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No one anywhere, questions the unique talent, personality, character, and overall contributions made by Sir Garry. He did more than his due.
Indeed his contribution is one that would have been highly valued by any country on earth.
But when Bushie hears his name, the Bushman is moved to lament the fact that such a sterling contribution has not been matched since, by another Bajan.
Worse yet, we have the identical situation with many other persons such as ;
Hall, Griffith, Marshall, Haynes, etc
… in public life
Errol Barrow
The Adams
Winter Crawford
… in business
Mohammad Nassar
Rayside
Tudor
…in music
Jackie Opel
Sister Marshall
etc
This retrogression of Bajan human achievement would be a matter of major concern to all of us – IF we understood that the WHOLE PURPOSE of living, is the pursuit of continuous improvement.
The parable of the talents sought to emphasize this exact point.
By ‘safeguarding’ and burying our Sir Garry talent we are in effect saying to the world that we are contented with that blessing, and have no intentions of taking the risks of investing and building on that foundation.
So now we hear talk of ‘naming a primary school’ after Sir Garry…
Lotta shiite!!!
THAT honor was due after he made 365, …or hit the six sixes in an over.
At this stage, IF WE HAD WISE leadership, there would have been an international “Garry Sobers School of Sports Excellence” – where admission is as expensive and as exclusive, as Harvard… and where 90% of its outputs became world leaders in their areas.
The “Adams, Barrow Crawford Global Foundation” would be renown for setting and reviewing ethical governance standards in SIDS, and be an international voice on the matter of good political governance.
‘Spouge’ had the potential to match Reggae in many areas – except that unlike Jamaica, with Marley, our inferiority complex preferred to bury that talent genre along with Jackie.
Same shiite with Almond Resorts!!
That Barbados has been disproportionately blessed with ALL KINDS of talents is beyond question. However we have become hoarders and we take pride in BURYING any spark of talent that shows itself… mostly for POLITICAL spite.
– The Cherry / Nassar / Bynoe / entrepreneurs
– The disposal of assets such as BET, BL&P, BS&T, Bdos Mutual etc, to FOREIGN interest, and thereby BURYING the local talents that had demonstrated the ability to bring these entities to success.
…While we promote LOSERS like DooShiite, Ms. Wally and Tyre Slasher…
So when Bushie hears the name of Sir Garry, …or EWB, …or Crawford, the bushman cringes at the realization that we are being led BACKWARDS by the political clowns that we have allowed to guide our paths.
Bushie CRIES for the scores, …indeed hundreds or thousands, of exceptional talents that SHOULD have built on Sir Garry’s , EWB’s, Crawford’s legacies and RAISED the level of Bajan Human Achievement in line with the QUALITY of talents with which we have been blessed…
But instead, we have clowns talking shiite, and running around the world begging for basic infrastructure, … covered in un-repayable debt, …and being controlled by albino-centric demonic forces that have historically hated our donkeys…
What a place!!
@Bush Tea
So much of what you wrote cannot be refuted. Unfortunately that Bajan timbre of yore to which you refer has gone the way of the dodo bird. The Gen X will remember him but it is the Gen Z who are ruling the ‘ruse’ now. In fact many will trash your perspective as being old skool. There is no value it seems in defending and protecting the Bajan identity.
Bushie
Every shiiite you’ve ever here said dovetails to the same shiiite book.
And this irrationality persists even when the subjects it’s directed to were not known to be like-minded.
Today, you’ve even roped-in a Mohammadan.
Will there ever be an end to your perfidious work as missionary as you interminably seek to save souls with that criminal cross marching on before, as if at war, like your song goes?
Most ways of being outlive their usefulness. And yet, we are to be constantly bombarded by a dated ignorance of highly doubtful provenance.
Glory be! The last day I clicked on BU was the day of our Garry’s funeral. I was loathe to revisit because it would remind me of an attempt to question the worthiness of the best of what Barbados has ever produced to be our national hero. I was so happy when I saw that someone saw it fit to give him the whole Sunday Sun for himself. And there, alongside the wondrous story of his stats on the cricket field, was something even more important to pointing the way we need to move forward. It seems that our Garry was even more fabulous as a human being than he was as a cricketer. He respected all people, had time to appreciate everyone, was generous to all, never puffed himself up, and played selflessly for his people and not for himself. He was the most faithful of friends, always encouraging, never defeatist. He loved his family and he loved us, his people.
I hope we make an effort to speak and write often about him and name much more than a primary school after him. Maybe we would see that there is more than one way to live a rich life in this world and leave a lasting mark. And maybe we will realise that it is much more fulfilling to leave a good mark. Our Garry, a boy from the Bayland is celebrated across the world. He has left his children enough goodwill to last them a lifetime.
Wunna could buy the book and read it.
gary sobers autobiography
THE BUSHMAN CAME OUT TO OPEN THE BATTING IN ALMOST GLORIOUS SPLENDIFEROUS SIMILITUDE TO GORDON GREENIDGE & DESMOND HAYNES – TAKING THE CREASE LIKE A SPANISH RIDER TAKING THE HORNS OF A CRAZY BULL REFUSING NOTHING ELSE BUT UNCHALLENGED VICTORY
Look, folks can sit here “ALL” day long & rumble over the quantum quarks & quantum chromodynamics that has resulted in the time-space distanciation between what was, what is & what is 2 come – a simulation theoretical hubris that is such that QCD calculations are so bloody complex for classical computers – researchers are now increasingly using quantum computers 2 simulate quark & gluon dynamics 2 better understand the Universe’s fundamental forces…
Bushie, in less complex & more mundane language what has “EVOLVED” since #SirGS’ Shakespearean sonnet – remains an “ENIGMA”!!!
Why a #ShakespeareanSonnet???
The “MAN” & the “BAT” & “BALL” were theatrically epithetic of a 14-line poem written in “IAMBIC PENTAMETER” with a specific rhymical scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG – a structure consisting of [3] quatrains, similar to the prose of “NOSTRADAMUS” (4-line stanzas) followed by a concluding rhyming couplet of (2-lines)!!!
IF THE GUY WERE A MALE PEACCOCK WITH BETWEEN 150 & 200 LONG TAIL FEATHERS WITH LENGTHS UP TO 60 INS (1.5 METERS) – NATURE WOULD HAVE HAD TO GIVE HIM AT LEAST DOZEN OR SO MORE FEATHERS
#GreatnessIsMeasured – in #BeautifulLines!!!
Given your analysis #BigBruv – here’s what has transpired since the former “DAYZ” you’ve mentioned…
(1) Oligarchic wealth concentration in Barbados
(2) Post-colonial economic extraction
(3) Structural exclusion of youth
(4) Gun violence as symptomatic of desperation
(5) Insurance/banking/corporate partnerships extracting profit
(6) The “30 families” “STILL” controlling that “LIL” island
I COULD MENTION A 7TH BUT WHAT FOR’ – NUTTIN’ AIN’T CHANGIN’
Do you see any genuine resistance emerging???
Are there any structural challenges to a “MEDIOCRE” system – dying a slow death???
Or does the framework you’ve outlined, posits guilt by association, weaklings coveting greatness, past/present/future decline that describes a society where transformation seems impossible???
MOTTLEY & CREW CAN WUK-UP ALL DAY LONG – NUTTIN’ AIN’T CHANGIN’ – MATTER OF FACT, IT GONNA’ GET A WHOLE LOT WORSE
Because if the latter is true, then the real challenge ain’t individual weakness…
It’s collective (DIS) imagination!!! (#CoiningANewWord)
Can Barbados imagine itself beyond the colonial economic structures it inherited???
Are we bold enough anymore to even dream???
That’s not a weakness question – that’s a structural one!!!
#GoodOpeningInnings, Bruh!!!
IN THE 1960s TO ABOUT THE 1980s, THE JACOB’S LADDER NEEDED ASCENSION & DESCENSION FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS BUT BLACK LEADERS WERE NOT BOLD ENOUGH TO TAKE THE REINS IN THEIR HANDS & DISPOSSESS THE BASTERD SONS OF SLAVE OWNERS – BY MAKING THEM PAY 4 THE IRREVERSIBLE SINS OF THEIR FATHERS BUT INSTEAD WE SOUGHT GLORIFICATION THROUGH OTHER MEDIA, WHEN WE COULD HAVE HAD IT ALL
HERE’S THE PAIFUL DIAGNOSIS
[3] #TemporalDistortions
1. THE GLORIFIED PAST
We’re observing how societies become obsessed with historical narratives…
Independence heroes, “ICONS”, “CELEBS”, et al become mythologised – not examined
Colonial resistance is celebrated as proof of inherent greatness
“We once were great” becomes the national identity
The actual complexity of those figures/eras is flattened into heroic simplicity
In the Barbados context –
Samuel Jackman Prescod becomes a symbol of racial progress
But his era also saw structural inequality persist
His son’s generation didn’t fundamentally redistribute wealth or power
Yet he’s claimed as “our hero” – validating the present system by invoking the past
2. THE UNREMARKABLE PRESENT
The “continuous” present is descriptive & characterized by –
Incremental decay – not dramatic crisis
Systems that function – but don’t improve
Leadership that manages decline – rather than catalyses change
Individuals lacking the transformative vision attributed to past figures
Why the present NOT* only feels – but is mediocre –
Not because people are stupider or weaker – but because –
Structural barriers limit what’s possible
The oligarchic system inherited from the colonial era – persists unchanged
Youth see no pathway to genuine agency or transformation
Political leaders maintain the system – rather than reimagine it
3. THE FORECASTED DECLINE
The future appears “MIRED in MEDIOCRITY” because –
Current trajectories don’t suggest fundamental change
Wealth concentration continues
Youth unemployment persists
Gun violence indicates desperation – not malice aforethought
Economic decolonization never happened
NOW THE VICIOUS CYCLE –
Past greatness (real or imagined) → Present stagnation → Forecasted mediocrity = No catalyst for change
OUR HISTORICAL NARRATIVE SUMMED IN SINGLE, LINEAR SENTENCES
#WhatsMore
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL MECHANISM
#GuiltByAssociation
I’ve long identified something crucial about life in the 21st century – when individuals can’t create their own greatness – they claim it by association!!!
How this works –
“I am descended from a great nation/hero/era, therefore I am great by extension…”
This allows people to feel significance without achieving it…
Blame others (oligarchs, colonisers, “the system”) for present mediocrity – while avoiding personal/collective responsibility for their own change…
Celebrate the past instead of building the future & the problem with this penchant – is its narcissism masquerading as patriotism!!!
It says: “My ancestors were great, so I deserve greatness – without doing the work to earn it.”
THIS IS WHERE MY OBSERVATIONS ARE CLINICALLY SHARP
This is the foreshadowing of decline – for societies that live on past glory are in danger – as Rome did this…
The Ottoman Empire did this – Britain arguably is doing it right now!!!
AmeriKKKa is falling apart at the seams – for it was “NEVER” great (not for Blacks)
Nostalgia + Powerlessness = Resentment – for when people can’t create present greatness, they resent others who seem to…
This drives the gun violence on our bloodied streets, gang (LAND) activity, and social fragmentation that this “BLOG” continues to document time and again!!!
“Guilt by association” prevents accountability – if I’m great because my ancestors were, then I’m not responsible for fixing what’s broken now…
The system continues unchanged!!!
Weaklings do covet greatness – but this isn’t weakness of character; it’s weakness of opportunity…
A young man in a marginalized community without economic access doesn’t become weak – he’s made weak by structures that deny him pathways to achievement…
In sociology we call it – “UPWARD MOBILITY”!!!
My “weakness” framing argument may be incomplete, where outward phrasing suggests present generations are inherently weaker than past ones…
But I have to consider that Samuel Jackman Prescod wasn’t individually “stronger” – he had political opportunity his descendants were systematically denied…
Rihanna isn’t weaker than past generations – she had different opportunities (entertainment/global economy) and seized them by whatever means attenuated her through “JAY-Z & CREW”!!!
Youth in gang violence aren’t weaker – they’re rational actors responding to systemic exclusion!!!
So the real issue, is not that people are weaker, but that the structural opportunities for transformation have been eliminated…
Colonial-era figures had identifiable oppressors to resist…
Clear moral narratives and pathways to political power through independence movements…
Collective mobilisation around a single goal – even though the arrows that were shot were limited in scope… (including Errol Barrow’s efforts @ Independence in 1966)!!!
Post-colonial figures faced invisible oppressors (oligarchic systems, global capital flows)..
Fragmented narratives (no unifying enemy) and co-opted political structures (elections within oligarchic systems)…
Individual competition instead of collective mobilization – a transduced bacteriophage relic of the colonial past!!!
This isn’t weakness – it’s a different battlefield!!!
THE FINALE – WHAT COULD INTERRUPT AND DISRUPT THIS CYCLE
Breaking the “glory + mediocrity + decline” narrative will require “BALLZ OF STEEL”!!!
An honest reckoning with the past – for starters
Past figures were flawed – their victories incomplete
Independence didn’t mean economic decolonization – it meant more servitude
Celebrating “HEROES” and “SHEROES” doesn’t require pretending the system is fine
“We got some things right – but we failed miserably at others” – is the mature stance
Redefining “Greatness” in the present tense – instead of – “We’re great because our ancestors were”
Toward “Greatness is what we create now – with the resources we have”
A teacher who educates despite inadequate resources – for the love of the collective
A “young” entrepreneur who creates economic opportunity in a marginalised community
A journalist who investigates oligarchic corruption – without fear of backlash
A organizer who mobilizes collective resistance – in the face of dark forces
These people aren’t less great than Sobers, Prescod, Barrow, Adams et al – they’re equally great – just in different ways
MY 5 CENTS WORTH
Barbados needs structural change (NOW) – “NOT NOSTALGIA”
Greatness isn’t found in the past – it’s created in the present through [4] AREAS*
(1) Economic redistribution (breaking oligarchic wealth concentration)
(2) Decentralized power (democracy that actually empowers – not just elections)
(3) Pathways to agency (jobs, education, capital access for excluded populations), &
(4) Truth-telling (about colonial extraction, ongoing inequality, oligarchic control)
AND ALL THE REST OF DAMNABLE LIES USED AS PILLARS TO PROP-UP A BELEAGURED EDIFICE CALLED BAJAN SOCIETY WHOSE TOOTH-PICKS ARE ABOUT TO SNAP & CRUMBLE AT ANY MOMENT
On that intrusively instructive note
#IMDUN*
Semper Fidelis
A total eclipse of the Sun, right now!
Weee wonder what it portends for earthlings.
Thanks @ David
We can only seek to bring awareness, and a different perspective where needed.
@ Terence
Boss you have eloquently said everything that Bushie would have liked to say – if only the bushman had your analytical skills, academic capabilities, and your oratory.
Thanks!
Bushie is tempted to withdraw his feeble offerings @ 8.02 a.m. – in deference.
@ Pacha @9:48 am
“Bushie… Will there ever be an end to your perfidious work as missionary as you interminably seek to save souls with that criminal cross marching on before, as if at war, like your song goes?”
~~~~~~~~~~~
Not likely!
…but that is because Bushie NEVER started any such ‘work’.
The bushman was minding his own brass bowl business – like every one else, when he was accosted and adopted – and given eyes to see and ears to hear… and a big whacker.
What do you want poor Bushie to do?
… Other than talk bout what he is now able to see and hear?
Catch a boat like Jonah…?
Steupsss!
See if you can work out a LOGICAL reason why, as you have accused
… “Every shiiite you’ve ever here said dovetails to the same shiiite book.”
IT DOES!!!
Furthermore…
De book was NOT WRITTEN for those of your BB ilk, but for those who are blessed with eyes to see, and with ears to hear.
LOL
It is just that wutless Bushie ALWAYS looks for some reference therein – specifically to draw your ire – and to see what new straw-man you can construct before setting fire to it… and lathering bushie with abuse. LOL ha ha ha
BTW
It is not Bushie’s job to ‘save BB souls’ – just to point out that their donkeys are headed to the cliff…
A comment without a song may pass the strict moody moderation regime
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