreneurs. Let us see the hair our our tax-paying citizens whose contributions helps our children to go to school and get free care at polyclinics. Let us see the hair of our athletes, debaters, and now our senators.

  12. Radiance Avatar
    Radiance

    Last but not least, BU,

    Let us also see the hair of those whose prejudices stink to the high heavens. Let us see the hair of those who have never taken in the lesson of judging a book by what is inside rather than by its cover. I would love the see the hair of those who have never read: “it is what comes from within that makes a man unclean” (my paraphrase).

    When you can tell me how hair is a cause of the human tendencies to do wrong or right, or even how it is correlated with those tendencies, come back and explain it to me. When you can present a picture, absent of all other information, and have someone make an accurate list of the sins of that heart and the actions of that person, let me know.

    Waiting Patiently,

    Radiance

  13. born and bred Avatar
    born and bred

    Most of your comments are puerile.

    The majority of hard core criminals in this island are not “clean cut”.

    We talk about globablization. How far do you think these “hairstyles” would get an employee seeking employment in a “world class” company?

    It’s time Bajans wake up and smell the coffee instead of trying to defend the indefensible.

  14. justice Avatar
    justice

    BU, you are back with this foolishness again? Are you saying that the Senator is a criminal because of his hairstyle? If not, then what is your point? Your hairstyle cannot make you into what you are not. So there are dreadlocked crooks, baldheaded crooks, cornrowed crooks, neatly coiffed crooks…you get my drift?

  15. Living in Barbados Avatar
    Living in Barbados

    Let me see if I understand. You say in principle hair maketh the man. Criminals pictured have corn rows. Senator has corn rows. Therefore people will think senator is a criminal. No need to check. We lock (bad pun) him up to be safe.

    Now let’s look carefully at other criminals as Radiance says. See how they comport themselves, especially their hair. We may find that (say) most of the white collar criminals are a particular colour. OK. No need to check. Lock them up too. Reminds me of “suss” in the UK and as it still is in many parts of the US. As most people in jail are black, if you see a black person he’s likely to be a criminal. Little need to check. Lock him up.

    Assuming black Bajans travel outside the limited waters of Barbados, to places like the US where there is a history of racism and colour bars, or to places where few black people are seen, please give them a clear warning. Beware! You may be prejudged by how you look. Don’t try to justify your innocence by saying that “Just because I’m black you arrest me?” It makes running a country much easier this way. Only problem is, if everone looks the same or similar how will youknow who are the real criminals? Good grief! You may actually have to pay attention to who and what someone is. That is really hard, so don’t bother.

  16. Living in Barbados Avatar
    Living in Barbados

    If I had a certain kind of mind or opinion I would also be worried by what I see in “Who’s Who in Barbados 2008, a copy of which I just picked up this morning. A startlingly large number of the women (black and white) at the height of the corporate world are sporting very short hairstyles, that make them look like (standard) men. Now, I can’t deal with that gender confusion so I am going to write to all those companies (there are only a few hundred it seems) and tell them that I want all their executive women to grow their hair and look like real women. That way we can be sure that the companies and organizations that are making this economy and country prosper can function properly. I hope all the readers and commentators will join in this very worthwhile crusade. And starting tonight, let’s get all those women to grow their hair like proper and decent women.

  17. Dreads Avatar
    Dreads

    BU idiot.

    They are all men so they must certainly be criminals.

    Lock up all the men in Barbados and we will be safe, you insufferable idiot.

  18. Living in Barbados Avatar
    Living in Barbados

    Just to help us all in our quests, I have found a fool proof way to find white collar criminals, as developed by Isabel Mercedes Cummings (MBA and legal expert):

    “It’s the last person in the world you would suspect,” Cumming says. “It’s the beloved, trusted employee who never took a vacation. They never miss a day of work because they’re trying to keep the fraud going.”

    So, if you see or know any people like this report them to the police and get them locked up too. I’m gald we’re getting a good handle on these bad elements in society.

  19. Living in Barbados Avatar
    Living in Barbados

    …I’m glad…

  20. born and bred Avatar
    born and bred

    Folks, you can’t see the woods for the trees.

