It is common to hear the saying lightning never strikes the same place twice. However, the recent increase of lightning strikes during Manning Cup football matches, which have injured a few players have been quite ironic. It is no secret that this season’s Manning Cup has been plagued by intense weather conditions. Players have been admitted to the hospital after being struck by lightning during and after their matches. The first time it happened this year, the referee called off the match and faced backlash from some members of the public for doing so. To these people I say: Are you crazy? Is your love and devotion to the sport greater than the concern you are to have for the nation’s children? Luckily the referee’s decision was backed by those who matter and since then whenever there has been any sign of lightning during a match, it is ended by the referee. Unfortunately that was not enough to protect the Haile Selassie High student who was struck by lightning after the match had ended. As a matter of fact, this issue of lightning strikes plaguing the football matches of high school leagues is fairly new in the island. Many are brainstorming ways to prevent and protect all stakeholders, not only from lightning strikes but also from losing millions of dollars invested in these leagues. So what now? Is it safe enough to just call off a match at the first sighting of lightning? What if the very first lightning strike is the one that injures a player? Is it fair to sponsors who have invested a lot into the leagues, to lose out on their investment because the full terms of the agreement cannot be met? Going forward should there be a lightning clause in the contracts signed? So many questions and so little answers. However, I don’t think the issue is as difficult as I might be making it sound. One concerned mother suggested that all matches have a lightning indicator, which is something used in the United States of America for outdoor games. However, head of the Meteorological Centre in Jamaica Evan Thompson says, currently there is no lightning detection technology in Jamaica. Hope is not lost though. I suggest that all play fields have a lightning rod installed which would decrease the chances of a player being struck by lightning, as lightning tends to strike the tallest conductor in an area. The Manning Cup is a big business so I understand what stopping a match means for the league. However, the safety of all players, coaches, referees and other members should always be a priority for the league. Now when it comes to who will pay for the installation of all the lightning rods, that is another discussion for another day.

Here we go again. What seems to be the endless cycle of the traditional bashing the non-traditional has once again reared its distasteful head and is taking us for a ride. The rise of social media has almost split the world into two sides. Those who embrace social media and its vast influence on society, and those who reject it, holding on to their traditional views on how people should communicate with each other. Recently, Prime Minister Andrew Holness was challenged to change his Twitter name to “Most Hon. Brogad”. So said, so done. Within a few hours the official page for the Prime Minister was displaying the new name and many young people praised the move online. However, there are some who found it grossly inappropriate and some wonder how his action might affect his chances in the next general election. It is difficult to deny how important social media has become in the Jamaican society. The Most Honorable “Bro Gad” has certainly shown us how much a simple view expressed online can blossom into a nationwide trend. Gone are the days when one would have to write an official letter and send it to the office of the prime minister in order to express a view or concern. These days one may simply write a post on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and tag his account in the post and believe it or not you are likely to get a personal response. Now this may shock those who are used to official protocol when it comes to communication, but times have changed and social media has made it much easier to communicate with the leaders of the country. This is important as more young people turn to social media to receive their news, to connect with the world and to express their views. If we want to continue to evolve as a country then it is imperative for the leaders to be able to communicate with all members of society. What is even more important is the responsibility these leaders have to their image and as such they must be  conscious of the type of material they post online. The dynamics between our leaders and citizens becomes more balanced as we step further into the technological age.

In observing the swiftness in which rapper Kanye West’s Sunday Service production was put together to be held at the Emancipation Park on Friday, October 18, 2019, I have come to one conclusion. I can do almost anything I want in Kingston if I have a billion dollars to throw away. I can get a permit a few days before my event for a venue often called “A Tribute to Freedom”. I can send a parish into a frenzy as the people in power try to work out how to account for increased traffic and security issues. I can take the entire identity of a country, slap it on a t-shirt and sell it back to them at a ridiculous price. In reality I may not ever be able to do these things, but our sudden dear friend Kanye West has. West is known to put on what he calls a Sunday Service in the United States, where his choir sings gospel songs (some of which are his secular songs with gospel lyrics) and he at times will give a speech about his Christian journey. I am not going to contribute to the debate on whether or not West is truly a Christian or what some are calling a false prophet.None of us know the heart of man and therefore none of should judge the intentions of any man. No. My concern is the speed at which his event was put together. Promoters who wish to put on an event in Kingston have to fill out an application and wait to see if it is approved or denied by the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC). This process can take up to ten days to be completed. In West’s case his application was approved in such a short span of time that it makes you wonder what the true intentions of the KSAC were. In explaining the ten day wait, the KSAC says that they need the time to inspect the venue intended for the event to ensure that it will be safe for the patrons. Does that then mean that the safety of the patrons of West’s event was not a priority for the KSAC. Or is it that if you have enough money and a bit of fame to your name, the rule does not apply to you. Thankfully there were no reports of serious crimes at the event, but what if there were serious crime. Would the KSAC accept the blame for granting the permit in such a short span of time? Jamaica may never know.

