Dear Editor,
Usain St Leo Bolt, with all his titular trappings, is without question the biggest name to come out of Jamaica in the last quarter of a century. In fact, Bolt stands as a towering example to the average Jamaican, at home and abroad, of what is possible if we all apply ourselves and work with a fixity of purpose at our chosen vocation.
At age 28 this gangling sub-giant has accomplished what most people across the globe -- regardless of race -- can only dream of; and on his youthful shoulders rests like the proverbial "Atlas" the hopes and aspirations of people of colour, especially young blacks. To the average Jamaican, Bolt represents what is possible for the "likkle yout from dung a country".
However, what most Jamaicans who revere Bolt for his achievements fail to recognise is that, at age 28, he is still quite a young man and is given to the same penchant of young men in that age group for having a good time; the major difference being that he has access to resources.
This is why a complaint from a neighbour of him carousing at his house with friends would not surprise me. It would not surprise me either that he may be guilty of this, perhaps wittingly or unwittingly, many times over. That is a consistency of behaviour that comes with youth. That it happens is regrettable and would require correcting -- as we all should strive to maintain acceptable, socially harmonious relationships with those in our communities, particularly our immediate neighbours.
On this score, I will support Jodi "Jinx" Stewart-Henriques if any neighbour of hers is, in fact, guilty of disturbing the enjoyment of peace in her home by their racuous behaviour. That she felt the need to publish her disgust with Bolt, as her neighbour, on social media is also her right, except that such an action invites responses from the world at large, including my own. I find some of her comments troubling as it harks back to a mindset that has plagued Jamaica for the better part of the last 100 years.
To suggest that Bolt "does not belong" in her Norbrook neighbourhood and that "he should go back to from whence he came" is not only unfortunate but equally troubling. Both Bolt and Henriques are, in the strictest sense, two Jamaicans. It suggests also that, like landed gentry, she belongs and he doesn't. Her comments provide a kind of reminder that, despite our perceived social advances, we still have quite a way to go.
Hopefully, both will be able to work it out; and even moreso I hope that Dr the Honourable Usain St Leo Bolt will continue to strive for maintaining his huge stature and reputation as a major Jamaican and global social figure and lower the volumes "dung a yaad".
Richard Hugh Blackford
Coral Springs, Florida, USA
richardhblackford@gmail.com
The Bolt-'Jinx' imbroglio is troubling
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Usain St Leo Bolt, with all his titular trappings, is without question the biggest name to come out of Jamaica in the last quarter of a century. In fact, Bolt stands as a towering example to the average Jamaican, at home and abroad, of what is possible if we all apply ourselves and work with a fixity of purpose at our chosen vocation.
At age 28 this gangling sub-giant has accomplished what most people across the globe -- regardless of race -- can only dream of; and on his youthful shoulders rests like the proverbial "Atlas" the hopes and aspirations of people of colour, especially young blacks. To the average Jamaican, Bolt represents what is possible for the "likkle yout from dung a country".
However, what most Jamaicans who revere Bolt for his achievements fail to recognise is that, at age 28, he is still quite a young man and is given to the same penchant of young men in that age group for having a good time; the major difference being that he has access to resources.
This is why a complaint from a neighbour of him carousing at his house with friends would not surprise me. It would not surprise me either that he may be guilty of this, perhaps wittingly or unwittingly, many times over. That is a consistency of behaviour that comes with youth. That it happens is regrettable and would require correcting -- as we all should strive to maintain acceptable, socially harmonious relationships with those in our communities, particularly our immediate neighbours.
On this score, I will support Jodi "Jinx" Stewart-Henriques if any neighbour of hers is, in fact, guilty of disturbing the enjoyment of peace in her home by their racuous behaviour. That she felt the need to publish her disgust with Bolt, as her neighbour, on social media is also her right, except that such an action invites responses from the world at large, including my own. I find some of her comments troubling as it harks back to a mindset that has plagued Jamaica for the better part of the last 100 years.
To suggest that Bolt "does not belong" in her Norbrook neighbourhood and that "he should go back to from whence he came" is not only unfortunate but equally troubling. Both Bolt and Henriques are, in the strictest sense, two Jamaicans. It suggests also that, like landed gentry, she belongs and he doesn't. Her comments provide a kind of reminder that, despite our perceived social advances, we still have quite a way to go.
Hopefully, both will be able to work it out; and even moreso I hope that Dr the Honourable Usain St Leo Bolt will continue to strive for maintaining his huge stature and reputation as a major Jamaican and global social figure and lower the volumes "dung a yaad".
Richard Hugh Blackford
Coral Springs, Florida, USA
richardhblackford@gmail.com
The Bolt-'Jinx' imbroglio is troubling
-->