    Are we ostriches???

  21. JC Avatar
    JC

    I no some body is going to say “jc the same chorus again.” WELL YES, I am a proud black woman, with natural hair (locks) . I have a mind of my own (thank God). Therefore, nobody can pogram me to do what I dont want to do. Because I have locks or that some of my mail friends have their hair plaited, doesnot signify that I am a bad individual or have the tendencies to do inhumane things to my fellow man.

    I think that it is time that persons realise that BLACK PEOPLE WHO ARE CONSCIOUS are wearing their OWN hair for a change (thank GOD) and we do not apologise for it; and we are not going to be looked at as criminals.

    Why dont u make the indians take all that cloth of. Then u will hear talk about religion. Ya all make me laff.

    I AM A PROUD BLACK WOMAN and i will be damned if any body tells me how to wear my blasted hair

  22. crossroads Avatar
    crossroads

    dave you said it all, i agree 100% nuff said

  23. sick of this hair debate Avatar
    sick of this hair debate

    I cannot believe how extremely backward our island Barbados has become. What the hell is this that I am seeing? How can you judge someone’s natural hairstyle as a link to the criminal mind? Without fear of repetition of an earlier comment, you need to go and look at the offenders that never reach the headlines, the white collar offenders whose damages are felt more at the individual and societal level. This is absolute hogwash coming from a supposedly developed country. I have travelled extensively and have seen policemen with their hair in cornrows and I smiled to myself and said that could never happen in BACKWARD Barbados. We need to take our head out of the sand and stop judging people by their hair. Most of the men who are featured in the newspapers commit street crime, but they are definitely not a representation of the entire criminal population. Get a grip, go and read and widen your knowlege, you bunch of hypocritical bastards!

  24. Me Avatar
    Me

    Peopl as usual are missing the point.

    IN an Ideal PC world:

    1.As black people we should be able to wear our hair as we like.

    2.No one should prejudge us based on our presentation

    3. White collar criminals should be open to villification as much as the ‘poor people’

    Reality:

    1. The vast majority of young men causing trouble in BIM wear their hair in cornrows or locs or generally untidy.

    2. Cornrows ON MEN does not fit in witrh the CURRENT corporate image in BIM or anywhare for that matter. There is nothing regal nor serious about corn rows in men. As far as most bajans in corpoarte barbados is concerned Cornrosw suggest rebellion!

    3.We all judge a book by its cover to some degree in reality.

    Facetiously is Senator griffith repping the thugs or the good boys

  25. Sam Gamgee Avatar
    Sam Gamgee

    BU, you really enjoying this neh!

    Radiance, you are not going to win. You have called it right, but you are not going to win. I gave up a good few comments ago on the first thread. Just keep the peace.

    All change must start with the person /persons seen in the mirror but it is easier to criticise the neighbour than to inspect ourselves.

  26. David Avatar
    David

    Amazingly the point of blogging on this topic seems to have been ignored by most commenters. The simple point we continue to make is to show how a rising deviant element in our SMALL society more often than not sport a hairstyle which is portrayed above for your easy reference. This is the irrefutable reality.

    Our blog is not against anyone right to demonstrate freedom of expression. We have come to the view, however, that leaders in our society who want to send positive signals to our youth should think long and hard about wearing a hairstyle like the good Senator before entering the highest law making body in the land.

  27. Bush tea Avatar
    Bush tea

    David, you just like trouble…. I tell you that this debate have no winners – except we count the popularity of BU…

    It is real difficult to convince anyone that their adopted religion (way of life and beliefs) is wrong or evil.

    I have absolutely no doubt that the ‘defenders of the dread locks ‘ genuinely feel that we are unfairly attacking their chosen style. Indeed they are probably just as revolted by our ‘baldhead’ styles.

    However, to my mind, it has nothing to do with black, white, men or women or style. It has everything to do with self pride and national duty.

    The problem I have with these pictures, and with increasing numbers of our young people is that they look SHABBY.
    Black, white, rich and poor….most of them look UNKEMPT as though they do not care about themselves -and therefore probably do not care ’bout another boy’ either.