The news many people have been waiting on. Former education minister Ruel Reid has been detained. The news itself may not have been a shock for the many people who have been waiting on an update on the scandal. However, the circumstances surrounding Reid’s detention has sent social media into a frenzy. At 5 am the police and a team from the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA), swooped down on Reid’s residence to detain him, members of his family and to collect evidence. Some people are saying that showing up at his door that early in the morning was insensitive and the operation could have begun at a later time. Others argue that 5 am was the best time to carry out the operation in order to catch the subjects off-guard, giving the police and MOCA the upper-hand. However, there is another issue that has been flying under the radar. How many times have you seen an operation such as the one carried out at Reid’s home caught on camera? Not many. You might say that the case is high profile and as such, filming his arrest and publishing it for the public to see is necessary. However, what if at the end of this entire saga, a court of law finds Reid and his co-accused innocent of all charges laid against them. Will his reputation ever be restored? Will he get back his job as education minister? Will that video that has been published on the internet ever be truly removed. Is your need to present the next “hot” story greater than his human right? Why couldn’t the media tell the story without putting the video out there and later, if found guilty of a crime, release the video? I understand that the media is a business and they try to give the public what they want to increase viewership. But at what cost? We must find a better balance. After all we are all just humans. I will admit that there is a possibility of everyone filmed being guilty and therefore the video being circulated would not be that much of an issue. However, I think that when a case is before the court, there should be as much privacy as possible surrounding it. After the case ends the public should be updated on the information gathered during the proceedings. Most people will not agree with this but I firmly believing in protecting the rights of all humans as well as the saying, innocent until proven guilty.

A few days of heavy rain and the road leading up to the Meadowrest Burial Grounds have become impassable. With so many road improvement projects taking place in Jamaica, you would think that I would be shocked to hear that there are still major roads that don’t have proper drainage. Sadly I am not. Just a few years ago the Marcus Garvey Drive had major repairs done to it. Weeks later, a few hours of heavy showers left the road impassable and the traffic was backed up for miles. This cannot be acceptable for any major road. It especially should not be acceptable for a road that leads to a popular burial ground in Jamaica. Many might not realize the importance of a burial ground until it is time for them to actually bury someone. Families come together. Friends and well-wishers book last minute flights to make it to the funeral. Some people take time off work to pay their respects. Thousands of dollars is spent to make the funeral happen. It is also a very vulnerable time for many people. The last thing they need to hear is that they can not bury their loved one because of flooding. What makes the situation worse is that after returning on another day to bury a loved one, the level of support that was originally there may not still be there. This is truly unfair and it is time for the Jamaican people to take a stand and demand proper drainage for major roads. It is absolutely ridiculous having a road repaired for almost a year, only to have rain fall and the road becomes impassable. It is even more ridiculous for a grieving family to not be able to bury their dead because a road does not have proper drainage. Jamaica is a tropical island that has been blessed to not have a major hurricane in the past few years. However, we cannot afford to get too comfortable. We see the destruction a few hours of rain causes. Imagine three days of continuous rain. Jamaica! We are not ready. Accountability must become our theme song in everything we do but especially with the building of roads. You may not think that it is a problem that affects you but it truly is. You may not see it now but one day you just might be heading to the cemetery to bury your loved one and have to return home.

Here we go again. It’s a story we’ve heard time and time again. A victim cries foul, people are outraged, reputations are ruined and in the end it all turns out the “victim” fabricated the story. Last week we heard the outrageous story of a black 12 year old student being held down by her peers while they cut her dreadlocks. They did this while calling them nappy and dirty. Naturally the black community was furious and the story added fuel to the racism fire that still burns in the United States of America. Now it has come out that the child had made up the entire story. Her family has apologized to all the parties affected by her lies. However, that’s it. Just an apology. The reputation of the school, the accused students and their family has been dragged through the mud and somehow it is expected that an apology is expected to fix all of that. I think not!

