What a week! Not a dull moment: Panday blocked from entering parliament by armed policemen; the true identity of dirty dancing teenager Danah Alleyne exposed – daughter of a popular pastor; the greatest batsmen in cricket history our beloved Brian Lara resigned from international cricket; Machael Montano involved in an altercation that leaves a youth seriously injured; no less a person than the Prime Minister came out in support of Danah and the PNM trained its guns on Johnny Soong in an effort to shift blame from the pastor and his daughter.
Murder and mayhem took a back seat as the hypocrisy of our half-baked society took front seat. We refuse to accept the reflection in the mirror and seek to blame the mirror and try to change it. Perhaps we prefer to enjoy the status quo in a suspended state of disbelief than face the raw social reality.
Some say it started with the junior secondary school shift system of education. Children were left with far too much idle time during working hours when it was impossible for parents to monitor their movements. The result is that they were exposed to maxi taxi conductors, drivers and touts, bullies and other idle people who had nothing else to do with their time except exploit their adolescent vulnerability.
The liberation of carnival exposed children to party songs with sexually explicit lyrics and bumps, wines and grinds. Far from simulating romantic sex, it glorified horning, having a good time and zipless sex. Add to this the rap, dub and hip hop culture that praises all the bitches, ho’s and niggas in the house and chutney performances that now threaten to make even the worst dutty wine girl blush and you have Danah’s generation.
I have been lecturing to schools as part of the Guardian Leadership Series Programme and interacting with students all over the country. The bad boys and rude gyals rule ting now, marn. Smoking and drinking, sexing and drugging, boom box blasting, they have their own nirvana-on-wheels in the maxis.
In the same way parents blame poor teachers, everyone wants to blame Akon and Johnny Soong. At the tender age of 15, Danah sports a provocative tattoo above her butt, pierced belly button, oozes sex appeal and bares the sides of her breasts in a risqué outfit that would make a chutney dancer blush. On her HI 5 profile available on the net, she states: “i am really outgoing, wild, and luvvvv to have fun, luvv to be around frendz and hang out and off course PARTYYY!! oh well... ima bitch,ive got class,mess wid me and i'll kick ur ass!!neways u'll jus have to get to knw me if u wanna knw nemore!! "
Complete with photographs in sexually provocative poses, young Danah described her occupation as ‘professional slacker’. Her response to ‘employment’ is “Nahh, I dohh work – I livin off Pappiii!!!" So much for those tithes and offerings in the name of the Lord, I guess.
How can we blame Akon? How was he supposed to know her age? Far from being shy and coy, Danah was wukkin it up quite nicely with a crowd of adults (policemen and all) cheering on in true Trini style.
In the same way parents are quick to blame teachers, everyone is quick to blame Soong. Yes, she should have been denied access to the club. That was wrong, yes; but so is selling cigarettes and alcohol to minors.
We have created a culture that is based on and glorifies flesh and sex and everyone is in on the act – the young, the old, the good, the bad and the ugly. Be it the poom poom shorts, pajama party or wet fete, its all hypocritically passed off as good natured fun.
The infamous Manzanilla Ash Wednesday cool down fete saw women strip naked and allow men to cool down their private parts with water from melting ice in full view of everyone (including policemen). This was no more than an uncomfortable social hiccup. The same police that are so quick to target Soong have taken no action against the women or the promoter. Why?
In the final analysis there is no substitute for good parenting. If Soong prevented Danah from entering Zen would that have helped? One night at club Zen did not make her the person she was on stage! The signs were all there (tattoo, pierced navel, sexy outfits in the wardrobe etc) but Danah’s parents ignored them, pretended they meant nothing or flippantly dismissed it as ‘a phase’. And yes, good parents can have bad children, but good children seldom have bad parents. Let Danah Alleyne ask Choclate Alleyne.
By Anand Ramlogan
2007-04-29