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A fair society with less prejudice
ID: INTERACTIVE DIALOGUE
David Mullings
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Last week I wrote about "a fair, not welfare society" and wish to continue on that theme but look at bias amongst segments of the population and how that has affected Jamaican society.
Every society has its own internal issues with biases and prejudice that oftentimes seem to follow class or ethnic lines (often connected). I write this column because I am especially bothered by the last few months in Jamaica where it was clear that some prejudices had not been reduced as much as I had hoped they would be by now.
The attack ads against Portia Simpson Miller have been discussed but I feel that Jamaican society has overlooked the larger issue, that the ads were merely the tip of the iceberg in identifying the divide within Jamaica between "uptown" and the other groups. I have always believed that Jamaica really is split into three main groups: Uptown, Downtown and Country.
Those labels relate more to education, behaviours and attitudes than to physical location or upbringing, and even overlap at times. It was very disheartening to see a number of my "uptown" friends and acquaintances talk about Portia Simpson Miller not being fit to represent them simply because of her upbringing and the way they believed she expressed herself.
They asked me if I would really feel proud having someone "like that" as prime minister and representing us on the international stage. I politely pointed out to them that she had already represented the country for over a year and the country was not embarrassed on the international stage at all. It was this blatant prejudice that made me better understand how G2K could see nothing wrong with their ads as some of the people who asked me those questions were proud members of G2K.
I readily admit that most people label me as "uptown" because of the schools I attended and where I grew up, but I did not share the same prejudice against Portia Simpson Miller (my columns have repeatedly pointed out that my issues concerning her had to do with dealing with corruption). I chalk that up to understanding and acknowledging where my family came from. My mother is from Clarendon and my father from St James. Thanks to Michael Manley's policies in the 1970s, my mother was able to become a nurse and my father a doctor after working hard at school. That enabled them to create a better life for us than they had.
I could not turn around and be prejudiced against someone because they were not raised like me or did not talk like me because I would then be prejudiced against my own background, my own parents and my own family. Many "uptown" people came from humble beginnings and have not forgotten that, but clearly there are many who have. Some of the people I know are oblivious to the poverty and hardship that many Jamaicans experience. They are too busy attending all-inclusive parties and going to Maiden Cay. They have not tried to understand what major segments of Jamaican society have been going through since before the recession hit.
Additionally, the prejudice is not one-way, with "uptown" people being prejudiced against others. My most vivid encounter with prejudice in Jamaica was while playing football for Real Mona's under-20 team in 2001.
There were two incidents in particular. During tryouts I collected a ball and passed it to a teammate. A player on the other team was tackling and after the ball was gone he still swung his foot and raised it, hitting me in the groin. I had to be taken off the field. When the game was over I asked him why he did it and he candidly answered by saying that I could become a doctor or lawyer and there I was taking away his opportunity to play football if I made the team.
I was shocked. I replied by saying that if I was good enough to make the team, then that was all that should matter. I made the team and was given number 10. The second incident was during a match with the Tivoli Gardens under-20 team. When the match started, the Tivoli coach said: "Don't worry about the pretty bwoy", and each time I touched the ball the Tivoli supporters cheered for their team to "tackle the pretty bwoy". During the second half, I heard the coach shouting, "Mark the pretty bwoy", which brought a slight smile to my face.
After the match I asked the coach why he called me that. He said he could tell I was an uptown kid and didn't belong because of my nice Nike boots, my goatee and clean haircut. He never explained why he thought they should not have marked me before we started playing, but at least he admitted that I played well.
It is human nature to make judgements about an individual based on how they look and carry themselves or how educated they seem, but we must be careful not to stereotype people and have our judgements move from the superficial — he/she looks untidy, to judging skills, or social status — he/she looks untidy so must be poor.
We must begin to address this division if we expect to truly create a fair society. Having lived in the USA and experienced racism and prejudice first-hand, I always expected better from Jamaica based on our background (we were the first to stand up to Apartheid in South Africa) and I was deeply disappointed to see prejudice so prominently and blatantly present over the last few months.
Our education system has played a significant role in the prejudices we see today. We must do more to have a system that provides more balanced opportunities regardless of where you happen to be born. All the schools need support to attain certain minimum standards. We must have fewer graduates with limited subject passes and the ability to function sufficiently in society. Education is the single greatest path to upliftment of people.
As long as we do not believe our motto that Jamaicans are "one people", then we will continue to complain about paying taxes to support "other people", we will not care what happens to the less fortunate among us, and we will only contribute to the prejudice that we so badly need to eradicate.
People must be judged on more substantive things than where they were born, or raised or if they are "one of us". Jamaica will not get very far if the "us vs them" mentality continues because politicians will exploit that and prevent the unity we need to get through tough times.
It is not about whether you sit in the bleachers or the grandstand; it is simply that we are all in the stadium cheering for our country.
David Mullings was the first Future Leaders representative for the USA on the Jamaican Diaspora Advisory Board. He can be found on Twitter at twitter.com/davidmullingsand Facebook at facebook.com/InteractiveDialogue
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/colum...#ixzz1kMILiGmM
ID: INTERACTIVE DIALOGUE
David Mullings
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Last week I wrote about "a fair, not welfare society" and wish to continue on that theme but look at bias amongst segments of the population and how that has affected Jamaican society.
Every society has its own internal issues with biases and prejudice that oftentimes seem to follow class or ethnic lines (often connected). I write this column because I am especially bothered by the last few months in Jamaica where it was clear that some prejudices had not been reduced as much as I had hoped they would be by now.
The attack ads against Portia Simpson Miller have been discussed but I feel that Jamaican society has overlooked the larger issue, that the ads were merely the tip of the iceberg in identifying the divide within Jamaica between "uptown" and the other groups. I have always believed that Jamaica really is split into three main groups: Uptown, Downtown and Country.
Those labels relate more to education, behaviours and attitudes than to physical location or upbringing, and even overlap at times. It was very disheartening to see a number of my "uptown" friends and acquaintances talk about Portia Simpson Miller not being fit to represent them simply because of her upbringing and the way they believed she expressed herself.
They asked me if I would really feel proud having someone "like that" as prime minister and representing us on the international stage. I politely pointed out to them that she had already represented the country for over a year and the country was not embarrassed on the international stage at all. It was this blatant prejudice that made me better understand how G2K could see nothing wrong with their ads as some of the people who asked me those questions were proud members of G2K.
I readily admit that most people label me as "uptown" because of the schools I attended and where I grew up, but I did not share the same prejudice against Portia Simpson Miller (my columns have repeatedly pointed out that my issues concerning her had to do with dealing with corruption). I chalk that up to understanding and acknowledging where my family came from. My mother is from Clarendon and my father from St James. Thanks to Michael Manley's policies in the 1970s, my mother was able to become a nurse and my father a doctor after working hard at school. That enabled them to create a better life for us than they had.
I could not turn around and be prejudiced against someone because they were not raised like me or did not talk like me because I would then be prejudiced against my own background, my own parents and my own family. Many "uptown" people came from humble beginnings and have not forgotten that, but clearly there are many who have. Some of the people I know are oblivious to the poverty and hardship that many Jamaicans experience. They are too busy attending all-inclusive parties and going to Maiden Cay. They have not tried to understand what major segments of Jamaican society have been going through since before the recession hit.
Additionally, the prejudice is not one-way, with "uptown" people being prejudiced against others. My most vivid encounter with prejudice in Jamaica was while playing football for Real Mona's under-20 team in 2001.
There were two incidents in particular. During tryouts I collected a ball and passed it to a teammate. A player on the other team was tackling and after the ball was gone he still swung his foot and raised it, hitting me in the groin. I had to be taken off the field. When the game was over I asked him why he did it and he candidly answered by saying that I could become a doctor or lawyer and there I was taking away his opportunity to play football if I made the team.
I was shocked. I replied by saying that if I was good enough to make the team, then that was all that should matter. I made the team and was given number 10. The second incident was during a match with the Tivoli Gardens under-20 team. When the match started, the Tivoli coach said: "Don't worry about the pretty bwoy", and each time I touched the ball the Tivoli supporters cheered for their team to "tackle the pretty bwoy". During the second half, I heard the coach shouting, "Mark the pretty bwoy", which brought a slight smile to my face.
After the match I asked the coach why he called me that. He said he could tell I was an uptown kid and didn't belong because of my nice Nike boots, my goatee and clean haircut. He never explained why he thought they should not have marked me before we started playing, but at least he admitted that I played well.
It is human nature to make judgements about an individual based on how they look and carry themselves or how educated they seem, but we must be careful not to stereotype people and have our judgements move from the superficial — he/she looks untidy, to judging skills, or social status — he/she looks untidy so must be poor.
We must begin to address this division if we expect to truly create a fair society. Having lived in the USA and experienced racism and prejudice first-hand, I always expected better from Jamaica based on our background (we were the first to stand up to Apartheid in South Africa) and I was deeply disappointed to see prejudice so prominently and blatantly present over the last few months.
Our education system has played a significant role in the prejudices we see today. We must do more to have a system that provides more balanced opportunities regardless of where you happen to be born. All the schools need support to attain certain minimum standards. We must have fewer graduates with limited subject passes and the ability to function sufficiently in society. Education is the single greatest path to upliftment of people.
As long as we do not believe our motto that Jamaicans are "one people", then we will continue to complain about paying taxes to support "other people", we will not care what happens to the less fortunate among us, and we will only contribute to the prejudice that we so badly need to eradicate.
People must be judged on more substantive things than where they were born, or raised or if they are "one of us". Jamaica will not get very far if the "us vs them" mentality continues because politicians will exploit that and prevent the unity we need to get through tough times.
It is not about whether you sit in the bleachers or the grandstand; it is simply that we are all in the stadium cheering for our country.
David Mullings was the first Future Leaders representative for the USA on the Jamaican Diaspora Advisory Board. He can be found on Twitter at twitter.com/davidmullingsand Facebook at facebook.com/InteractiveDialogue
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/colum...#ixzz1kMILiGmM