    The various STYLES are GREAT, especially among our bright young people, this is how societies are challenged and how change comes.

    But there is no defense for SHABBY, DIRTY UNKEMPT behaviors and attitudes. How is that uplifting or reflective of Pride and progress?

    The situation with the Senator is a different one altogether. He is intelligent, articulate, clean cut and neat. I can see why he would be seen as a ‘youth leader’, and trend setter…but…
    What ‘trend’ is he trying to set (or follow) by adopting a traditionally feminine hairstyle? Is this the model that we want for our educated youth?
    As a newly appointed role model for our youth it is necessary for the Senator to rise above his PERSONAL taste and to reflect the image that his new appointment REQUIRES…or RESIGN and continue his PERSONAL agenda.

    Even if I join the police force and become a representative of Law and Order in the society then I need to reflect the appropriate image and rise above my personal taste….how much more for a Senator?

  28. Georgie Porgie Avatar
    Georgie Porgie

    JC

    I think that the argument that David and Bush Tea are making is best summarized in I Corinthians 6:12

    All things are LAWFUL unto me, but all things are not EXPEDIENT; all things are LAWFUL for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.

    In other words we can not do most anything that is not prohibited by the law, but not everything we choose to do is the best for us or the country.

  29. cherry2enpowered Avatar
    cherry2enpowered

    BU
    Correction, the young man did not create a furor when he walk into parliament with his hairstyle. Matthew Farley created the furor when he give his opinion on the man’s hairstyle in a full page article in the nation.

  30. Karia Avatar
    Karia

    I thought as a people we had evolved to the point of progression. Why are we stereotyping young black males via their hair styles. Across North America and Europe they are harassed on a daily basis yet in their motherland of the Caribbean they are seen as vagabonds and murderers.

    Spend some time posting the pictures of those pedophiles who dress in their shirt and tie and walk the streets of Barbados with their hair nicely cut preying on innocent young men and women. Moreover, the guys in the corporate culture there who steal large sums of money from the banks and the private businesses. Yet we never seem to focus on them.

    The dread culture is appropriated by the white culture, the Middle Eastern culture yet you have engaged in infantile and regressive debate over the past weeks. I find its mainly the over 45’s who are still linked to colonization and refuse to
    relinquish the chains of bondage both mentally and emotionally that continue to harp about their old sense of style.eg. shirt jac for those Barbadian men in Canada and floral rayons for the bajan yankees.

    Its time that we strategize on how to help those people living in squalor conditions instead of creating non-issues because so many of us still suffer from internalize racism and try so hard to mimic Europeans who scoff at our ignorance and self hate. Get with the program.

  31. David Avatar
    David

    It is always regressive when some members in our society suggest that we need to take some action to counter the deviant acts being perpetrated in our society with wanton disregard? People like us in the BU household should sit back and watch our society go down the toilet? Why are you attacking us? Simply because we say to Senator Griffith you are smart and articulate but there is an element who will look at your hair style and use that as a validation if our highest law making body in the land ignores your hair style. Instead of meeting our argument halfway many commenters choose to counter with cop out positions?

    Come on we can do better. Should we be concern that Senator Griffith’s hairstyle can be used by many young and lawless black youth to validate the unkempt appearance as seen in the pictures above.

    We sat back and watch the ZR culture emerged and did nothing. We sat back and watch our schools become terrorized by hoodlums when we relaxed the authority of our teachers and we could go on. We love to sit and do nothing while it is painfully obvious that we are loosing the battle on managing deviant behaviour in this country.

  32. Karia Avatar
    Karia

    I do get your argument David and respect it. However we have come thus far fighting for an identity therefore guide our youth in celebrating their heritage through hair, dance and all the great things about the black culture.

    How can you compare criminal minds with your young and progressive Senator. Hairstyles does not signify commonalities in values and mores. Historically some of our great mentors have worn hairstyles that may be seen as alternative or as you have describe it “deviant”.

    Even when our youth are deviant we need to stand by them and support them. Other cultures cherish their youth yet we banish ours to the land of condemnation.

    I do understand when countries have a brain drain, our youth leave and is welcomed by other progressive countries who are willing to celebrate their intelligence.