It is sad to see that in 2019 when it is already so hard for a victim to be taken seriously, people are still fabricating stories in order to get attention. In this age of social media it is so easy for the public to become the judge, jury and executioner of anyone being accused of anything. Even if the person is found to be innocent, by the time the public is done with their reputation, it becomes a shell of its former self. Can we stop doing this madness now? I partly blame social media. It is so easy these days to go online and post anything. It is een easier for someone to see the post and run with the story without doing any necessary checks. How is it that this young black girl was able to have her story on almost every major news network and no-one uncovered the truth? If she had not eventually told the truth herself would anyone have found out? Or would we forever crucify the school and students who were accused. Does this story sound familiar? Just a few weeks ago, popular actor Jussie Smullet claimed to be a victim of a racial attack. Later, it is reported that he fabricated the entire attack, allegedly to gain attention. Now we have mini-jussies running around crying racism. It is not good for society and it is not good for the fight towards racial equality and justice.

Popular Desperate Housewives actress Felicity Huffman has just been sentenced to two weeks in prison for her role in one of the biggest college bribery scandals in American history. Two. Weeks. In a society where the discussion of white privilege has become more prevalent, we must wonder what this two week “vacation” for Felicity means for the thousands of black people given harsher penalties for lesser crimes. For reference, the maximum penalty for her crime is 20 years in prison.

The college bribery scandal has outraged many who remember the black mothers who were served jail time for lying about their address so their children could attend school in a better district. In one case that occurred in 2012, a homeless Connecticut mother was sentenced to five years for using a babysitter’s address so her son could attend a better elementary school. Now I’m not saying that there should have been some sort of leniency for the black mother. I am saying that if you can sentence her to five years for simply changing her address, then you can sentence Felicity to more than just two weeks in prison for paying thousands of dollars to have her daughter’s test scores changed. Many might not understand the significance of Huffman only getting a two week sentence. It is significant because it strengthens the narrative of white people in America having a privilege over people of colour. If Huffman was black I don’t think she would have gotten the same sentence.However, I do give Huffman credit for being upfront throughout the entire investigation and providing information to the authorities. Some might say that is a part of the reason her sentence was so low. However, at the end of the day two weeks is too short sentence for a crime that has a maximum penalty of 20 years. Ladies and gentlemen I present to you: White Privilege

Disbelief! The common theme for the start of the 2019/2020 school year for those who rely on the services of taxi and bus operators in Jamaica. For days there were rumblings of a strike that was set to happen on the first Monday in September. But was anyone really prepared for the reality of the situation? President of the Jamaica Association of Taxi Owners and Operators (JATOO) Louis Barton, made it clear that if his members could not get a fare increase or at least be contacted by the government to hold discussions, they would go on strike. He claimed that it was only coincidental that the strike was set to happen on the same day as the start of the school year. However I think the Jamaican people have had the wool pulled over their eyes enough times to believe his tomfoolery. TVJ’s midday news on September 2, 2019 reported that many commuters, including students were forced to either walk to their destinations or return home. Later that evening RJR FM reported that many taxi and bus operators had returned to work and since then this situation has already began its spiral into the pit of forgotten news stories. There is however a deeper issue that won’t be forgotten by those who are affected by it. And I am here to tell that story.

Taxi and bus operators in the Kingston and Spanish Town area have increased their fares despite not being approved for a fare increase. The public transport operators increased their fares by 50% on the same day some of their fellow operators decided to strike, in protest of the government’s failure to give them a fare increase.

Now tell me who is holding these taxi and bus operators accountable? Surely not the same entity claiming to punish public transport operators who have increased their fares. These operators banded together in order to enforce their increase but does that then mean commuters must also band together to reject it? Who will fight the commuter’s battle? We may just have to fight it ourselves. It surely would not be the government who couldn’t even acknowledge receipt of a letter sent by JATOO. If there is to be a fare increase it must be implemented the lawful way but until the entire country finally learns the true meaning of lawful I will continue my forced submission and pay my illegal fare.

-Jodiann Hemmings 2019

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton