And Still I Rise

In 2010, 11 Vincentian girls between the ages of 10-14 gave birth; a statistic which has ignited little or no debate leaving me to believe these occurrences are not seen as particularly heinous or even as crimes. None of these young ladies, according to the law of the land can give consent to sexual intercourse but still no charges were laid against those responsible for impregnating them. It would appear that these crimes are sidelined by an underlying acceptance in the wider society that female sexuality is a commodity to be traded.

In contrast to the muted tones with respect to the child mothers, the hot story in this country is centred around a story carried by at least two newspapers which reported that three male teachers were questioned/detained on charges of gross indecency and acts of lewdness with their male charges. Since then the vitriol and condemnation have spewed forth on social media and talk shows. One blog vincikalalloo took it a step further and published photos of the teachers at the centre of the firestorm igniting calls for blood and the extermination of these men. This even though the men to the best of my knowledge have not been charged. The entire blog site has since disappeared from cyber space leaving me to wonder if the site owner has suddenly realised that he/she could face law suits for their irresponsible actions'

As usual when such stories break we are quick to show our hypocritical,judgemental sides. In the hysteria over a story that is yet to be proven we cry death to all homosexuals conveniently forgetting that

1.Homosexuality and paedophilia are two separate issues.

2.The bigger issue would be the crossing of boundaries in a teacher/student relationship

And in all our righteous indignation we should not forget that male heterosexual teachers crossing the boundary is not uncommon and equally worthy of condemnation. For that matter I would not be surprised if female teachers have also overstepped the line. However, in all the talk I am particularly disturbed by the ease with which we seem willing to pass judgement before being in possession of the facts. It is neither here nor there whether question marks have been raised over the sexuality of the men. In my humble opinion we should examine the issue at hand for truth and if proven then appropriate action should be taken. Failing that everything remains just an allegation. Hence the mean spiritedness behind the publication of photos was unwarranted and uncalled for.

Given the smallness of our society we ought to be really more circumspect with our approach to things. Our response over the last few days did not really show us at our finest. And as much as we hate to admit it, homosexuals are people too.

Dear Heart

Here we are with still only each other for company. Along the way others have wanted to join our world but no matter how they packaged it we recognised it as just offers of sex. And while others have laughed and looked at us strangely we've kept rolling along. You see I've learnt to take better care of you. Gone are the days when I knew what the outcome would be but still hoped to be surprised.

Yesterday, I had a sort of an epiphany. There I was lying on my bed "webcamming" with my aunt, wearing nothing but my morning face when all of a sudden I noticed how positively beautiful my face was. It was just beautiful in its natural state, unadorned by any makeup, just as you are whether alone or unaccompanied.

So I'm thinking rather than dwelling on what is absent I should give thanks for all the growing I've done, for knowing it's not all about sex, for patching up old hurts and living on my terms. And guess what? You know I think some secretly envy us..not that they would admit it but that's our little secret.

Here's to love whether single or not.To those whose love has kept us through the years, who put up with us when we were hardly loveable but loved us still. Happy Valentine's y'all.

Beni

On this day sixty six years ago Robert Nesta Marley was born. Like all mothers, his no doubt dreamt that his future would be brighter than hers.I believe that never in her wildest dreams did she envision her baby boy would become a mega recording star and quite possibly the greatest lyricist of our time. For me Bob Marley is an inspiration, a giant of a man despite his tiny stature and an example of the sublime talent that Jamaica and by extension the region possesses, He remains my musical hero although he was taking hi last breath when i was just learning how to form words.

His music is at once militant exhorting us to "Get up, Stand up for our rights", conscious as he entreats "Africa to unite",spiritual as he contemplates "Exodus" the movement of Jah people, loudly proclaiming the Rastafarian faith as he encourages his brethren to grow their dreadlocks, don't be afraid of the wolf pack, highly aware of social injustice and certain of the knowledge that "someone would have to pay for the innocent blood they shed every day", hopeful that one day we would emancipate ourselves from mental slavery and sing our own "Redemption Song". And for good measure the showed us he was tender too with the soulful "I wanna love you".

So while I feel cheated that he died before I could attend one of his concerts in his honor I'm having "a punky reggae party cos it's alright".Happy Birthday Bob, you made a difference to this world!