  33. Bimbro Avatar
    Bimbro

    Karia // March 8, 2008 at 12:13 am

    I do get your argument David and respect it. However we have come thus far fighting for an identity therefore guide our youth in celebrating their heritage through hair, dance and all the great things about the black culture.

    ************************

    Dave, inspite of all u say, u get this cretin submitting responses like this!!!!

    Is it any wonder that I’ve, given-up, with Bajans!!!!

  34. me Avatar
    me

    Corn rows say nothing positive about black culture since the style is appropriated from the American rap culture and Jamaican dancehall culture which for the most part is not positive. I assure you if Senator Griffith had worn a dashiki or formal african robe with his corn rows they would be much less of an up roar. Why did he wear a suit????

    Cornrows on men suggest rebellion as shown by these photos! Unless mr Griffith is staging an uprising ( a revolution) I dont see his point at all. Prey tell what is he rebelling against.

    Is he rebelling agaisnt
    1. The free education
    2. Free medical care
    3. Stable political system
    4. The sea and sun

    what???
    His decision to wear that hairstyle in effct promotes the ‘bad boy ‘ attitud that we are seeing increasingly among the young men in our society. And lets talk about here and now. Those photos above is what we as the over 45 ( im only 40) have to deal with TODAY . And today more often than not guys with that type presntaion of self are up to no good!

    Women with locs and cornrows are not the perpetrators of violent crimes in Barbados!

  35. Technician Avatar
    Technician

    Idiot Bimbro says……Is it any wonder that I’ve, given-up, with Bajans!!!!

    Then please explain to us, why you continue to be such a nuisance on Bajan blogs.

  36. David Avatar
    David

    Karia do not continue to ignore the point which we have made. We are not comparing the Senator to those charged in the pictures above. That is a simple interpretation with all due respect. If the Senator elects to wear a hair style which is associated with a negative sub culture he has a responsibility to thread very carefully because of the symbolic issues which maybe interpreted.

    As a society we live by rules which reflect the perspective of the way our society prefer to live. There will be challenges to those rules over time because of the dynamism of the situation. This means the process which we are in engaged right now is part of the deal.

  37. Bimbro Avatar
    Bimbro

    Technician // March 8, 2008 at 5:51 am

    Idiot Bimbro says……Is it any wonder that I’ve, given-up, with Bajans!!!!

    Then please explain to us, why you continue to be such a nuisance on Bajan blogs.

    **************************

    Don’t worry Tech. That was intended as my swansong, except for any awaitng moderating!! You’ll hear much less from me in the future, if at all. I agree with you that you’re not worth my worrying myself, about!!!!

  38. Radiance Avatar
    Radiance

    Sam Gamgee,

    That’s a true statement about winning the argument. Thankfully, I am losing the taste for useless arguing, so I don’t care too much about that part. If even ONE person reads some of these comments and starts to question their prejudices about hair, that’s good enough for me.

  39. Technician Avatar
    Technician

    Oh praises be to the Father……please Bimbro, live up to your word!!

  40. Carson C. Cadogan Avatar
    Carson C. Cadogan

    ME

    “Corn rows say nothing positive about black culture since the style is appropriated from the American rap culture ”

    You must be very young indeed. Cornrows predate the rap and dancehall cultures by a few decades.

  41. me Avatar
    me

    LOL …Is that where the senator getting his reference? Are you saying that the current fad by bajan young men is based on corn rows orn by Africans or Black people the 60’s and 70’s e.g Stevie Wonder!

    That would be news to me!

  42. Pat Avatar
    Pat

    Bimbro: Goodbye, goodbye, gooooodbyeee!

  43. Technician Avatar
    Technician

    Lol Pat.
    We must have a cyber drink on this one, don’t you think?

  44. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    Pat, Technician,

    If you all really think that BIMBRO gone I sorry for you… at the very least he will resurrect under a new name…. and soon.

    He can’t resist. I think that he means well – he is just from the old school – and it takes all types to make our world (and Blog) what it is.

