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No sacred cows at Jamaica House
Lloyd B. Smith
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Whether or not there is a LAB (Labourites Against Bruce) remains to be seen or clarified. What I do know is that there is a LAJWCB (Labourites Against Jamaicans Who Criticise Bruce), a set of rabid, partisan hacks that vilify, tear down and threaten anyone who dares to question anything that Prime Minister Bruce Golding says or does.
These sycophantic and narrow-minded Labourites are so intolerant of such persons that they monitor talk shows and newspaper columns on a daily basis, ready to bark vociferously, gnash their teeth and attack like well-trained Rottweilers.
Their over-protectiveness of the JLP leader is so irrational, one such Rottweiler in a recent e-mail to me in response to my last column informed me that Mr Golding did not need to be commended by me and that I should leave him alone.
Now, I am a Jamaican, and as long as I live and breathe I shall continue to be critical of whomever or whatever I wish, subject, of course, to the laws of libel, good taste and fair play.
What is most unfortunate in this scenario is that Prime Minister Bruce Golding, for whom I have the greatest respect and admiration, does not support this kind of fanatical attention. Indeed, during his election night and inaugural speeches, he stressed national unity and tolerance as the way forward.
In this vein, I will continue to commend him for the statesmanlike manner in which he has conducted himself so far and the fact that his utterances and general demeanour have helped to diffuse what could have been a very volatile and disruptive situation after the razor-thin victory eked out by the JLP over the PNP.
After all, it is no secret that there are those JLP supporters who, having been in the political wilderness for so long, are wont to pursue a path of revenge and victimisation.
In my view, these Labourites are going to pose a serious challenge to the enlightened leadership path that Mr Golding has chosen to tread. And it may well turn out to be a classic case of Bruce versus the JLP! Lest we forget, from the formation of the National Democratic Movement (NDM) until now, Mr Golding has espoused certain positions which are based on his desire to move away from political tribalism, corruption and cronyism towards a path of consensus and nation building.
His noble intentions may well be railroaded by those Labourites who are hell-bent on being part of the "fi we time" party hacks that now look at the world behind green-tinted glasses. They want to see a Jamaica that is "Labourite country", in the same way that some Comrades have held the misguided and myopic view that Jamaica is "PNP country".
Well, the Jamaican people, in their infinite wisdom on September 3, 2007, told our politicians in specific terms that Jamaica was neither solely PNP nor JLP country but "fi all a we country".
And this is the message that Mr Golding has grasped, unlike some of his benighted followers who seem to think that now that the JLP has gained state power, we must all fall in line and genuflect before Bruce Almighty. I certainly have not got the impression that Mr Golding wishes to be so deified. The fact that he has refused to be called "the Most Honourable" is already a clear-cut indication that he simply prefers to be seen as the chief public servant.
In my books, his latest mantra of "constructive engagement" must not just be merely mouthed in convenient settings but must be instilled in the minds and hearts of all Jamaicans who mean this country well. I am not saying that these JLP Rottweilers are not to rap on the knuckles those journalists and others who take the Bruce Golding-led JLP to task, but they must do so with decorum, respect and tolerance.
I am not afraid of criticisms when I write or speak. The more the better. What this means in the final analysis is that I am being listened to and am being read. No one kicks a dead dog.
I have no doubt that other contributors to this and other media have been subject to the same level of vitriolic treatment I have experienced and I am almost sure that, like me, they do not mind the attacks. Except to say that these attackers should not insist that one should leave Mr Golding alone and not criticise him at all. That will not work, and Mr Golding will be the first to agree with this point.
There are no sacred cows at Jamaica House.
lloydbsmith@hotmail.com
Lloyd B. Smith
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Whether or not there is a LAB (Labourites Against Bruce) remains to be seen or clarified. What I do know is that there is a LAJWCB (Labourites Against Jamaicans Who Criticise Bruce), a set of rabid, partisan hacks that vilify, tear down and threaten anyone who dares to question anything that Prime Minister Bruce Golding says or does.
These sycophantic and narrow-minded Labourites are so intolerant of such persons that they monitor talk shows and newspaper columns on a daily basis, ready to bark vociferously, gnash their teeth and attack like well-trained Rottweilers.
Their over-protectiveness of the JLP leader is so irrational, one such Rottweiler in a recent e-mail to me in response to my last column informed me that Mr Golding did not need to be commended by me and that I should leave him alone.
Now, I am a Jamaican, and as long as I live and breathe I shall continue to be critical of whomever or whatever I wish, subject, of course, to the laws of libel, good taste and fair play.
What is most unfortunate in this scenario is that Prime Minister Bruce Golding, for whom I have the greatest respect and admiration, does not support this kind of fanatical attention. Indeed, during his election night and inaugural speeches, he stressed national unity and tolerance as the way forward.
In this vein, I will continue to commend him for the statesmanlike manner in which he has conducted himself so far and the fact that his utterances and general demeanour have helped to diffuse what could have been a very volatile and disruptive situation after the razor-thin victory eked out by the JLP over the PNP.
After all, it is no secret that there are those JLP supporters who, having been in the political wilderness for so long, are wont to pursue a path of revenge and victimisation.
In my view, these Labourites are going to pose a serious challenge to the enlightened leadership path that Mr Golding has chosen to tread. And it may well turn out to be a classic case of Bruce versus the JLP! Lest we forget, from the formation of the National Democratic Movement (NDM) until now, Mr Golding has espoused certain positions which are based on his desire to move away from political tribalism, corruption and cronyism towards a path of consensus and nation building.
His noble intentions may well be railroaded by those Labourites who are hell-bent on being part of the "fi we time" party hacks that now look at the world behind green-tinted glasses. They want to see a Jamaica that is "Labourite country", in the same way that some Comrades have held the misguided and myopic view that Jamaica is "PNP country".
Well, the Jamaican people, in their infinite wisdom on September 3, 2007, told our politicians in specific terms that Jamaica was neither solely PNP nor JLP country but "fi all a we country".
And this is the message that Mr Golding has grasped, unlike some of his benighted followers who seem to think that now that the JLP has gained state power, we must all fall in line and genuflect before Bruce Almighty. I certainly have not got the impression that Mr Golding wishes to be so deified. The fact that he has refused to be called "the Most Honourable" is already a clear-cut indication that he simply prefers to be seen as the chief public servant.
In my books, his latest mantra of "constructive engagement" must not just be merely mouthed in convenient settings but must be instilled in the minds and hearts of all Jamaicans who mean this country well. I am not saying that these JLP Rottweilers are not to rap on the knuckles those journalists and others who take the Bruce Golding-led JLP to task, but they must do so with decorum, respect and tolerance.
I am not afraid of criticisms when I write or speak. The more the better. What this means in the final analysis is that I am being listened to and am being read. No one kicks a dead dog.
I have no doubt that other contributors to this and other media have been subject to the same level of vitriolic treatment I have experienced and I am almost sure that, like me, they do not mind the attacks. Except to say that these attackers should not insist that one should leave Mr Golding alone and not criticise him at all. That will not work, and Mr Golding will be the first to agree with this point.
There are no sacred cows at Jamaica House.
lloydbsmith@hotmail.com
a dead! 
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