How It Looks

How it Looks is far more important than what it IS

This is why school girls have sex with big men in return for Blackberry phones.

Having that phone means everything. Having sex with any passing stranger means nothing. No more than a bowel movement.

Of course it's not just the chronically pathetic that needs material proof that they exist, even those one might consider having 'status' need this form of proof.

The fanciest most complex and expensive, (emphasis on expensive)phones have become the latest status symbol. Especially those phones which have various flaws or are so complicated one needs a degree in Engineering to implement the 'silent' feature.

It is almost funny to see some pompous punk having to remove the battery to stop it from ringing.

Almost funny, because it is largely nauseating.

As we move to 'celebrating' our 50th year of (pardon the pun) Independence the route has been backwards.

Jamaica was far more advanced in 1962 than it is today.

When it came to education, people who could read, could read. They may never have gone beyond Duncan's All Age School, and left at 16 years of age, but they could pick up a newspaper, (which had been written at University level) and read every word, and understand what they read.

Every Ministry worked. Every person who was employed by the Government was of the highest quality and behaved as if they graduated a finishing school. Taking Pride in their work considering what they were doing was important went from the person who sweep the path, to the one who answered the phone, to the exalted Permanent Secretary.

Today, few people can speak English, being encouraged to resort to slop speak. This is amusing to those who like slapstick, but rather detrimental if one sought a job with a multi- national or tried to enter a real University.

Duckspeak as portrayed in 1984 has been fully implemented in Jamaica. This is to refirm the Class structure that was broken in the 70s.

Branding on the tongue is one of those methods in which people participate in their own disenfranchisement.

Along with this comes the disposable income which is disposed of to maintain the level of poverty required.

It is important that people do not have money for education or health or anything positive. Hence having them throw away money on something of no value to them is good for the economy.

Hence here are people who have never entered the Cyber Highway; people who need someone to print their email, with wi-fi phones they can't put on silent.