    I would miss him (and also miss you two cussing him -LOL)

  45. Technician Avatar
    Technician

    Trust me Bush Tea…..I dont think Bimbro is going anywhere soon unless the Father has other plans. Like most of us, he is too addicted to the blogs and I doubt he will even change his name.
    Can you really picture Bimbro letting me or Pat have the last laugh…..I can’t.

  46. Jukecheckedeyskirt Avatar
    Jukecheckedeyskirt

    Ok I know I will get alot of licks for saying this, but the young senator looks very much like he is about to make a court appearance. (Strictly base on the hairstyle)

  47. Bimbro Avatar
    Bimbro

    Juke, I in sayin nutten!!!! 🙂

    It’s me again!!!! 🙂

    Don’t worry, I’m not staying!! Just popped-in to leave my parting present.

    http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-1308549,00.html

    Enjoy their company!!!!

  48. Bush tea Avatar
    Bush tea

    Technician,

    ..my best respects to you sir…
    You know your people.

  49. David Avatar
    David

    We read with great consternation, we must tell you, an explanation offered by someone who claims to be Rob Leyshon is coordinator, Literatures in English and director, Cave Hill Theatre Workshop, UWI Cave Hill Campus. If this is true we cannot deny why our nation is plummeting into the pits of mediocrity. Imagine the country decides to perform a national tribute sponsored by the State which according to reports cost taxpayers $300,000,00 and this person can excuse KB Kleans crass behaviour, a behaviour for which he has already apologized.

    Save us!!!

    GUEST COLUMN: Here’s to KB Kleen’s defence
    Published on: 3/9/08 by Nation newspaper.

    BY ROB LEYSHON

    JUST OVER TWO WEEKS AGO, a tsunami of outrage swept across Barbados.

    Stolen pigtails were bumped off the front pages. Hundreds of disgusted citizens fumed at water coolers, jammed the call-in programmes, flooded Internet blogs and letters pages. Resignations were called for and apologies (if not blood) furiously demanded.

    The entire nation seemed to rise up and speak with one voice. And this, in a nutshell, is what it said:

    Kevin KB Kleen Hinds behaved disgracefully at the Rihanna tribute concert held in Independence Square. His foolish antics as one of the event’s emcees were an embarrassment to Rihanna, to her guest Chris Brown, to Prime Minister David Thompson and – most damagingly of all since the concert was televised – to Barbados’s reputation in the eyes of the world. Both Hinds and the concert organisers ought to be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.

    On the next Sunday, a well-known newspaper columnist joined in this public chorus of condemnation. In an article entitled A Sense Of Occasion, Jeanette Layne-Clarke excoriated Hinds’ “crass and crude” performance as being only too typical of the current generation of presenters whose egos are over-inflated, whose professional standards are low and whose verbal skills are correspondingly sloppy.

    Though the storm has now died down, I still haven’t seen anyone come to KB’s defence. So here’s my radically different take on the concert, KB’s role in it and the subsequent uproar it provoked.

    From an event-management perspective alone, for example, it was a major coup both for the Government and the concert’s producers to have so efficiently put together in such a short time – just four days – an entertainment package of this size, range and complexity.

    There was so much to admire.

    Of the many fine individual turns, I was particularly struck by those from Richard Stoute, Mr Dale, Biggie Irie, Kid Site, and Paula Hinds’ gospel ensemble. Nicholas Brancker’s band and excellent back-up singers were superbly tight throughout. And in what was undoubtedly the stand-out performance of the evening, Arturo Tappin and Livvi Franc sent shivers down the spine with their exhilarating instrumental/vocal rendition of Rihanna’s Unfaithful.

    The high level of artistry on display during these acts together with the production’s technical excellence made the event an unarguable success. But there were many non-musical moments to cherish as well.

    I’m thinking, for example, of the first glimpse of Rihanna’s radiant face as she arrived on Andrew Burke’s yacht, having passed under the raised suspension bridge. Or the shower of blue and gold confetti as Arturo played her a Happy Birthday serenade on his sax. And perhaps most poignantly, Prime Minister Thompson’s short and very tender speech of welcome to her, like a father greeting the return of his beloved daughter.

    The analogy here is crucial in my defence of KB. Because from the moment Rihanna set foot in the square, it was obvious that while perhaps conceived as an official ceremony, the concert had rapidly developed into something far more engaging.

    Laid-back, good-humoured and warm-hearted, the tribute turned into a family reunion – the family in this case being the whole of Barbados.

    Here, surely, is the key to understanding the casual, unbuttoned presentational style of KB’s performance.

    Experience

    An informal family fete obviously requires an informal host, not a stiffly conservative master of ceremonies. KB – experienced public performer that he is – took the excited pulse of his audience and responded accordingly.

    In other words, his sense of occasion (pace Jeanette Layne-Clarke) was exactly right.

    At any worthwhile family gathering anywhere in the world, considerations of social, economic or celebrity status are quite properly set aside: everyone gets treated equally.

    I’m convinced that the joshing tone KB adopted with Rihanna and Chris Brown was never meant disrespectfully, but rather to express a form of exuberant, “all a we is one” egalitarianism. And for me, the concert was all the more enjoyable as a result.

    Moreover, to describe KB’s performance as “crude and crass” fails to take into account not only the informal nature of the event, but also the age and lifestyle of the young woman being celebrated. Had this been a tribute to Irving Burgie, such criticism would of course be valid. Here it has no merit.

    Another persistent (and to me ludicrous) charge levelled against KB was that he insulted and demeaned Prime Minister Thompson by calling him “David”.

    In all seriousness, how exactly was this insulting? After all, it wasn’t as if KB used Mr Thompson’s Combermere nickname.

    More to the issue, many powerful heads of government have been only too happy to be addressed by their Christian names at informal public events such as this – one thinks of Portia Miller, for example, or Tony Blair – with absolutely no loss of authority or prestige on their part.

    There’s a time and a season for everything, naturally. But a free open-air concert is not the State Opening of Parliament.

    When I looked at David Thompson on stage with Rihanna and his friend KB, what I saw was an impressively self-assured figure, a man relaxing at home with family and friends and so not needing to stand on ceremony: in short, a man perfectly secure in his own status.

    I’d be astonished to learn that he was embarrassed by anything that was said or done that night.

    What a pity that KB’s critics couldn’t be similarly at ease, confident in themselves and proud of their culture.

    Shameful

    I heard far too many (presumably the same people who were outraged by young Senator Griffith’s cornrows) fretting needlessly over what “the world” would think of Barbados, denouncing KB for bad behaviour and for speaking Bajan as if both were equally shameful in front of an international (by which they meant non-Caribbean) audience.

    But there was nothing at all to be ashamed of in the Rihanna tribute. Its organisation, artistry and manner of presentation were all first-rate. KB Kleen had nothing to apologise for. On the contrary, he should be applauded for doing a great job on a great occasion.

    For me, the only shameful part of the whole event was its aftermath, during which a decent man had to endure such a barrage of essentially trivial criticism. For as Alexander Pope put it, who breaks a butterfly on a wheel?

    Rob Leyshon is coordinator, Literatures in English and director, Cave Hill Theatre Workshop, UWI Cave Hill Campus.

  50. Warrior Avatar
    Warrior

    Common sense is not common and what I find with KB and the young senator is a lack of good old common sense.

    Jesus said to render unto to Caesar that which is Caesar’s, they both acted under the premise of “I can do what I like bout hey”.

    That is precisely the attitude that got the BLP body slammed out of Government. If Mr. Thompson is wise he would have eyes to see all around and brain to help him act wisely.

    As a society we have come to point of accepting all kinds of trash, in behaviour, norms, culture, etc, and because we want to show to everyone else that we are not still stuck in our British ways, we are throwing out the baby along with the bath water casting off all of our moral restraint and have become so blinded that we call what is evil good and what is good evil.

    Can you imagine that!? The young senator strongly reminds me of another politico, who was meteoric in their rise to fame, respresenting the good the bad and the ugly and then bringing the same thought pattern as a Minister to cause our young children to flock to the Gymnasium during a school day to watch Edwin Yearwood – I believe.

    To me that signaled the beginning of the end, who knows with people like KB and the Senator this might be the final toll of the bell .

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