Tweet
Why street protests have failed
MARK WIGNALL
Thursday, May 07, 2009
We Jamaicans have never been the sort to gather peacefully, march in an orderly manner and make our demands on "authority" as reasonable people deserving the respect of that "authority". On the other hand, whether it be the powerful hands of government or the seemingly deep pockets of a large employer of labour, "authority" expects more skirmishing than protest, more rancour than reason, because mistrust between the powers-that-be and the people is spread evenly.
Even if he allows himself a somewhat cagey luxury of holding progressive views on industrial relations, the large employer begins with a healthy mistrust of unions. Some workers are sure that deals between union bosses and employers are cut before any public announcement is made of new wage contracts. Union bosses may not say it out loud, but many see the "workers" as some politicians see them. Tools to accomplish ego-driven career goals.
The union bosses begin by believing in an anachronism of industrial relations that should never have been there in the first place - the ability to pay. So, for that reason the company is never seen as that amalgamation between an employer and employees where both are trying to exploit the efforts of each other to arrive at something called the "pay scale". The employer is there to make money; the employee seeks a fair wage, which is never reached, and in the mix, the employer believes output could be increased while the worker is convinced that at the same output, wages can be doubled.
Let us begin by assimilating some unpleasant facts. This country has significant pockets of collective idiocy which, given our rate of turning out students at 16 years of age who are semi-literate, will make it difficult for us to survive in the post-global economic meltdown period, which some believe will begin towards the end of next year.
Once we recover, we will be back to our perennial, homegrown economic crisis which exists in lockstep with our rates of violent criminality. At our present rates of earning and debt payback, we will never be able to clear our debts, therefore we will be forever in hock to foreigners and the local big players who can still afford to comb any Negril, Ocho Rios or MoBay beach, long-term, given the rates on government paper.
Jamaica exists in a charged atmosphere of mistrust across all socio-economic borders, which is usually accompanied by a controlled tension among the skin shades. The fact that the JLP has more "brown men" than the last PNP administration has been triggering talk during the budget debates that the government's tax package is one designed to impoverish the small man (read black man) at the expense of the big man (read brown man).
Much of the perception which each class, skin shade or economic grouping has for the other is based on the old relationships which some believe allow us to live with one another in peace because we do not have to be close. When downtown closes, those who live there, remain there. When downtown closes, there are no middle-class high rises downtown so the bosses drive home to their safely secured homes uptown.
In the weeks before the budget debates began, it was clear that an increased gas tax was in the making. The last time it was proposed in a budget exercise, 10 years ago, the country exploded in rioting by criminal elements, fuelled by the then Opposition JLP. In April 1999, Bruce Golding was presiding over a dying NDM. In 2009 he is prime minister who is forced to find reason to find something wrong with street protests.
The call a week ago by Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller for people to wear black fizzled because Jamaicans are not very good at making peaceful statements on matters, sexy or non-sexy. Now, nothing is more "orgasmic" than the imposition of a fixed tax increase on gasoline. Once the Opposition leader made that call, any first-year student of politics would know that skirmishes would occur. The question is, why did the skirmishes die as soon as they began?
First, governmental administrations in this country have never responded positively to peaceful protests.
In July 1999 when Daryl Vaz formed the group, Citizens for Civil Society (CCS), it was done so against the background of the perennially high crime wave, what was seen as the disastrous policies of then Finance Minister Omar Davies and the continued and debilitating leadership of the JLP by Eddie Seaga. The one group which came out openly and in intimidating fashion against it was the JLP.
CCS was feared not because it was planning to block roads and burn buildings but mainly because it had the potential to attract a type of people never before seen in street marches - the silent, significant, uptown minority. It had to be put down before it grew because, up until that time, our police force had not yet grown used to the idea of breaking a few uptown, brown skulls "in the building of a nation".
The street protests have failed mainly because the people have become inured to the cycle of "bun dung, mash dung, nutten nuh happen". Second, our people are aware of global money motions and notwithstanding an Opposition leader who was spoiling for a "peaceful" protest, but got nothing, the people decided that their energies would be wasted and their blood would be spilled in the streets by a police force which is increasingly becoming the friend of no one.
We never took to the streets over the miscarriage of justice meted out to Janice Allen who was killed by a policeman's bullet. We did not take to the streets when young children and old women were burned in their houses by evil arsonists. We are a sadly misguided people who have only come together a few times in my memory - in the aftermath of Hurricane Gilbert, September, 1988; Jamaica qualifying for the World Cup finals, late 1997; after the exploits of our medal-winning athletes in last year's Olympics.
Jamaica is a society which operates constantly out of sync with authority. The same attitudinal disequilibrium exists between the social classes. It is my belief that a society needs a certain minimum level of education in order to begin the building of bridges between the various players who exist in it. It is my belief that we are still operating below that level and until we reach there we will continue to operate in a climate of "controlled chaos".
I also believe that the quality of the budget debate has dented any efforts by those who wanted to take to the streets. Of course, there will always be a few who will want to build careers on "loud" social activism when, in truth, they would be better off heading to the ghettos to mentor a few of the many young men becoming lost daily. The hard fact is, this is the worst time to protest or to burn simply because the new would-be activists have no new answers to old questions. Plus, the global misery loves company and it has engaged all of the world's nations as never before. Until answers are found for that some time next year, street protests now seem to be a waste of time.
observemark@gmail.com
MARK WIGNALL
Thursday, May 07, 2009
We Jamaicans have never been the sort to gather peacefully, march in an orderly manner and make our demands on "authority" as reasonable people deserving the respect of that "authority". On the other hand, whether it be the powerful hands of government or the seemingly deep pockets of a large employer of labour, "authority" expects more skirmishing than protest, more rancour than reason, because mistrust between the powers-that-be and the people is spread evenly.
Even if he allows himself a somewhat cagey luxury of holding progressive views on industrial relations, the large employer begins with a healthy mistrust of unions. Some workers are sure that deals between union bosses and employers are cut before any public announcement is made of new wage contracts. Union bosses may not say it out loud, but many see the "workers" as some politicians see them. Tools to accomplish ego-driven career goals.
The union bosses begin by believing in an anachronism of industrial relations that should never have been there in the first place - the ability to pay. So, for that reason the company is never seen as that amalgamation between an employer and employees where both are trying to exploit the efforts of each other to arrive at something called the "pay scale". The employer is there to make money; the employee seeks a fair wage, which is never reached, and in the mix, the employer believes output could be increased while the worker is convinced that at the same output, wages can be doubled.
Let us begin by assimilating some unpleasant facts. This country has significant pockets of collective idiocy which, given our rate of turning out students at 16 years of age who are semi-literate, will make it difficult for us to survive in the post-global economic meltdown period, which some believe will begin towards the end of next year.
Once we recover, we will be back to our perennial, homegrown economic crisis which exists in lockstep with our rates of violent criminality. At our present rates of earning and debt payback, we will never be able to clear our debts, therefore we will be forever in hock to foreigners and the local big players who can still afford to comb any Negril, Ocho Rios or MoBay beach, long-term, given the rates on government paper.
Jamaica exists in a charged atmosphere of mistrust across all socio-economic borders, which is usually accompanied by a controlled tension among the skin shades. The fact that the JLP has more "brown men" than the last PNP administration has been triggering talk during the budget debates that the government's tax package is one designed to impoverish the small man (read black man) at the expense of the big man (read brown man).
Much of the perception which each class, skin shade or economic grouping has for the other is based on the old relationships which some believe allow us to live with one another in peace because we do not have to be close. When downtown closes, those who live there, remain there. When downtown closes, there are no middle-class high rises downtown so the bosses drive home to their safely secured homes uptown.
In the weeks before the budget debates began, it was clear that an increased gas tax was in the making. The last time it was proposed in a budget exercise, 10 years ago, the country exploded in rioting by criminal elements, fuelled by the then Opposition JLP. In April 1999, Bruce Golding was presiding over a dying NDM. In 2009 he is prime minister who is forced to find reason to find something wrong with street protests.
The call a week ago by Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller for people to wear black fizzled because Jamaicans are not very good at making peaceful statements on matters, sexy or non-sexy. Now, nothing is more "orgasmic" than the imposition of a fixed tax increase on gasoline. Once the Opposition leader made that call, any first-year student of politics would know that skirmishes would occur. The question is, why did the skirmishes die as soon as they began?
First, governmental administrations in this country have never responded positively to peaceful protests.
In July 1999 when Daryl Vaz formed the group, Citizens for Civil Society (CCS), it was done so against the background of the perennially high crime wave, what was seen as the disastrous policies of then Finance Minister Omar Davies and the continued and debilitating leadership of the JLP by Eddie Seaga. The one group which came out openly and in intimidating fashion against it was the JLP.
CCS was feared not because it was planning to block roads and burn buildings but mainly because it had the potential to attract a type of people never before seen in street marches - the silent, significant, uptown minority. It had to be put down before it grew because, up until that time, our police force had not yet grown used to the idea of breaking a few uptown, brown skulls "in the building of a nation".
The street protests have failed mainly because the people have become inured to the cycle of "bun dung, mash dung, nutten nuh happen". Second, our people are aware of global money motions and notwithstanding an Opposition leader who was spoiling for a "peaceful" protest, but got nothing, the people decided that their energies would be wasted and their blood would be spilled in the streets by a police force which is increasingly becoming the friend of no one.
We never took to the streets over the miscarriage of justice meted out to Janice Allen who was killed by a policeman's bullet. We did not take to the streets when young children and old women were burned in their houses by evil arsonists. We are a sadly misguided people who have only come together a few times in my memory - in the aftermath of Hurricane Gilbert, September, 1988; Jamaica qualifying for the World Cup finals, late 1997; after the exploits of our medal-winning athletes in last year's Olympics.
Jamaica is a society which operates constantly out of sync with authority. The same attitudinal disequilibrium exists between the social classes. It is my belief that a society needs a certain minimum level of education in order to begin the building of bridges between the various players who exist in it. It is my belief that we are still operating below that level and until we reach there we will continue to operate in a climate of "controlled chaos".
I also believe that the quality of the budget debate has dented any efforts by those who wanted to take to the streets. Of course, there will always be a few who will want to build careers on "loud" social activism when, in truth, they would be better off heading to the ghettos to mentor a few of the many young men becoming lost daily. The hard fact is, this is the worst time to protest or to burn simply because the new would-be activists have no new answers to old questions. Plus, the global misery loves company and it has engaged all of the world's nations as never before. Until answers are found for that some time next year, street protests now seem to be a waste of time.
observemark@gmail.com
Comment